Information for applicants for distance learning at TulDS

To study in the main professional educational program of higher education - a bachelor's degree program of correspondence education in the direction: Training of ministers and religious personnel of religious organizations (profile: Orthodox theology) of the Theological and Pastoral Faculty of the Religious Organization - spiritual educational organization of higher education "Belgorod Theological Seminary (with missionary orientation) of the Orthodox religious organization of the Belgorod and Stary Oskol diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate" (hereinafter referred to as the seminary) accepts clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church who carry out parish ministry and have secondary general, secondary vocational or higher education. It is possible to admit persons who do not have holy orders, who are required to serve in the parish, and who are not able to study full-time for reasons of age (over 27 years old) or other objective circumstances, into the correspondence course. Duration of training – 5 years. Training is free.

Rules for admission to the correspondence department of undergraduate studies

CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT OF THE DON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

The correspondence department at the Don Theological Seminary was created with the blessing of the administrator of the Don Metropolis, Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk Mercury. The purpose of creating a correspondence education sector at the Don Theological Seminary is the opportunity to teach high-quality spiritual education to the clergy, monasticism and laity of the Don Metropolis, without interrupting the church obediences entrusted to them. The correspondence sector of the DDS is intended for training and advanced training of clergy and monastics of the Don Metropolis, as well as laity serving in diocesan departments with complete secondary or higher education. The correspondence department at the Don Theological Seminary accepts clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, monastics, those in parish service, diocesan, monastic or parish obedience, who are not under ecclesiastical ban or on staff. Also lay people under 55 years of age who carry out obediences in diocesan departments and deaneries and are recommended for training by the Ruling Bishop. Persons with basic higher secular or incomplete theological education can be enrolled in 2-3 years of seminary. In some cases, with the blessing of the seminary administration, studying according to an individual plan and passing exams as an external student are allowed. When studying in the correspondence sector of the Don Theological Seminary, the curriculum for the bachelor's degree program is implemented. The duration of study in the correspondence sector is 5 years.

Clergy and monastics are admitted to the Correspondence Department of the DDS without entrance exams on a competitive basis. Lay people are accepted into the correspondence education department with the blessing of their confessor and the recommendation of the diocesan bishop based on the results of exams on a competitive basis. Persons who have a complete secular or incomplete higher theological education based on the submitted documents, based on the results of the interview and passing the academic difference during the first semester, can be enrolled in the 2nd or 3rd year of the seminary. Education at the correspondence department at the Don Theological Seminary is regulated

Correspondence studies

Schedules

Schedule of sessions of the Pastoral Faculty (correspondence course) for the 2021/22 academic year

Sample certificate from the place of parish obedience

Distance learning portal

Programs

New programs for preparatory year students New programs for 1st year students New programs for 2nd year students New programs for 3rd year students New programs for 4th year students Questions for the final interdisciplinary exam

Written works

List of topics for essays PO 2021-2022 Rules for formatting written work

Topics of coursework Regulations on coursework (dated 10.27.2020)

Regulations on final qualifying work (dated 10.27.2020)

Correspondence studies at Voronezh Theological Seminary

When the Russian Orthodox Church gained freedom of action at the end of the 20th century, the widespread spiritual thirst of the population and the colossal shortage of clergy forced bishops to ordain new pastors. Unfortunately, they often did not have a real opportunity to receive the necessary education in theological schools. As an alternative, correspondence departments began to open at theological seminaries and schools.

Already in 1994 (a year after the revival of the Theological School), the Voronezh Diocesan Theological School provided the opportunity for clergy and some laymen of the diocese, who carried out parochial obedience, to take a course of spiritual education in absentia (it was more like an external study), and in 1996 at the School The Correspondence Education Sector was officially created. A year later, by the Decree of the Holy Synod of July 17, 1997, the school was transformed into the Voronezh Theological Seminary.

Since the opening of the correspondence department, it has been successively headed by Nikolai Vladimirovich Makeev, priest Andrei Ivanov, priest Vitaly Davidyuk, Oleg Viktorovich Shatalov, hieromonk Mercury (Fedyainov), Elena Arkadyevna Ivanova, priest Vasily Bakulin. Since 2013, the correspondence department has been headed by priest Andrei Kurlykin.

During their studies, students have the opportunity to listen to orientation lectures and take examination sessions, communicate with experienced clergy, and undergo liturgical practice in the Assumption Seminary Church.

Since 2022, the Voronezh Theological Seminary has been a testing platform for the introduction of a distance learning system in theological educational institutions for students receiving education by correspondence. The Department of Correspondence Education of the Voronezh Theological Seminary implements a course of basic training for monastics of the Voronezh Metropolis; training is carried out on the basis of the monasteries by seminary teachers.

Advanced training courses for clergy

The active development of all aspects of church life of the Russian Orthodox Church and significant changes in the life of society prompted religious educational institutions, in addition to the development of basic educational programs for the training of pastors, church choir directors, icon painters and other church specialists, to pay attention to the development of a system of advanced training for clergy. Since 2008, on the initiative and blessing of Metropolitan Sergius of Voronezh and Borisoglebsk, the Voronezh Theological Seminary, one of the first theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, began to implement a program of advanced training for the clergy. In 2022, a unified system of advanced training for clergy was created in the Russian Orthodox Church. On May 25, 2022, the Voronezh Theological Seminary received a proposal from the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church to organize and conduct advanced training courses for clergy. The head of the courses is Priest Andrei Kurlykin. As part of short-term courses, clergy of the Voronezh diocese have the opportunity to increase their level of knowledge in the field of theology and church history, study the latest regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as get acquainted with the activities of diocesan units and directly ask questions to responsible employees and experts. Each clergyman is obliged to improve his qualifications at least once every 7 years. The courses are conducted over two weeks. Training is conducted at the address Voronezh, Leninsky Prospekt, 41.

Moscow Sretenskaya Theological Academy

HomeEducation Distance learning

Distance learning at Sretensky Theological Academy

In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 14, 2020 No. 397 “On the organization of educational activities in organizations implementing educational programs of higher education and relevant additional professional programs, in the context of preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Russian Federation” , taking into account the recommendations of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, in order to counter the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-2019), minimize the health risks of students and employees of the Academy, from March 23, 2022, Sretensky Theological Academy temporarily switched to training exclusively using distance learning technologies when implementing educational programs at all levels .

To carry out the educational process online, the Academy’s electronic information and educational environment was put into operation, implemented on the basis of freely distributed Moodle

and video conferencing platform
Zoom
, which allows students to listen to lectures, work at seminars, use links to information sources for independent work (electronic library of the Academy, EBS "University Library Online", lectures by teachers, etc.), complete assignments and send them for review by teachers, take tests, participate in surveys, receive reviews of completed assignments, receive information about your progress, etc.

All students and more than 50 teachers received access to information and educational services.

Lecture classes for students are currently conducted via video conferencing (online meetings and collaboration via the Internet are carried out in real time) according to the current schedule.

The Academy's management provides for a transition period for updating information and electronic courses posted in the Academy's electronic educational environment, and for the possibility of conducting the educational process remotely.

Regulations

• Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 14, 2022 No. 397 “On the organization of educational activities in organizations implementing educational programs of higher education and relevant additional professional programs, in the context of preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Russian Federation”;
• Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 14, 2022 No. 398 “On the activities of organizations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in the context of preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Russian Federation”;
• Rector's order No. 18-c dated March 16, 2022 “On the introduction of a high-alert regime”;
• methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 18, 2020 “Expert clarifications on issues arising in connection with the use of online courses to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection”;
• Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 19, 2022 No. 453 “On the activities of hostels, hotels, sanatoriums, boarding houses, rest homes and other places of stay subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, in order to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Russian Federation";
• letter from Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation M.A. Borovskaya dated March 20, 2020 No. MN-3/576-MB “On the direction of information” with recommendations for organizing the activities of hostels within the framework of the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia dated March 19, 2022 No. 453 “On the activities of hostels, hotels, sanatoriums, boarding houses, rest homes and other places of stay subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, in order to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Russian Federation";
• Circular of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church dated March 19, 2022 No. 10/220 “Concerning voluntary consent to live in a hostel”;
• methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 20, 2020 “Expert clarifications on issues arising in connection with the use of online courses to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection (part 2)”;
• Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated March 25, 2022 No. 484 “On measures to implement the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated March 25, 2022 No. 206”;
• Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church dated March 25, 2020 No. 10/225 “Recommendations for conducting intermediate certification events”;
• Rector's order No. 23-s dated March 26, 2022 “On declaring non-working and non-educational days”;
• Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated April 2, 2022 No. 545 “On measures for the implementation by organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 2, 2022 No. 239 “On measures to ensure sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population on the territory of the Russian Federation in connection with the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)”;
• Decree of the Moscow Mayor dated April 2, 2022 No. 36-UM “On amendments to the decree of the Moscow Mayor dated March 5, 2022 No. 12-UM”;
• Order of the rector dated April 3, 2022 No. 24-c “On additional measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection”;
• Regulations on the use of distance educational technologies in the implementation of educational programs of higher education at the Sretensky Theological Academy.

Electronic library systems

The Sretensky Theological Academy recommended the use of the Academy’s electronic library system, as well as electronic library systems with which agreements have been concluded.

• Library of the Sretensky Theological Academy and the Central Scientific Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia”: https://188.254.92.189/wlib/;
• EBS "University Library Online": https://biblioclub.ru/index.php?page=book_blocks&view=main_ub

Support and informing students and teachers on the implementation of the educational process using distance educational technologies

Contact persons for prompt resolution of issues are:

• for organizing the educational process - assistant to the vice-rector for academic affairs Dmitry Aleksandrovich Shchurov at phone number +7 (967) 273-91-43.
• on the functioning of the electronic information and educational environment - novice Fedor (German) by phone number +7 (925) 270-43-27.

A hotline has been opened for operational support of educational organizations:

• Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation by phone number and on the website https://keep-learning.globaluni.ru/

Distance learning at the Theological and Missionary Faculty of the Almaty Theological Seminary

The Department of Distance Education of the Theological and Missionary Faculty is an educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church for the laity, built on the principles of DISTANCE LEARNING, which is designed to give students complete knowledge in the scope of the course of theological seminaries.

Department of Education of the Kazakh Metropolis

The Department of Distance Education of the Theological and Missionary Faculty is an educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church for the laity, built on the principles of DISTANCE LEARNING, which is designed to give students complete knowledge in the scope of the course of theological seminaries.

The purpose of Distance Learning of the Theological and Missionary Faculty is:

Acquisition of systematic knowledge about the Orthodox faith by parishioners and employees of churches of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Providing teachers of secular - higher and secondary - educational institutions with a powerful tool for educating young people and reliable knowledge about Orthodox culture.

Assistance to rectors of Orthodox churches in training their own personnel, Orthodox missionaries and teachers of church disciplines for Sunday schools in parishes.

Helping students of correspondence departments of Orthodox theological seminaries organize their studies in a quality manner and gain deep, comprehensive knowledge.

Training period:

Two years - for those wishing to obtain basic knowledge about Orthodoxy (with the award of a certificate).

Four years - for people who have completed the basic course and whose goal is to obtain in-depth knowledge with their subsequent application in missionary work (with the awarding of a diploma).

Students of the Distance Learning Department of the Theological and Missionary Faculty can be persons of the Orthodox faith aged 18 to 60 years who have passed an interview.

Those who successfully complete the Distance Learning department of the Theological and Missionary Faculty will be able to become catechists, missionaries, teachers of the Law of God, Church Slavonic language, dogmatic theology, church historical disciplines in Sunday schools and in theological courses at Orthodox parishes.

Since the main task of the Theological and Missionary Faculty is the churching of students, the distance learning system assumes the active participation of our students in the parish life of the churches near which they live.

Principles of distance learning:

Training is conducted remotely via the Internet, without traveling to the educational institution.

At the end of the initial and full courses, an on-site examination session is provided.

Distance courses provide a full study of materials in the scope of a theological seminary course.

Duration of training is two + four years. The academic year is divided into two semesters, each of which is divided into seven three-week sections-lessons. Between semesters there are winter and summer holidays.

During the training, subjects such as the New Testament, Old Testament, Catechism, Liturgics, Liturgical Rules, History of the Russian Orthodox Church, General History of the Church, Church Slavonic Language, Dogmatic Theology, Sect Studies, Comparative Theology, etc. will be studied.

The educational process consists of: studying lesson materials prepared by our teachers, using a library with specially selected literature, completing tests that are assessed by teachers, participating in joint group work (the whole group responds to a given topic), participating in colloquiums (conversation-survey teacher of the whole group live), passing exams at the end of each semester.

There is an opportunity to ask questions to the priest.

TRAINING AT THE FACULTY IS FREE.

Students who successfully complete their studies and pass the exams receive a DIPLOMA from the Theological and Missionary Faculty.

Those wishing to enroll in the Distance Learning Department of the Theological and Missionary Faculty must:

– fill out the application form (application forms for the 2014–2015 academic year will begin in June). A confirmation letter confirming the successful receipt of your application must be sent to the email address you specified in the application form (within 5–10 minutes after sending the completed application form). If you did not receive a confirmation letter, please fill out and submit the form again. A possible reason for the lack of a confirmation letter may be that you entered an incorrect email address in the application form.

– await further instructions from the dean’s office.

An applicant who has submitted all the necessary documents undergoes two-week LMS user training from September 1 to September 14. The decision on admission to the faculty will be made taking into account the results of these two-week classes. Applicants who have insufficient computer skills are not allowed to take part in the main classes and are not enrolled in the BMF. We do not provide special computer literacy courses.

NOTE: Applicants to the Theological and Missionary Faculty are advised to weigh their options for studying at the SDL before submitting an application for admission (Questionnaire). This is not an easy stroll through the information site, but intense study with strict deadlines for studying the material, passing test assignments, papers, and exams. The training will require your full commitment, since it is conducted according to the program of the Theological Seminary (Higher Education). The class schedule is extremely tight. You will need at least 2-3 hours of intense work time every day . Students who successfully complete their studies and pass exams receive a CERTIFICATE upon completion of the initial course, and upon completion of the full course, a DIPLOMA.

Contact numbers: 8–705-2043479, 8–707-1040843

Department of Distance Education of the Theological and Missionary Faculty: https://otdelro.kz

Correspondence program: advantages and pitfalls

From November 14 to 24, the seminary hosts a regular session for correspondence students. To date, 80 students from different cities of Russia are studying under this program. Dean of the correspondence department Gerhard Rechwald spoke about the features of this form of education and the difficulties it poses.

Of course, as the dean of the correspondence department, I only have to advertise it. But I suggest looking at the correspondence program from the outside. It is easier to look at all the issues related to the correspondence program against the backdrop of the full-time program. I think it’s worth saying about studying at a seminary that the main goal is a full-time program. And for those who cannot enroll in a full-time program, there is an alternative - a correspondence program. Therefore, if an applicant is thinking about enrolling in a correspondence program, you should first think about enrolling full-time, and consider the correspondence program as an alternative.

• Without interruption from work;

Enrolling in a full-time program means leaving your job. And if this is impossible or undesirable, then the correspondence program here provides the opportunity to study and work at the same time. This is especially important for those who have a large family or, perhaps, a private home - all economic issues that interfere with enrolling in a full-time program. If someone thinks that the full-time program is not for me, because I have these economic issues that are getting in the way, then we also have a correspondence program to give such people the opportunity to study.

This is not an advantage of the correspondence program per se, but it is a definite alternative.

• Without interruption from serving in the local church;

In absentia, it is also possible not to be interrupted from serving. If, for example, there is only one elder in a church, and he cannot leave his church or transfer it to anyone, then for him, too, the correspondence program is an alternative. It’s easier to organize sessions for two weeks and find a replacement.

• Financial aspect;

There is also a financial issue; the total tuition fee for a part-time program is less than for a full-time program. Although, in fact, the material issue should never be a question for us. If someone wants to study, then he will find support and sponsors.

• More self-discipline is required;

A part-time student studies independently, that is, there is no one around him who could motivate, control or remind him. There is no pressure to study. Therefore, if a person himself does not have diligence, he is indifferent to studying, then distance learning leads to the fact that he constantly puts everything off for later. In this case, distance learning may not be so effective.

If you have motivation and a desire to learn, then it is possible, and desirable, to work more than necessary (in reality, due to lack of motivation, we see the opposite), because the correspondence program is shorter. During these two weeks of training, it is impossible to teach as many lessons purely in time as in the full-time program. Plus there is no constant homework. Depending on the subject, students are taught 16-20 hours, the pace is very fast, and the responsibility to repeat what they have learned lies with the students themselves. Whether they repeat it or not is no longer known.

Experience shows that, as a rule, a student tends to do less than necessary. And the correspondence program is already shorter than the full-time one, it turns out that the student receives half as much information.

A student in a part-time program can take the same amount of time as a full-time student if he or she is working.

How to organize yourself?

In the correspondence program, you definitely need to make a schedule for yourself - make a calendar and write into this calendar what I want to do this week: read a few pages, write some homework. To evaluate your progress, your growth and achievements at the end of the week or at the end of the month. And it is necessary, if possible, to allocate one school day. Since people work, there is one evening dedicated to studying. To know that I am keeping this evening free, and for this evening you can prepare in advance and collect material. I already know that I don’t have time to read today, but I’ll have a school evening, then I’ll read everything I need.

What else is very good to do is to find a circle of people who would control me. A circle of people to whom I would have some kind of accountability, who would ask me how my studies were going, what I had accomplished, etc. This is the most important thing to develop some kind of consistency.

Learning a new language is real!

Part-time students choose their final degree. In theory, they can get a master's degree if they study languages. But statistics show that about 4-5 students study Greek, and in order to study Hebrew, Greek is required, so only 2-3 students remain for Hebrew.

Students study non-living languages, so they only need to learn to read them. Of course, correspondence students need to make more efforts; their atmosphere and circumstances are different. But if a person in a full-time program is capable, then he is also capable in a correspondence program. And if a person in a correspondence program is unable to learn languages, then the full-time program will not change anything much for him, there will simply be more pressure.

Learning a language is more a matter of motivation than personal ability.

The importance of communication

The correspondence program lacks one important factor, which students do not notice so much during their studies, but you can constantly hear about it from graduates - this is communication, constant communication. Part-time students are here together for two weeks, but during those two weeks they don't get to socialize as much as students who live together for four years. And these four years include both personal communication and theological, thematic communication. Those conversations that begin during classes continue after, in free time. That is, full-time students experience the material that is taught more intensely.

LIST OF DOCUMENTS

1) A petition addressed to the rector (a sample petition can be downloaded here).

2) Recommendation-characteristic (direction):

- for applicants for clergy - a recommendation-characteristic of the ruling bishop, certified by the seal of the sending diocese (except for applicants from the Belgorod and Stary Oskol diocese);

- for applicants of the laity - a recommendation-characteristic of a priest from the place of passing church obedience and a recommendation-direction of the ruling bishop, certified by the seal of the sending diocese (for applicants from the Belgorod and Stary Oskol diocese - only a recommendation-characteristic of a priest from the place of passing church obedience, certified by the seal of the church).

3) Autobiography (in free form).

4) Questionnaire (download here).

5) Certificate of ordination as a reader (for readers);

6) Certificate of ordination to the priesthood (deacon) (for

clergy);

7) Certificate of tonsure (for monastics);

A copy of the latest decree of the ruling bishop on appointment to the parish (for

clergy)

9) Compulsory medical insurance policy issued at the place of permanent residence (only for citizens of the Russian Federation);

10) Medical certificate – form 086у (original or copy), required: fluorography (original);

11) Certificates from neuropsychiatric and drug treatment clinics at the place of residence;

12) One photo 9x12

13) Three 3x4 photographs (for clerics - in spiritual vestments).

14) A copy of the education document.

15) A copy of the completed passport pages.

16) Baptismal certificate (copy) or certificate from the parish confirming baptism.

17) Wedding certificate and marriage certificate (for married people) (copies).

Achilles

Views: 7,044

We repeat the text of 2022.

I studied a lot in my life, but most often it was of little use. I studied in the music school as a child - I suffered for five years, and quit in my last year.

I went to the history department, but a year later I changed my mind and decided to transfer to philosophy. As a result, I studied for two years at the history department, and then, having passed all the necessary exams for the previous period, I transferred to the third year of philosophy.

Spiritual education also came out of nowhere. To become a priest, I went to study at the two-year Theological School at the Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) Orthodox University (TsPU), by correspondence, while simultaneously working as a teacher in a village school (the first year). Therefore, in my first year, I passed the sessions hastily and secretly from the school management, where the headmistress was a communist and did not tolerate Orthodox teachers. But I studied at school for two years.

Having become a priest, I relaxed, I didn’t strive to get more education, because already in the first years of state university I understood the simple principle of a liberal arts education: if you want to be smart, read books. And for this you don’t need lectures, seminars, professors, or a diploma. Moreover, they only take time away from quiet reading.

But then in 2009 the era of the pontificate of Kirill (Gundyaev) began. And the highest command ordered all priests who do not have a seminary education to receive it. Theological school was now scarce.

Many venerable aged priests were shocked by this decision. Some of them were ordained in the early nineties, when they did not ask for any education at all, but only hastily taught how to swing a censer and serve the liturgy. And many of the priests were some of the police, some of the collective farmers, some of the techies, so their brains were in no way attuned to the wisdom of theology and other tricky homiletics.

But the decrees of Patriarch Kirill are not discussed - everyone understood this. Therefore, the first wave of priests-oligarchs went to study by correspondence at our local central educational institution: dean, second, third, fourth... persons of the diocese . Moreover, studying in the correspondence sector cost a lot of money.

For some time, the rest of the priests somehow excused themselves from this painful duty, but in 2011 the nuts were tightened and the clamps were tightened, so the bishop announced at the bishop’s meeting that if any of the fathers is not going to study, then the question will arise about sending him out of state. The fathers creaked and groaned, but there was nowhere to go. It got to the point of absurdity: the dean of the theological faculty of the same CPU began to study at the CPU, since he did not have a seminary education, but he himself was a doctor of historical sciences. But still he was taken straight into the third year.

I didn’t want to study at our local sharashka, especially since I never had any extra money. Therefore, I decided to enter the Moscow Theological Seminary, naively believing that they would take into account my secular education and two years of spiritual school.

I will tell you what came out of this enterprise in these small notes, which were written on my LiveJournal page right on the heels of it.

July 8 , 2011 _

The Matrix has you…

It’s not for nothing that I recently read the book “Alma Matrix” on the topic of seminary life... Then, after reading it, I exclaimed: “It’s so good that I didn’t study at the seminary!”

And here you go: the inevitable fate, called “circular from the Patriarchate”: all uneducated scribblers like me will certainly be driven into the seminary this year with a filthy broom...

In general, the only choice was: where? It was possible, of course, to take the documents to our CPU, but its level was 21 thousand rubles. per year I was not inspired, so I decided to take the documents, of course, to the IDS. It seems to be free there for now.

I called the seminary office and tried to find out my possibilities, because on the MDAiS website it is written in black font on a white field that after college it is possible to enroll in the second or even third year (class) of the seminary. But in the office the young man broke me off, saying that the school these days is garbage (we need to tell our bishop this good news), nothing counts, for two years I wasted my pants over the catechism (by the way, I learned the entire Philaret catechism by heart), c/ with language, all sorts of statutes, histories, theologies and other missiologies... The only clue was given: bow to each specific philosophy teacher, maybe he will deign to re-credit philosophy for you - a philosophy teacher by training (or maybe he will not deign). The same applies to other items.

July 15, 2011

I arrived in Posad and went to the correspondence sector to hand over my documents. It’s quite shabby in this sector... I talked in the office with a woman accepting documents. I realized that I was in the theater of the absurd.

Firstly, there is no installation session, i.e. you buy a CD with tickets and a list of references and prepare as you wish.

Secondly, according to her, it is quite possible that many subjects will be counted against me (such as foreign language, philosophy, Latin, c/s and the like, but I will find out about this... only directly during the exam (!). That is, either prepare anyway , or risk catching a freebie, or not catching it.

Thirdly, you can’t choose a semester’s work on your own, just stupidly from the proposed list - no one is interested in your creativity and intelligence at all, as long as you complete the formalities, even copy it from someone, like a schoolboy.

After that, they quite sincerely told me, to my surprise, that, they say, everything is clear to everyone: after all, priests, just to get a diploma, still have no time to study seriously... As a consolation, they showed me a list of hundreds of priests who were retained for the second year in the first grade . Sharashka is a sharashka.

September 23, 2011

Today I received a notification from the IBC that they deigned to admit me to the first grade (first-grader, first-grader!!), they told me when the session was. But I really liked one phrase: “In the near future you need to receive study guides and familiarize yourself with the rules for correspondence students”...

Hm. Should I drive from Volgograd to Moscow to get textbooks, or what?.. And I should familiarize myself with the rules... where? how?.. It was weak, for example, to send me these rules in the same envelope or by email?

As for teaching aids: in the summer I bought a disk at the MDS office for 100 rubles. There are questions and tutorials. I have chosen the subjects in which I will take this session: for example, Basic Theology. Judging by the questions, the basis for the answer is A. Osipov’s book “The Path of Reason in the Search for Truth.” Great, I download the book and start putting everything together. Bottom line: out of 70 questions, there are no answers to 22...

Even more fun is the subject “natural science apologetics” - a mishmash of physical chemistry and theology. Teacher's notes: out of 32 questions, there are no answers to 14... But 40 pages of the notes are devoted to stupid pictures: skulls of supposed “human ancestors”... And why the hell, I apologize for my English?

And where do I get the “theological understanding of the anthropic principle”? Or “a theological assessment of ethology and sociobiology”?.. I, of course, can rummage around on the Internet about physics or cosmology - but where can I theologize this? And why, one might ask, was 100 rubles paid?

I haven't dug into the rest yet. Liturgics is a muddy outline, until you find something in it you’ll break your head, but thank you, at least I already have eight years of experience, I took the basics of the charter at school, and the Internet helped a lot here.

Christmas trees, two months before the session, and who will do the repairs in the church for me: sawing boards and turning screws?.. And why do you, comrade authorities, need all this boasting?.. So that there is a crust? I already have two: should I paper the walls?..

September 26, 2011

I'm sitting here trying to put together all the answers to Basic Theology. One of the exam questions is: “Hypothesis of the “invention” of religion.” Osipov in his “The Path of Reason in Search of Truth” does not have such a topic at all, only a fleeting mention in passing. The only thing Google was able to do was to provide several links in different places to the same slippery mention by Osipov and to the curriculum for the Basic course. theology. I only dug up brief abstracts on the topic.

And how do poor fathers study somewhere in the wilderness, without Google?..

October 12, 2011

I’m rereading my notes on the history of the Universal Church, preparing for the session. I read about all sorts of schisms and heresies, once again becoming convinced that their main cause was not disagreements on dogmatic issues or false opinions, but almost always banal human pride: someone was passed over, they installed not him as bishop, but a hated competitor, whom they didn’t appreciate it, they offended me, they drove me away, they didn’t give me titles, ranks or awards. And in revenge, this person, to spite his offenders, begins to hold the opposite opinion or joins the enemy of his enemy, and then everything starts rolling like a snowball. It wasn’t always like this, of course, but in most cases it’s exactly like that.

October 27, 2011

I’m reading Losev here in my spare time in order to pass the exam in Basic Theology, about his definition of religion in “Dialectics of Myth.” Everything is smart, substantial, so to speak, and suddenly bam:

“Religion, in addition to this general historical mythologism, by its very nature is extremely close to myth. After all, it is primarily a personal, synthetic being, and not an isolated abstract self-affirmation of the individual. In its very principle it already contains something mythical. It cannot help but blossom into myth. You cannot, for example, be a Christian and walk around with your legs bare above the knees and your arms bare above the shoulders, as required by the latest fashion of 1925–1928. I personally can't stand women with their heads uncovered. In these latter there is some subtle fornication, which is usually liked by men. You also cannot be a Christian and love the so-called. “fine literature”, which 99% consists of tedious chewing gum on the topic of how he loved very much, but she did not love, or how he cheated, and she remained faithful, or how he, a scoundrel, abandoned her, and she hanged herself or it was not she who hanged herself, but someone else, etc. etc. Not only “fine literature”, but all art, with the Beethovens and Wagners, is nothing in comparison with the old famous dogmatist “Worldwide Glory” or the Transfiguration Troparion and Kontakion; and no symphony can compare with the beauty and meaning of bell ringing. The Christian religion requires the mythology of bell ringing. A Christian, if he does not know how to ring a bell tower or does not know the eight church voices, or at least does not know how to open and fire the censer in time, has not yet mastered all the subtleties of the dialectical method. The ringing of bells, in addition, is part of the divine service; he cleanses the air from the spirits of evil in high places. That is why the demon tries to prevent the ringing. Further, one cannot also be a Jew and not be circumcised and not do what happens after circumcision, just as a Catholic cannot gloss over the issue of the Filioque and not seek the sensory appearance of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints, and just as a communist cannot love art. Mythology obliges."

And now I almost didn’t get it: is he kidding me or is he serious? About short sleeves, Beethoven’s “nothing” before the bells and the Christian’s dialectical method by lighting a censer?..

November 14, 2011

I looked at the MDA website. You will enjoy it too (abbreviated, full text at the link ).

Author - reader Viktor Deev, 1st year student (Department of Church and Practical Disciplines)

“By the grace of God, I entered the Moscow Theological Academy from the Perervinsky Theological Seminary, which I graduated in 2009, after completing parochial obedience as an assistant inspector for educational work. (...)

Arriving at the MDA on August 8, I found myself in a spiritual oasis, where student life has flourished for centuries. Seeing a large number of students, you involuntarily glorify God and wonder how young men and women come from different parts of the world, ready to serve God. And studying at the MDA is already the initial stage of serving the Heavenly Father.

So, as an applicant, you begin to pay attention to everything, and it’s clear why. You make sure that there are no mistakes on your part, you prepare for exams, but you don’t fully know how you will pass them. Everything is unfamiliar, everything is new. One of the most fervent prayers occurs during admission and passing exams, right up to the announcement of the results: whether you got in or not. I remember that one applicant did not enter. His words: “Everything is the will of God. I’ll try to enroll next year,” they touched me to the depths of my soul...”

I wonder if studying at the MDA is the “initial stage of serving” God, then what is studying at the MDS? Dust at the foot of the initial step?..

November 22, 2011

First day of kindergarten. Oh, sorry - in the seminary.

It was funny as hell. My soul rejoiced and trembled when I learned that the semester’s essay was written in... a student’s notebook by hand; when I, along with more than a hundred other priest-students, were taught how to format references and bibliographies; when I saw at the stand that it turns out that it was possible to write a semester-long essay on the OLD TESTAMENT on the topic “THE HOLY APOSTLE PETER.”

Well, now I’ll become smart and get a SPIRITUAL EDUCATION! I’ll start getting it tomorrow with... dictation.

November 23, 2011

Today we wrote a dictation in the “Romashka” kindergarten. There is no other way to call it, because the text consisted of five or six small sentences, the teacher read almost syllable by syllable, hinting in every possible way at all the punctuation marks. But the fathers were worried, one of them was rolled up from me.

November 25, 2011

Today I calmly re-read philosophy, then I sang in chorus with Abbot Nicephorus and practiced before the exam. Then there was a lecture on catechism, conducted by the old professor K. Skurat. I was shocked to the core by the crusading fathers who asked the professor questions at the Sunday school level of the village of Zapupyrkino... To the professor’s question “when did the Lord establish the sacrament of marriage?” - someone shouted: “In Cana of Galilee!”

Another question was also from the out section: “Please explain what Adam’s disobedience was in paradise, otherwise everything there is blurry and incomprehensible...” It was the young priest who asked. The professor answered well, aptly, with humor, but many other questions were of a similar mental level. Some questions were purely from priestly practice, about the funeral service for suicides, although any priest from the parish should know that to resolve this issue there are not professors, but the diocesan bishop... No be, no me, no crow, but some on Osipov They didn’t fail to attack me, like, how dare he say something wrong about something...

November 26, 2011

Today I was really (or really?) unlucky. I went to school in the morning, got caught in heavy rain in Posad (and was without an umbrella), slipped, almost knocked my phone completely off, then sat with wet feet at a lecture on biblical history. Here again there was no luck: Archimandrite Venedikt said that he could re-test the subject if the head of the sector allows it, and this is unlikely to happen... And it’s a shame, judging by the words of the teacher, they will ask almost at the level of the “Law of God”, although I’m serious at school taught both Lopukhin and Arch. Averkia (Tausheva)…

With the catechism, or rather, the retest promised by Professor Skurat, it turned out to be nonsense: instead of the professor, some pouty-looking citizen in a jacket came and simply kicked all the priests of our second group out of the classroom (and today only the first group took the test), without even wanting to talk... In As a result, everything is postponed until the next session.

In principle, it turns out as the head of the sector, Archpriest Sergiy Maratkanov, honestly warned at the beginning: “These are all YOUR problems...”

November 28, 2011

Today we took the Liturgics test, people failed hard, confusing basic things, although the teacher didn’t fail, he gave a B for things that weren’t worth giving a C for.

And then there was English. Where the teacher said that he would re-count university grades, but in a strange way: only for a C, and those who want a better grade will pass like everyone else... I spat on the future certificate of merit and became a C student.

And the head of the sector sent me to... hmm, in general, to pass on the second round all the beauty that was in the spiritual school: like, you had a little bit there and wow, but we had wow and wow... Hmm, I would say about your wow, but I won’t say anything...

November 30, 2011

I passed the basic kindergarten theology course and answered the question “What is not religion.” I honestly told the teacher that for such questions people’s hands are torn off in polite society, because it is impossible to answer intelligibly and to the point, and just smear it all over the table. The teacher chuckled and gave him an "A".

December 2, 2011

Today, probably through the intercession of St. Roman Sladkopevets, successfully passed the singing exam with a 4 with a minus, and the minus was even included in the report.

April 3, 2012

I sit quietly, don’t bother anyone, and do a deeply spiritual thing: I copy out a semester’s work on the sacred history of the New Testament from a printout into a student notebook. Every time I turn the page, I catch myself frantically trying to “save the page.” Over the past five years, I haven’t scribbled on paper with a fountain pen as much as I do today, thanks to MDS... And I also have to rewrite another piece of work.

All this is called “spiritual education of the clergy” or, simply put, “what the hell….”

Absentee fathers go out to eat

May 12, 2012

“According to God’s law, the priest always gave Pavka five. He knew all the troparia, the New and Old Testaments by heart: he knew exactly on what day what was done by God. Pavka decided to ask Father Vasily.

At the very first law lesson, as soon as the priest sat down in his chair, Pavel raised his hand and, having received permission to speak, stood up:

“Father, why does the teacher in the senior class say that the earth lasts for a million years, and not, as in God’s law, five thousand...” and immediately sank at the shrill cry of Father Vasily:

-What did you say, bastard? This is how you learn the word of God!

Before Pavel had time to utter a word, the priest grabbed him by both ears and began slamming his head against the wall. A minute later, beaten and frightened, he was thrown into the corridor.” ("As the Steel Was Tempered")

In general, uh... in short, today I safely FAILED the catechism... Yes, yes, the same catechism that I passed exactly 10 years ago with an A. Just sur...

No, don’t think, I learned it, but not in the way Associate Professor O.V. considered necessary. Starodubtsev, who thinks that pop is Google, issuing verbatim quotations from Scripture, including chapters and verses, like a machine gun... Close to the text, in my own words is not accepted, so I was sent to the fall... I have not experienced such a shock for 20 years, after that , how at the age of 12 he deliberately failed the accordion exam, having the firm intention of quitting music school.

May 15, 2012

It’s already getting funny: no, I didn’t fail the c/s language - I was simply not allowed to take the test, because I didn’t have completed homework in my notebook, which for some reason the fathers knew about from the last session, but I didn’t... I went back to the last I attended the seminary session eight times, looked at all the stands, and there was nothing. I can’t imagine how they managed to dig up this homework. Of course, I didn’t attend the preliminary lecture in the fall, maybe they gave it there. The teacher ignored my desire to take at least five tickets at a time and the fact that I had an A in the class: “You studied by correspondence, you yourself understand what it is like, correspondence education is not serious...” I looked at the teacher for a long, long time, thoughtfully, I wanted to ask: and what kind of education does he give if they don’t teach anything at all, but only ask? At least we had recitations at the school, and I worked through the entire textbook and took all the tests... But I kept silent, respecting the gray hair of my fellow associate professor.

November 11, 2012

I recommend: the best patented remedy for insomnia - five minutes of reading the Catechism - and you are already dreaming blissful dreams.

December 1, 2012

I returned from the session, completed my debts on catechism and c/s. During the catechism, associate professor Starodubtsev continued, as last year, to troll the priests, made fun of everyone, confused them while answering, and asked completely left-wing questions that were not related to the topic. True, he suddenly gave one deacon a machine gun only because he had five children. The deacon couldn’t believe his ears and left in a daze.

The assistant professor failed one student on the same ticket as me in the spring. But here I was a scientist, I didn’t go without preparation, and when he called me, he hesitated, widened his eyes: “Oh! Pluzhnikov! Who spends a lot of time on the Internet, yes, yes!” But without any so-and-so, I took the first ticket and answered five.

Church Slavonic in general was banal: a quiet, meek abbot came, handed out cards with troparia for the twelve feasts, it was necessary to determine the type of verb, give a translation. In general, childish babble, but almost all the fathers stuttered through the roof, having difficulty distinguishing an aorist from a perfect, and even a verb from a participle. I answered, and the abbot decided to give me a task with an asterisk, he said, smiling slyly: “Can you say this troparion to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary not in the perfect, as it is given, but in the aorist?” - which I demonstrated to him, receiving a legitimate A.

At the Lavra I went to the Spiritual Church, listened to a sermon after the liturgy by one gray-haired priest about the Freemasons, the vile corrupt stinking West and our holy “conscientious” state, which is “the Holder,” etc. etc. I almost felt sick...

April 8, 2013

Studying at MDS is an educational thing. You can learn a lot about the teachers and students. All are different, but some are colorful. For example, among teachers.

On one of the first days of the session, I went to a review lecture on the history of Russia (I wanted to ask about re-testing). I was literally half a minute late, I didn’t hear the teacher introduce himself, a young, plump, beardless guy in a cassock (but obviously not in office).

The boy sat down and began:

— Today we will give a review lecture on the history of Russia. To better understand the history of Russia, we will look at it using the example of... the life of the Russian clergy of the 19th century. abroad, and specifically in Germany... This is my dissertation, which I defended at the Moscow Academy of Sciences.

The fathers blinked their eyes in bewilderment. And the teacher opened his dissertation and, without hesitation, buried himself in it and began to mumble through the text:

- The goals of our research... Objectives...

One dad modestly raised his hand and wanted to ask a question, but the teacher suggested that all questions should be asked at the end. Dad sat for another minute, then shrugged his shoulders and left.

And the young talent continued:

— So, in order to understand the life of the Russian clergy in Germany, let’s first consider what Germany is.

???

- The first Germanic tribes appeared... A missionary such and such came to them... Then prince such and such... The German duchies were such and such...

After five minutes of this nonsense, I couldn’t stand it:

“Excuse me,” I ask with the most polite mockery, “I’m a little late: is this EXACTLY a lecture on the history of Russia?”

The young man naively patted his eyes at me:

- Yes of course!

I sat for a couple more minutes, enjoyed the virtuosity of this absurdity, defiantly stood up and left. A couple more people came out after me, but the teacher only glanced sideways in their direction and continued muttering his nonsense...

January 1, 2014

Here Kuraev was kicked out of the MDA professors, and in a month and a half I have a correspondence exam in missiology, and as the only textbook, Kuraev’s notes were given, and the questions for the exam were compiled by him... So think now: I bet everyone will give a fuck, they will say it didn’t happen there is no textbook in the world and no Kuraev and in general, there will be other questions.

In general, MDS is such a crap - every time I take apart the disk with tickets and notes and almost swear: sometimes they will only give programs and tickets, but no notes, then as in Comparative Theology this year, they gave two types of tickets and two different notes, and now you’re racking your brain, whether to study everything, or toss a coin... Then they’ll give you a piece of the notes, and look for the rest wherever you want. Lots of mistakes, repetitions, disgustingly compiled materials. It feels like this is not the main theological school of the country, but the Mukhodrischensk seminary from the Zapupyra province.

February 20, 2014

I’m preparing a paper here on homiletics (bue-bue), I came across lecture notes from the 50s on the development of preaching in Russia. The summary ends purely within the framework of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee:

“In the sermons of this time, along with topics about spiritual life, spiritual and moral improvement, attention is also paid to peacemaking, the problem of protecting world peace and educating the flock in the spirit of patriotism.

Of the published sermons, many are devoted to the theme of protecting world peace and the peacemaking ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy was a true peacemaker and tireless preacher of peace. In almost all of his Easter and Christmas messages, in many special messages, he calls on Christians both in our Motherland and in other countries to preserve peace throughout the world. In his messages, he condemns all types of violence and aggression and calls on people of good will to unite and prevent the outbreak of new wars on earth.

In addition to peacemaking themes, the published sermons and messages of Patriarch Alexy include the theme of peaceful creative work for the good of our Motherland. Patriarch Alexy tirelessly calls on the multimillion-strong all-Russian flock: “We will do our best to help strengthen peace, and each, to the best of his ability, will contribute his share of labor to the common creative work of increasing the well-being of the people with prayer, may the Lord grant His blessing to our labors; may he give joy to our hearts, and may no one take our joy from us.”

For his great services to the Motherland, our Government awarded Patriarch Alexy with four Orders of the Red Banner of Labor.”

Nothing has changed, the same Politburo, only now not for “world peace”, but for the “Russian world” and “holy war”.

March 12, 2014

The main difference between the MDS correspondence teachers is their arrogant, disgusting, disregard for students who are not Kazan boys, but, as it were, priests too. Not all are like that, but the vast majority are. No one is interested in a specific student, his problems, his opportunities. One venerable teacher-archpriest (I will do without last names) even recoiled from a student, like a leper, when he tried to explain that he was sick and asked if it was possible to take the exam with another group.

“What do you want?..,” the protopedagogue said. - Why are you bothering with your problems? Do I have nothing better to do than listen to you? And in general, to come here to you and receive you - do I have anything else to do?!

I just wanted to say: well, if I was sitting at home, why did I bother to become a teacher?

For some reason, other teachers are firmly convinced that only their subject exists in the world, and the student must know it at the level of a specialist. I don’t know if there is such a terrible system anywhere else, but I personally took 10 subjects in 5 days, 2 per day, so I had a maximum of a few hours in the evening to prepare for each. And this despite the fact that I can at least allow myself to brainstorm, but many priests have hardly read a couple of books in their lives...

But the teacher doesn’t care about this, just as he doesn’t care about the fact that we have tickets and specific notes or textbooks given to us on disk. No, the teacher has no problem asking questions that are not in the notes, saying he must know everything. It’s useless to object—they don’t listen.

For example, a teacher of Byzantine studies most of all requires that the student know all the dates of the beginning and end of the reign of each emperor (and there were about forty of them from the 4th to the 11th centuries).

But the most common thing for most teachers is a terrible concern about the family ties of the heroes of their subjects. So, I passed liturgics on the raid because the teacher asked if I knew what kind of family relationship there were between John of Damascus and Cosmas of Maium, the creators of the canons. And I knew! And it turned out great.

On other subjects it was even worse, it was necessary to answer: who for Constantine the Great was Julian the Apostate, and who, for example, Maximian (weak to answer?). Or: what were the names of the son and wife killed by Constantine? Or: what was the name of Pope Theodosius the Younger? And Uncle Justinian?

In general, delving into small details was the basis: I was almost overwhelmed by the history of the Russian Church when I told (attention!!) THE LIFE OF SERGIOUS OF RADONEZH! I dared to forget the name of the saint’s younger brother. Sergius, as was the name of the abbot who tonsured him, and (oh, God!): I didn’t know in which city Sergius was ordained! Because I prepared using Znamensky’s textbook, but there was no such data there.

But not all teachers are assholes. There were some cute ones too. The nicest one was the religious studies teacher, priest. A. Zabelin. Before the exam, he said this, a little shyly:

- Fathers and brothers! I ask you: if among you there are subdeacons of rulers or secretaries of venerable abbots, or some other bigwigs, but you don’t know the subject, don’t try to pass. And then your bosses call me and demand to give me an assessment... This is not good, brothers. I came to the Church of Christ, and not somewhere else... This is disgusting. It’s only important to me that you get benefit from the subject, so that you can explain some basics to people, and not get a grade.

But, unfortunately, there were very, very few such fathers.

***

This is where the brief sketches about the unfinished seminary education end. After completing three full courses, I didn’t go to the fourth because I left the Russian Orthodox Church completely. But for another year and a half I received calls for sessions by email...

***

A small addition to the seminar cycle, no longer directly related to studies:

March 13, 2014

On the last day of my stay in Posad, following a tip from a fellow priest who identified me (as a censor and author of critical articles), I visited this place:

This Orthodox and patriotic book store is located very close to the correspondence department: st. 1st Shock Army, 4a (is this store there now? - approx. 2022). In this store, my fellow student saw a book about the youth Slavik Chebarkulsky (about whose cult I wrote an article ).

I went there. It just turned out that in the store there was only me and the seller, a man with gray hair. And I was without a cassock.

I walked around the store. There is a lot of good literature, even scientific and theological. But there is a whole closet of “patriotic”, read national-fascist, like T. Gracheva, all sorts of pro-Stalin books and the like. And on a special shelf there are books about Slavik, “Elder Samuil with God” , “Elder Anthony” - in general, complete nonsense.

I'm approaching. I ask (in a very sweet voice):

— Tell me: who owns this store?

The man immediately tensed and frowned:

- What do you want?

- Nothing, just interesting.

- Orthodox publishing houses!..

“Excuse me,” I politely doubt, “it doesn’t happen like that: it’s fine for one publishing house, but it’s unlikely that way...

The man starts to get angry:

- What do you want?! Did you come here to buy books or something?

- I just want to know... Is this classified information?

- I will not answer this question! Are you some kind of inspector doing an inspection?!

“Okay,” I’m trying to lower the boiling point, “the next question then: can I see you?” — I invite him to the shelf with those books. The man purses his lips angrily, hides his eyes and does not move:

- I'm not going anywhere!! WHAT DO YOU NEED?!!

- Hmm... Well, okay: tell me, do you know these books? Do you know that they are sectarian? Why are you selling them?

The man’s reaction was amazing: he jumped up, again closing his eyes, darted left and right, grabbed some kind of little bag, and began to crush it in his hands. Then he ran to the door:

- So! I have an urgent technical break!! Leave the premises immediately! Go away!! - and stomps around in the doorway, frantically shoving the key into the keyhole.

I was stunned:

-Are you crazy? What are you?..

- Hurry up, leave!!

I went out and went down the stairs. He ran down the corner, watched me approach the exit, and rushed back to his store on the second floor...

Here’s a funny story: next to the Lavra, a seminary-academy, professors with the dates of the reigns of the emperors of Byzantium, and the fact that 100 meters away from them sectarian crap has been sold, perhaps for years, no one cares...

***

PS After reading these notes, someone may exclaim: well, here we go again - only criticism and criticism, rubbish, only about the bad, nothing about the good.

No, there was also a lot of good things: there was the Lavra itself with its unique atmosphere, there was the spirit of St. Sergius, there was the nice provincial Posad itself. There was a house where Vasily Rozanov lived, and a temple where his funeral was held (and where I stayed at the hotel). There was the Gethsemane monastery, and the graves of Rozanov and Leontyev. There were Abramtsevo, Semkhoz and Muranovo. There were hotel cats and a lost St. Bernard who met me on the way from the Lavra to the monastery, near the house where Prishvin lived...

But all this is for other stories. Perhaps those that will never be written...

Illustration: building of the MDS correspondence sector

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