Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen Named Laureate of Prestigious International Literary Forum

From October 15 to 17, 2025, the 16th International Slavic Literary Forum “Golden Knight” took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

The event was held as part of the larger International Slavic Arts Forum of the same name, founded by People’s Artist of Russia Nikolai Burlyaev. The festival brings together authors writing in Russian whose works embody the motto “For moral ideals, for the uplifting of the human soul.”

The 16th Literary Forum was supported by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, the Union of Writers of Russia, the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The program of the event included meetings with renowned writers, sacred music concerts, screenings of films dedicated to Russian literary figures, and roundtable discussions on current issues in spiritual and moral education.

As part of the festival, winners of the International Literary Competition were awarded.

A total of 451 works by authors from Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Serbia, Syria, Uzbekistan, and other countries were admitted to the competition across six categories.

In the “Poetry” category, the expert council of the 16th Golden Knight Forum compiled a shortlist of authors and works, among which was Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, a member of the Union of Writers of Russia, with his poetry collection “Calling”, published in 2024 by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

For this collection, the archpastor was awarded a special jury prize, presented by the chairman of the organization, Nikolai Burlyaev.

In his address at the Literary Forum, Bishop Gennady spoke about the life’s feat of the revered elder and hierarch of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Alma-Ata, whose 50th repose anniversary is marked this year, and recited the poem “Calling” dedicated to him.

The main award of the 16th International Slavic Literary Forum “Golden Knight” – the A.S. Pushkin Gold Medal “For Outstanding Contribution to Literature” – was presented to Soviet and Russian writer, journalist, and historian Sergey Mikheenkov.

Among this year’s laureates were well-known Russian and international authors: Yuri Kublanovsky, Olesya Nikolaeva, Anatoly Avrutin, Sergey Arutyunov, Valery Khairyuzov, Maria Butina, and others.

The poetry collection “Calling” by Bishop Gennady is available for purchase at the bookstore of the Iveron‑Seraphim Convent in Almaty.