It is important for the church that interest in history grows in society, executive director of the Foma magazine Alexey Sokolov said at the international forum in Irkutsktranslated

It is important for the Church that public interest in history grows - this will simplify its mission, making modern church life more understandable, says Alexei Sokolov, executive director of the Thomas magazine.

He said this at a panel discussion within the framework of the annual International Forum of Orthodox Youth “ProSvet”, which takes place in Irkutsk on November 1-3, 2026 and is dedicated to the problem of popularizing history.

“This is important for the Church, but it is also important for secular society and for the state,” said Alexey Sokolov. – Because the entire foundation of Russian culture and the Russian statehood created by it initially rests on the fact of the Baptism of Rus'. We need to look far into the past to properly understand our present and future.

Alexey Sokolov shared the details of the discussion in his Telegram channel. Its participants discussed the role of media, school, Church and artificial intelligence in promoting historical knowledge.

Photo: irkobl.ru

The international forum of Orthodox youth “ProSvet” in 2026 is dedicated to historical memory, the upcoming 300th anniversary of the Irkutsk diocese and modern media technologies that help teach young people about the past.

The forum participants were young...