Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen Participates in a Meeting of the Inter-Council Presence Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science, and Information

On January 30, 2025, within the framework of the Inter-Council Presence Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science, and Information, a roundtable discussion titled “Christian Ethics and Social Justice” was held in a hybrid in-person and online format at the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The event was part of the XXXIII International Christmas Educational Readings.

The meeting was chaired by Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, head of the Publishing Council and chairman of the Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science, and Information. Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, vicar of the Astana Diocese, served as co-chair. The discussion was moderated by Priest Andrey Titushkin, a staff member of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The discussion covered the following key topics: whether state and societal structures can truly be just; how adherence to traditional spiritual and moral ideals influences state policy in the economic sphere; whether ideals of social justice contribute to the formation of a harmoniously developed Christian personality, a responsible citizen, and a patriot; and how realistic it is today to implement economic models based on Orthodox ethical principles.

The roundtable was attended by Bishop Theoktist of Pereslavl and Uglich; Protopriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Award in honor of Saints Cyril and Methodius; Priest Alexander Volkov, chairman of the Information Commission under the Diocesan Council of Moscow; Protopriest Alexander Balyberdin; E.E. Zhukovskaya, advisor to the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State-Building of the Federation Council, PhD in Sociology; D.L. Sin, deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation at the State Institute of the Russian Language named after A.S. Pushkin; V.V. Dvortsov, general director of the Union of Writers of Russia, nominee for the Patriarchal Literary Award; S.L. Khudiev, director of the Library of Christian Literature in Moscow, publicist; O.V. Sukholitko, head of the Cultural Center “All in the Garden” in the City Garden of Kozelsk, near the Dormition Cathedral; O.A. Nikolaeva, professor at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute, laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Award; V.V. Rulinsky, press secretary of the Synodal Department for Charity, PhD in History; P.A. Shashkin, executive secretary of the Expert Council on Economy and Ethics under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’; N.K. Sindyukov, senior lecturer at the North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; O.D. Agapov, professor at Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov, Doctor of Philosophy; A.B. Rudakov, senior researcher at the Russian Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage named after D.S. Likhachev, PhD in History; as well as staff members of the Publishing Council: Hieromonk Avgustin (Pirogov), Priest Nikolai Balan, E.L. Balikhina, and PhD in Philology V.A. Kuritsyna.

The participants delivered presentations and reports, followed by discussions and exchanges of opinions on the concept of justice and its perception by different people and societies.

At the conclusion of the roundtable, Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk outlined the tasks and optimal methods of work for the “Christian Ethics and Social Justice” initiative in the coming months.