On June 24, 2025, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk, a regular session of the General Assembly of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in a hybrid (in-person and online) format.
Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Kazakhstan, took part in the meeting.
The session opened with an address by the Chairman of the Publishing Council, Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk. The main topic was the Council’s activity since the previous assembly. The Metropolitan reported that in recent months, 1,135 publications had been submitted for review. Of these, 1,123 had undergone expert evaluation, 1,036 were granted the Church’s imprimatur (over half — 610 — via the simplified procedure), 56 were sent back for revision, and 31 were denied. Sixteen meetings of the Expert and Review Board had been held.
He also announced the completion of work on The Chronicle of the Life and Works of Saint Theophan the Recluse of Vysha – Volume 7, Book 2 had been submitted to the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House.
The Metropolitan highlighted major events marking the 2025 Orthodox Book Day, noting that, according to the interactive map, at least 4,753 events had taken place across 136 dioceses.
Attendees viewed a video about this year’s ceremony for electing and awarding the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equals to the Apostles.
At the end of his report, the Chairman presented awards: the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, 2nd Class, to laureate and member of the Patronage Board of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, O.A. Nikolaeva; and the Medal of Venerable Epiphanius the Wise, 3rd Class, to N.A. Sheriev, Acting Head of the Administrative Office of the Publishing Council.
Bishop Nicodemus of Edineț and Briceni, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, spoke on the state of publishing in Moldova and the availability of literature for churches and the faithful.
Participants then discussed measures to promote reading and book culture among youth. These included the national student reading competition The Reasonable, the Good, the Eternal and the book culture festival The Space of the Word. Priest Zacharias Savelyev, senior advisor on diocesan book distribution, spoke about the first season of the competition and plans to expand participation to include future librarians. He also highlighted the Space of the Word festival in Saint Petersburg, which featured documentary screenings, a meeting with 2025 Patriarchal Literary Prize laureate A.V. Vorontsov, and a lecture on Dostoevsky’s Siberian Letters as part of the traveling cultural project Russian Writers: The Path to God.
Further discussions focused on the development of the traveling exhibition project Joy of the Word and updates to the educational program for Orthodox Book Day. N.V. Krechetov, staff member of the Council’s exhibition sector, reported on recent exhibitions and emphasized the importance of hosting events in smaller towns and including meetings and presentations for university and secondary school students.
The educational program’s concept was presented by Bishop Macarius of Kozelsk and Lyudinovo, Deputy Chairman of the Publishing Council. He outlined changes and future plans for the televised marathon on the SPAS channel dedicated to Orthodox Book Day, and stressed the need to update the event guideline handbook.
D.V. Voluzhkov, director of the publishing house of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, presented several book series, including Theology: Past and Present, Byzantine Christian Literature, Barsov Lectures, and Theology and Philosophy. Special attention was given to the unique series Love for the Church in Music: The Life and Work of Russian Composers and Conductors, edited by Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva, Dean of the Church Arts Faculty. Most of the books in the series focus on composers who wrote for the Church during the Soviet era and remain little-known. As emphasized by Mr. Voluzhkov, these names deserve to be restored to the cultural heritage where they rightfully belong.
The meeting concluded with a discussion of key topics for the next session.
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