BASIC TRAINING COURSES IN THE FIELD OF MONASTIC THEOLOGY: THE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SYSTEM IN MONASTERIES OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

According to the legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations, everyone has the right to receive religious education, as well as religious instruction and religious upbringing. Until 2018, the religious education system of the Russian Orthodox Church provided training only for ministers and religious personnel, regulated by the church’s standard of higher spiritual education, as well as standards for the training of church specialists: catechists, missionaries, youth and social workers, and since 2020, for specialists in the field of parish education. For the remaining categories of people who do not belong to the religious staff, separate forms of obtaining religious knowledge have not been approved. These categories in this article include monastics who do not have a theological education, as well as novices who are only preparing for tonsure, but who live in monasteries. Taking into account the urgency of obtaining knowledge about religion by monks and nuns of monasteries, the author of the article from 2016 to 2024 ensured the construction of an appropriate educational system in monasteries through the organization of basic training courses in the field of monastic theology. The courses do not require the organizers to obtain an educational license, and the students do not require the necessary basic qualifications. In this study, the author presents the results of testing these educational courses, confirming the effectiveness of this form of educational work and its inclusion in the religious education system of the Russian Orthodox Church, which allows monastics and novices to receive basic training in the field of theology, as well as data on the scalability of the educational project presented on the territory of 54 metropolitans, including 125 dioceses and 8 Stavropol monasteries.

religion, society, education, enlightenment, reli- gious education system, religious education, educational activi- ties, students, monastics, basic training courses

Eremeev R. N. Basic training courses in the field of monastic theology: the experience of building a religious education system in monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo = Business. Education. Law. 2025;1(70):489—495. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2025.70.1224.