Administrator of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District Participates in Meeting of the Inter-Council Presence Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science and Information

June 24, 2026. Moscow. A meeting of the Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science and Information of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in a hybrid format at the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The meeting was chaired by Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Commission and Head of the Publishing Council.

Among those taking part in the meeting were: V.V. Kipshidze, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for the Church’s Relations with Society and the Media (Secretary of the Commission); Metropolitan Methodius of Perm and Kungur; Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies and Chairman of the Synodal Committee for Cooperation with the Cossacks; Bishop Seraphim of Bobruisk and Bykhov; Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Administrator of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District; Bishop Nikolay of Balashikha and Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Editor-in-Chief of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House; Bishop Theoktist of Pereslavl and Uglich; Bishop Joseph of Mozhaisk, Abbot of the Vvedensky Stavropegial Monastery of Optina Hermitage; Archimandrite Philip (Ryabykh), Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European International Organizations and Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Council of Europe; Archpriest Alexander Balyberdin, Head of the Church History Center of the Vyatka Diocese; Archpriest Pyotr Ivanov, Executive Editor of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate; Priest Alexander Volkov, Chairman of the Information Commission of the Moscow Diocesan Council; Priest Svyatoslav Rogalsky, Lecturer at the Minsk Theological Academy and Associate Professor at the Institute of Theology of Belarusian State University; Priest Andrey Titushkin of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; N.P. Burlyaev, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, President of the International Slavic Forum of Arts “Golden Knight,” member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture and the Public Council under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; N.B. Zhukova, Co-Chair of the Union of Orthodox Women; S.L. Kravets, Head of the Church Research Center Orthodox Encyclopedia; V.V. Lebedev, Editor-in-Chief of Orthodox Conversation magazine; E.K. Nikiforov, Chairman of the Radonezh Orthodox Society; Professor S.V. Perevezentsev of the Faculty of Political Science at Moscow State University; M.A. Tyurenkov, Head of the Ideology Department of Tsargrad TV and Press Secretary of the World Russian People’s Council; S.L. Khudiev, Director of the Library of Christian Literature in Moscow; P.A. Shashkin, Senior Research Fellow at the D.S. Likhachev Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage; V.G. Leontyev, Secretary of the State Duma Working Group “Society and Culture”; together with Hieromonk Augustin (Pirogov) and M.A. Kireev, assistants to the Chairman of the Publishing Council.

In his opening remarks, Metropolitan Kliment emphasized that the meeting would address issues that either strengthen or undermine the fullness of human life. He stressed the importance of supporting the family and defining the “moral boundaries of technological development.”

The Commission Secretary, V.V. Kipshidze, presented for discussion the draft document On the Demographic Crisis in Russia. The Commission members unanimously agreed that the document required substantial revision.

N.P. Burlyaev, Head of the Working Group The Church and Cinema: Prospects for Cooperation in Promoting Traditional Values, then presented a report on the group’s recent activities and the proposals developed during its work.

The topic Christian Ethics and Social Justice was presented by Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, Head of the corresponding Working Group. He reviewed the stages of the group’s work on the document and commented on its structure and content. A deadline was established for Commission members to submit proposals for further revision.

Bishop Theoktist of Pereslavl and Uglich, Head of the Working Group on Artificial Intelligence and Other Challenges of Scientific and Technological Development to the Christian Worldview, together with the group’s secretary, Priest Alexander Volkov, reported on the involvement of specialists from both ecclesiastical and secular institutions of higher education in the preparation of the document. They outlined the progress already achieved and the prospects for further work. Following the discussion, it was decided to continue developing the document expressing the Church’s position on new information technologies.

All participants received a copy of the book Between Code and Conscience: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Person by Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk and Professor Alexander Ilyinsky. The publication is intended as a contribution to the Commission’s work and to promote broader public understanding of contemporary issues related to artificial intelligence.

The work of the group on The Unity of the Peoples of Historical Rus’ in the Face of Contemporary Challenges was presented by its head, Bishop Joseph of Mozhaisk, and its secretary, Professor S.V. Perevezentsev. Bishop Joseph reviewed each section of the document currently under development. Commission members proposed a number of amendments and additions, and deadlines were established for submitting further comments and recommendations.

P.A. Shashkin also presented a report on the progress of the document Spiritual and Cultural Identity in the Context of Globalization.

Concluding the meeting, Metropolitan Kliment reminded participants of the practical tasks to be completed before the next session of the Commission and wished everyone God’s help in their labors.

Based on materials provided by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.