The III Forum of Orthodox Students "Vstrecha" Held

On December 6 and 7, 2025, the now-traditional III Forum of Orthodox Students "Vstrecha" was held at the Moscow Theological Academy. The goal of the forum, as before, remains the consolidation of efforts and exchange of experience among students from various theological and secular higher education institutions on issues of Christian mission among student youth.

The forum was held under the auspices of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, in partnership with the fellowship of theological schools of the Moscow region, the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechization of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Commission for Work with Universities and the Scientific Community under the Diocesan Council of Moscow, and the Council for Interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church with Organizations of Higher and Secondary Professional Education in the Sphere of Spiritual-Moral Education.

The organizers of the festival were the Moscow Theological Academy, the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, the Sergiyev Posad Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Association of Orthodox Scholars. The co-founder was the Youth Department of the Pesochnensk Diocese of the Kaluga Metropolis.

The forum welcomed students from all over Russia, from Sakhalin to Kaliningrad. The forum was attended by representatives of 12 theological educational institutions, such as MThA, OCAD, PSTGU, SDA, RPU, SFI, Kolomna, Perervinskaya, Pskov-Pechersky, Tula, Samara, and Yaroslavl Theological Seminaries, as well as nearly 60 secular educational institutions, such as Moscow State University (MSU), St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU), ATISO, AmSU, BelSU, VGIK, VSPU, VSU, HSE, VyatSU, GUZ, GUP, IvSU, KSTU, KSU, KubSU, KURO, MAI, MGIK, MGIMO, MGK, MSMU, MSPU, MGTU-MASI, MGUTU, MIIGAiK, MIIT, MIREA, MSPU, MSPI, MIPT, MFUA, MPEI, the Scientific and Practical Institute of Personality Psychology, OGBPOU, PSUAS, PSU, RANEPA, RSAU-MTAA, RSUH, RSPU, RSU, RUTIS, RNIMU, RosUniMed, RUDN, RUS "GCOLIFK", RKE, SSU, SPbSUT, SPGK, Capital Business College, TvSU, UDG, VSPU, FIAN, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Shchepkin Theatre University, and SWSU.

This year, the forum's format became two-day for the first time. Participants gathered at the Moscow Theological Academy on the afternoon of December 6, Saturday, and began work in the format of student sessions, moderated by fellow students, which allowed participants to speak more freely and discuss the proposed topics.

After the student sessions, the students participated in the Sunday All-Night Vigil and evening prayers together with MThA students.

After the evening rule, one of the warmest and most pleasant events of the forum took place, a joint student creative evening, where participants performed their favorite songs with guitar accompaniment and read heartfelt poems on Christian themes.

The second day of the forum began with the Divine Liturgy at the Intercession Academic Church, led by the Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Vicar of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, Bishop Kirill of Sergiyev Posad and Dmitrov.

After the Liturgy, the Vice-Rector for Licensing and Accreditation of MThA, Priest Andrei Lysevich, performed a moleben for the beginning of a good work and for the successful passing of the upcoming exam session for students.

In his address to the forum participants, Bishop Kirill noted the importance for modern youth of live offline meetings in conditions of ever-increasing information flows, which seem to wash away genuine, profound meanings from the human soul.

Furthermore, at the welcoming gathering, the editor-in-chief of the student journal "Vstrecha", MThA postgraduate student Lev Kutsenko, presented to the audience the new, 46th issue of the journal, dedicated to the theme "Death/Life".

The forum then continued its work in a sectional format.

The most vivid section of the forum was "To Tell About Christ Through Music and Cinema", which featured a meeting of participants with Vyacheslav Butusov and his family. Students saw a wonderful example of striving to speak about Christ through one's creativity. The marvelous example of a true Christian family and the caring, touchingly loving wife of Vyacheslav, Anzhelika Estoeva, deserves special mention.

The section "Mission Among Youth on the Internet" gathered representatives of the blogging community and students interested in starting their own media projects.

Within the section "Social Movement of Orthodox Students", representatives of Christian clubs from various secular universities discussed options and forms of interaction.

At the fourth section, held in the format of a round table on the topic "Philology and Theology: Questions of Methodology and Practice of Interdisciplinary Research", representatives of the professorial-teaching community of secular universities engaged in research touching upon theological issues spoke:

• Bishop Pitirim of Skopin and Shatsk;
• Deacon Igor Ryazantsev, Deputy Chairman of the IPO ARS, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor at PSTGU;, заместитель председателя МПОО ОПУ, доктор экономических наук, профессор ПСТГУ; 
• Hierodeacon Nathanael (Bobylev), Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor, Master of Theology, Member of the IPO ARS;
• S.A. Kolesnikov, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the Belgorod Theological Seminary, Member of the IPO ARS;
• V.I. Annushkin, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Chairman of the Russian Association of Researchers, Teachers, and Instructors of Rhetoric;
• В.А. Воропаев, доктор филологических наук, профессор МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова, председатель Гоголевской комиссии научного совета РАН «История мировой культуры»; 
• I.A. Vinogradov, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Chief Researcher at IMLI RAS, Chairman of the Expert Council on Philology and Art History of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Secretary of the Gogol Commission of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences "History of World Culture";
• O.V. Shalygina, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor at Vladimir State University, Editor-in-Chief of the journal "Novoe Russkoe Vozrozhdenie", Member of the IPO ARS;
• O.A. Berdnikova, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Russian Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries, Literary Theory and Humanities at VSU, Member of the IPO ARS;
• O.I. Syromyatnikov, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor at the Department of Russian Literature at Perm State University, Lecturer at Perm Theological Seminary;
• S.M. Zayats, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Academician of the International Slavic Academy, Head of the Research Laboratory "Litera", Professor at the Department of Russian Philology at Shevchenko Pridnestrovian State University;
• P.P. Popov, Master's student at the Department of Applied Conflictology and Mediation, Institute of Sociology and Regional Studies, Southern Federal University.

At the plenary session, forum participants listened to a video address from the Chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechization of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. In his address, His Eminence reminded of the existence of a student Christian movement in pre-revolutionary Russia and supported the participants' desire to achieve the revival of this movement under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Based on the results of the work, the forum participants adopted a final document.

MThA Press Office