The Secretary of the Synodal Commission on Bioethics spoke to students of the Don Theological Seminarytranslated

On October 31, 2026, in the assembly hall of the Don Theological Seminary, a lecture was held by the secretary of the Synodal Commission on Bioethics, Archpriest Alexander Abramov, on the topic “High technologies and artificial intelligence: ethical challenges and the view of the Church.”

The meeting was attended by the Head of the Don Metropolis, Metropolitan Mercury of Rostov and Novocherkassk, the rector of the Don Theological Seminary, Archpriest Timofey Fetisov, the clergy of the diocese, teachers and students of the theological school.

Before the start of the lecture, Archpriest Alexander Abramov thanked Metropolitan Mercury for the opportunity to hold the meeting.

During the conversation, issues of the Church’s attitude to scientific and technological progress and the need for its spiritual and moral understanding were discussed. Particular attention was paid to the development of artificial intelligence, its capabilities and limitations, as well as the inadmissibility of it replacing human participation in spiritual life, in particular in the preparation of sermons and theological texts. The risks of the rapid introduction of neural networks into various spheres of public life, the imposition of ideological guidelines through technology and the transfer of tasks traditionally performed to artificial intelligence were also discussed...