The MThA representatives took part in a webinar "The presence of religious educational institutions in the informational environment"

On December 1, 2020, the Russian Orthodox Church Educational Committee hold a webinar "Presence of theological educational institutions in the informational environment". 

The event was attended by 82 people, among them there was the Study Committee management and staff, representatives of the higher religious educational institutions responsible for representing educational institutions on the Internet as well as teachers of the discipline "Information activity of the Orthodox parish." Priest Alexander Starodubtsev, Specialist of the Study Committee, participated as a moderator of the event.

В качестве модератора в мероприятии участвовал специалист Учебного комитета священник Александр Стародубцев.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Chairman of the Study Committee, opened the webinar. In his welcoming speech, he outlined a main aim of the webinar as developing an adequate strategy in the information field around and within the Church. He noted that the webinar was being held on the eve of the commemoration St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. The saint was a model for creating effective connections between the Church and a modern society. 

“The saint corresponded with representatives of all social levels. His circulars, letters, sermons are an excellent source of church wisdom. Now the time is different, but the task of adequate presence and up-to-date response to the informational field around and within the Church is extremely urgent. Our webinar is dedicated to it".

E. E Zhukovskaya, PhD in Sociological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Philology Department and Journalism at the St. John’s the Theologian University, teacher of the Sretenskaya Theological Seminary, teacher of the Church-wide postgraduate and doctoral studies of Sts. Cyril and Methodia, laureate of the Makariyev Prize, made a presentation “Preparing pastors for service: what awaits us in the near future. Problems and prospects of mastering media instruments at the theological educational institutions". She paid special attention on developing media work within the Church and anticipated ethical issues of the digital environment.

Особое внимание она уделила необходимости усиления информационной работы внутри Церкви и воспитанию этики поведения в цифровой среде. Докладчик отметила принципиальную важность практической направленности подготовки будущих пастырей к работе в информационном пространстве. Для этих целей необходима организация практик и стажировок. Наиболее подготовленные преподаватели ведущих духовных школ, по ее словам, могли бы обеспечить необходимый уровень преподавания и оказать необходимую помощь региональным семинариям.

Заместитель председателя Синодального отдела по взаимоотношениям Церкви с обществом и СМИ В.В. Кипшидзе  коснулся темы «Информационное поле в области религии».

V.V. Kipshidze, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and Media, touched upon the topic "Informational field in the religious context". He noted the high importance of family education and culture in any ways of communication. A high cultural level is especially important if a person acts as a representative of a seminary, a parish or a diocese.

S.V. Zubov, Specialist of the Study Committee, Senior lecturer of the Moscow Theological Academy, spoke about state requirements for the educational organisations’ websites, their structure and content. He announced a list of regulations, which touch upon presentation of an educational organisation in media sources, and explained some peculiarities of the new Methodological Recommendations applied for theological institutions.

В выступлении были озвучены нормативные акты, регламентирующие представление информации об образовательной организации в открытых источниках и особенности применения в духовных образовательных организациях новых Методических рекомендаций представления информации об образовательной организации высшего образования в открытых источниках с учетом соблюдения требований законодательства в сфере образования.

Во второй части доклада были рассмотрены практические стороны реализации духовными образовательными организациями Государственных требований к сайтам образовательных организаций: особенности и качество наполнения сайтов, пути решения существующих и возможных проблем.

Главный редактор сайта Учебного комитета, помощник проректора по воспитательной работе МДА О.А. Суханов коснулся особенностей присутствия в социальных сетях учащихся духовных школ.

O. A. Sukhanov, Editor-in-chief of the Study Committee website, Assistant to the Vice-rector for educational work at the Moscow Theological Academy, talked of the theological school students’ activity on social networks. Changes that have a worldwide effect on social networks and a level of integration in the digital environment put a question of separating a real life from its “digital footprint”. As a result, it is especially important to prepare future pastors to face such difficulties.

Priest Alexander Starodubtsev, Specialist of the Educational Committee, made a report on “Technical and other aspects required for the religious educational institutions’ presence on the Internet”. In his report, he used a large amount of up-to-date statistics giving examples of official seminarian websites and pages on such social media as VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube.

Topics raised active discussions.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Chairman of the Study Committee concluded the event by citing the words of St. Philaret of Moscow: "Keep the dignity of a place you serve in".

Study Committee website/MThA Press Office