Representatives of the Samara Metropolis completed advanced training courses for prison clergytranslated

From September 16 to 17, in Moscow, on the basis of the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, advanced training courses were held under the program “Pastoral ministry in correctional institutions of the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.” The training was organized with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. Representatives of three dioceses in the region took part in the courses from the prison deanery of the Samara Metropolitanate. Priest Andrei Ramov and Priest Rodion Melnikov from the Samara diocese, Archpriest Oleg Moroz from the Tolyatti diocese, as well as Priest Rustik Parimbekov, representing the Otradnensky diocese, arrived in the capital to improve their qualifications. The educational process for 55 clergy from 32 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in the format of lectures, seminars and round tables. The course program was aimed at improving pastoral skills when working in prisons.

Today this area is one of the most important church obediences: more than 1,100 priests serve in institutions of the Russian penal system, of which over 600 directly provide care for correctional and educational...