Christmas Educational Readings took place at the Presidential Library

December 11, 2014, the Presidential Library hosted Christmas (Znamenskie) Educational Readings of the Northwestern, "Prince Vladimir. Civilizational choice of Russia." The readings were organized by the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the St. Petersburg diocese, the Education Committee of St. Petersburg Administration and the Presidential Library.

The event was attended by the Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose, Bishop of Severomorsk and Umba Mitrofan, Head of Department for Relations with Religious Associations of the Administration of St. Petersburg Governor Vladimir Ivanov, Chairman of the Education Committee of St. Petersburg Jeanne Vorobyova, Chairman of the Public Chamber of St. Petersburg, Director of the State Museum "St. Isaac Cathedral" Nikolai Burov, representatives of the Archdiocese of St. Petersburg, Northwestern Federal District regions’ representatives, St. Petersburg students.

Christmas readings are an integral part of the church and social life in Russia. The main purpose of the initiative is moral and patriotic education of the younger generation, the spiritual development of the individual.

This year the theme of the readings covers the upcoming thousandth anniversary of the repose of the Saint Equal-to-apostles Prince Vladimir. This date will be widely celebrated in our country in 2015. St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko greeted the participants. In his address he said: "The great ascetic, the Baptist of Russia, he played a great role in the spiritual transformation and the state development of our Fatherland. Today we treasure the sacred memory of Prince Vladimir and other historical figures, fostering respect in society to its roots."

At the plenary session, the participants were presented with an excerpt from the multimedia project, "Russian Orthodox world," and the film "TeoLogoRazvedka" directed by Alena Polikovskaya that can be useful for teachers and students in the study of Orthodox culture.

As it was noted at the meeting, the Presidential Library located in a historic building of the Holy Governing Synod for the second time houses the Christmas (Znamenskie) Educational Readings.

The Presidential Library collections include digitized documents on the history of the Russian state, which in turn is closely connected with the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Presidential Library website provides access to the collection, "History of the Russian Orthodox Church." These are rare books on the history of religion, including the Orthodoxy, biographies of saints, documents about the participation of the Church in the formation of Russian statehood.

The photo provided by the press service of the Archdiocese of St. Petersburg.