| The Orthodox Church has taken up the task of saving youth Yesterday in Saratov a two-day congress of Orthodox youth ended, held under the motto “Youth for the spiritual health of Russia.” The congress was held on the initiative of Bishop Longin of Saratov and Volsk, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' and with the support of the government of the Saratov region. To encourage the youth spiritually, the congress was attended by the chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Alexei Osipov, professor of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute, Deacon Andrei Kuraev, and other famous clergy. Over 1,000 representatives of religious youth, mainly from the Saratov region, became their flock.
The youth at the congress for the most part remained silent, preferring to listen with reverence to the truths expressed by the older forum participants, wise with life experience. Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II did not come to the congress, but sent his greetings to its participants, in which he called on spiritual shepherds to develop social work with youth, and youth to work for the good of their neighbors. The Russian clergy, by tradition, is most concerned about the spiritual state of the younger generation. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad believes: “We live under conditions of strong ideological influence, supposedly in the name of happiness.” However, young people are often encouraged to use very dubious methods to achieve it. Therefore, the Metropolitan shared his proven recipe with those gathered and called for achieving happiness by maintaining internal balance and “doing a godly deed - working well.”
Much was said at the congress about the areas of joint work between the state and the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of youth policy, and about the need to support various social initiatives of Orthodox youth. It was not by chance that the Saratov region became the venue for the congress of Orthodox youth. The dialogue between secular and spiritual authorities has been going on here for a long time. For example, church hierarchs had a heart-to-heart talk with the Saratov mayor Yuri Aksenenko, and he immediately signed a decree from the city administration on the transfer of eight plots of land in the city for the construction of churches. In addition, he promised to personally oversee the issue of opening canteens for the poor in Saratov.
At the final plenary meeting, the delegates unanimously adopted the resolution “Youth for the Spiritual Health of Russia,” which states that “the congress will petition government authorities to intensify policies to support youth, to take measures to support the young family as the main social institution, will come out with the initiative to unite the efforts of state and public organizations to implement a systemic policy to counter the work of totalitarian sects and will begin to create a branch of the All-Russian Orthodox youth movement of the Saratov diocese." An “Address to a Young Man” was also adopted - this is a message from young men and women already in the bosom of the Orthodox Church to their peers - young people who have not yet come to God. As you might guess, the lost are advised to come to God as quickly as possible. It remains only to add that all participants in the congress were completely satisfied with its work. One of the congress delegates, 25-year-old Viktor Khokhlov from Saransk, believes: “Such congresses are useful for the whole society. They help young people find righteous paths in life.” Anna SALYAKHOVA, Ellada TAGIEVA, Saratov |
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