Spiritual schools of the Russian Orthodox Church. Best Seminary - new ranking has been compiled. Seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church

Catholic seminaries

Seminaries in the Catholic Church are divided into Minor seminaries for teenagers and Major seminaries for older people, which also include seminary colleges (although they are often called small seminaries in the United States) for undergraduate and graduate students. for those who already have a bachelor's degree. There are also seminaries for adults who have graduated well, such as Pope John XXIII's National Seminary in Massachusetts and for other more specialized purposes.

All seminaries are run by either religious orders or dioceses or other similar structures. Often, a seminary prepares both priests for that particular order or diocese and priests of other orders or dioceses who choose that particular seminary for their priests. For example, St. John's Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts, prepares priests for many other dioceses in New England that are suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Boston. In any case, a person who aspires to enter seminary in order to become a priest must be sponsored by either a diocese or a religious order.

Often a seminary can be affiliated with or affiliated with a larger Catholic college or university, so that the larger college provides more general education in history or theology, while seminary focuses on topics specific to the needs of future priests, such as teaching canon law, ordinances and preaching, or specific to a particular order or diocese. For example, the Theological College in Washington DC is part of the Catholic University of America.

In addition, there are several seminaries in Rome that train seminarians or already ordained priests and bishops and which are supported by orders or dioceses from outside Italy. For example, the Pontifical North American College, which trains priests from the United States and other countries, is supported by a conference of US Catholic bishops.

Seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church

The predecessors of modern theological seminaries were fraternal schools that appeared in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In Russia, the first spiritual educational institution of a modern European type was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, originally located in the Zaikonospassky monastery in Moscow.

In the 18th century, a complete course, which was not available everywhere, could take 8 years in the following steps ("classes"): headlight (or analogy), infima, grammar, syntaxim, piitika, rhetoric, philosophy, theology... Perfect mastery of the Latin language was at the heart of the entire teaching system; all other knowledge was given along the way, from the reading of Latin texts. The gradual introduction of Greek began at the end of the 18th century, under Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) of Moscow.

In 1814-1818, a reform of theological schools was undertaken in Russian Empire, as a result of which seminaries in their status became equal to gymnasiums, while academies were higher spiritual institutions. Until the end of the 1870s, those who graduated from the seminary course had free access to higher educational institutions on a par with high school students; then this access was closed. Under the influence of Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) in the 19th century, there was a gradual departure from Latin scholasticism.

Seminaries were under the general management of the Holy Synod, were under the direct jurisdiction of the diocesan bishops, who had the highest supervision over the direction of teaching, over the education of students and over the implementation of the rules of the charter in general. The seminaries were supported by the funds of the Holy Synod and by grants from the state treasury. The direct management of the seminary belonged to the rector, inspector and the board, which had pedagogical and administrative meetings.

Education in seminaries was free, and orphans and children of poor parents were accepted for government support. The course of study was six years. Young people of the Orthodox confession from all classes were admitted to the seminary, both those who had already studied in other educational institutions and who had received home education; for admission to the 1st grade, the age was set from 14 to 18 years. Prevailing in training course Seminaries were occupied with theological sciences, but general education sciences, included in the course of classical gymnasiums, were also taught in a significant amount. To assess knowledge, a point system was used: "5" - excellent, "4" - very good, "3" - good, "2" - mediocre, "1" - weak... Students in the first three grades, who showed poor results, could stay once in the second year in the same class. The best pupils continued their studies in theological academies; most of the pupils were appointed by the diocesan authorities to the positions of clergy and clergymen, or to the positions of teachers and overseers in theological educational institutions.

All seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church since 2010 have been teaching students according to the program Undergraduate in full compliance with all state standards, and have a state license to implement educational activities in the specialty "Theology" (031900) higher vocational education... Upon graduation from the seminary, graduates receive state diplomas with a degree "Bachelor of Theology"... In accordance with the regulations high school, the seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church are equipped with modern computers and communication means.

Seminaries of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

From 1872 until the first years after the liberation, the Peter and Paul Theological Seminary, subordinated to the Bulgarian Exarchia, functioned in the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul near Tarnovo. From 1892 to 1912 in Constantinople acted Tsarigrad Bulgarian Theological Seminary... Since 1944, a number of measures of the communist government have been aimed at reducing the number of students in theological educational institutions and at creating various obstacles to normal educational process... Individuals who graduated from theological seminaries or theological faculty were deprived of the possibility of any social realization outside the church sphere, which led to their isolation in society. By 1951, only the Sofia Theological Seminary was functioning, the theological faculty was withdrawn from the Sofia University and transformed into a Theological Academy. Currently, there are 2 Orthodox seminaries in Bulgaria - Plovdiv and Sofia, subordinate to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. They teach seminarians a regular five-year course (for students graduating from 7th or 8th grade) and a two-year parallel course (for candidates who graduate from secondary education).

The idea of ​​ranking the church educational institutions The Russian Orthodox Church emerged in the second half of 2012 - early 2013, when, in four months, a virtually one-time inspection of all theological seminaries and academies on the territory was carried out Russian Federation.

Today, the rating of church educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church includes 35 seminaries and 2 academies. All 37 educational institutions correspond to the bachelor's level, while 29 out of 37 have preparatory departments, 10 have educational programs at the master's level. There are 2 postgraduate studies, 19 regency departments and 8 icon-painting departments at 37 educational institutions.

There are 9.5 thousand students in church educational institutions, of which more than 7 thousand students at the bachelor's level, about 1 thousand students at the master's level, more than 500 people at the regency departments, and more than 250 people at the icon-painting departments.

The rating takes into account various parameters of the life of theological schools. The Study Committee gets acquainted with some of them on the basis of self-examination sheets - documentation that is sent by educational institutions to Uchkom at regular intervals on a regular or extraordinary basis upon request. Control over other parameters is carried out during routine inspections - on average, each educational institution will be visited by an inspection of the Training Committee once every three years.

The main parameters that are taken into account in the rating:

• regulatory support, that is, the availability of all the necessary documentation - a license, state certificate, etc.;
• material support, that is, parameters for the number of classrooms, the quality of equipment in classrooms, living conditions for students - food, gyms, etc.;
• quality and learning outcomes.

• the results of testing graduate students to check the result of knowledge during the inspection;
• availability at school additional programs;
• indicators educational work, the work of the institution of individual mentors;
• the degree of communication between students and administration;
• information and library support;
• teaching staff;
• educational and methodological support;
• research activities - the presence of a website, a collection of teaching papers, conferences, cooperation with secular universities.

All these factors correspond to a certain kind of coefficients and are compared with paper data and data of remote control over the protection qualification works and final exams, which was introduced from last year.

Seminary and its rating: wake-up call

- No, the rating is a criterion showing a certain kind of dynamics in the development of a church educational institution - up, down, stability. If the rating of an educational institution has changed by one or two places in relation to the initial parameters, this is one thing, and if by ten, this is already an important change. And it's good if it's ten up. Therefore, the rating is a kind of warning system. Either a wake-up call, or confirmation that everything is being done correctly at the school.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov

–Who are the leaders today? spiritual education according to the rating?

In general, church educational institutions that are historically central - SPbPDA and MDA - are traditionally in the top. Also at the top of the ranking are seminaries that already have state accreditation - these are Smolensk, Saratov and Penza. There are also seminaries with master's degrees: Sretenskaya, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, etc. As well as stable strong seminaries, with a well-formed teaching corps and an attentive archpastoral attitude. This, for example, the Kolomna Seminary, where, among other things, there is an excellent material base and the best seminary building for today, not so long ago built on the territory of the Epiphany Staro-Golutvin Monastery, which is ideally suited for the educational process and student living.

The second group - seminaries, which show stable indicators, but have certain disadvantages.

The third group is seminaries with more significant deficiencies, which are under control.

The fourth rating group is the lowest. Here are seminaries, which today do not testify to the confirmation of the status of a higher educational institution. I will not name these seminaries, but they are aware of their situation and the decision of the Synod of July 2013 to give them three years to rectify the situation. If the level is not raised, then these seminaries can be transformed into educational institutions of a different profile. For example, in one of the training centers for parish specialists.

As I have already indicated, the publication of the rating is not intended by the nature of the document, but with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, the interim document has already been sent to the rectors of theological educational institutions, and everyone in the field already knows where they are.

–Why do we need training centers for parish specialists?

- Today there are more than 15 such centers. They have four profiles: youth, missionary, social and catechism. An interdepartmental commission under the Study Committee assesses the organization of these centers and grants them the right to issue a church-wide document to students at the end of their studies. The demand for this kind of personnel in the parishes is great, and so far only a small part of the potential is being used - so this area of ​​church education will develop intensively.

It will be possible to increase the number of such centers at the expense of theological schools ending their historical existence. An example is the Chita Theological School, which is now in the process of being transformed into a Center for the Training of Parish Specialists. But the Vologda Seminary, on the contrary, after the decision of the Synod in 2013, increased its status and is developing very dynamically through the efforts of the rector, the Vologda Metropolitan.

Autonomous and interpersonal existence is not useful to us

–Should Church Schools Meet the Parameters of Secular Institutions?

- Undoubtedly. This is the requirement of the times. All church educational institutions are licensed, and His Holiness the Patriarch has set the task of holding state accreditation for at least the best part of the seminaries. Accordingly, seminaries are subject to licensing and accreditation checks by Rosobrnadzor. And the task of the Uchkom is to help prepare church educational institutions for state accreditation.

Of course, this work adds a lot of trouble to us: government requirements change all the time. For example, there was a requirement that the university needs an agreement with the polyclinic, but the polyclinic, in order to carry out medical activities on the territory of the seminary, needs to change the license. You can imagine what efforts are needed for the management of the polyclinic to agree to renew their license! The same applies to the requirements for the teaching staff, for educational and regulatory support - the norms, unfortunately, are extremely unstable.

On the other hand, the process of obtaining state accreditation is a stimulating factor. An autonomous and interpersonal existence is very unhelpful for us. And the church educational institution as a kind of abstract provincial theological school with the issuance of its own diplomas has now come to an end.

–How painful was the transition to the Bologna system for church schools?

- There was a lot of useful things in this transition. Yes, master's programs have become specialized in the direction, but these are obvious requirements of the time, it is clear that it is necessary to move to specialization of the faculty type, this is carried out in the master's program - biblical, theological, historical, church-practical disciplines are taught to choose from.

Obviously, it was also necessary to switch from the lesson-questionnaire system, which was recommended in theological schools in the Soviet and post-Soviet period, to a lecture-seminar system. Teaching in higher educational institutions is not lessons with surveys, but lectures, seminars, and practical exercises.

As for the holidays, yes, we began to study more, but if not with my heart, then with my head, I understand that the inadequate number of days off and vacation days that we had before Bologna system, was harmful to the educational process. The liturgical cycle is one thing, but academic year- another, it cannot be directly related to Easter, for example.

If there is soreness in anything, then in incomprehensible variability external forms our state higher education, which we must take into account. There is a constant flickering of criteria and requirements - for example, the issue of the status of theology in the higher education system has not been fully resolved. Today it is impossible to defend dissertations in theology, there is no corresponding advice. There is discipline, but there is no corresponding dissertation council - it's absurd.

Photo by Anna Galperina

Success components

–O What does the success and failure of a spiritual institution depend on, can you give examples of the correct strategy or typical mistakes as a result of the inspection?

- As positive example undoubtedly, one can call the Saratov Theological Seminary. What are the parameters of success?

First, from unconditional interest of the ruling bishop... When the ruling bishop sees that it is not only prestigious to have a good seminary in his diocese, but in itself the forging of cadres of educated clergy and church workers in a high-quality higher educational institution is one of the cornerstones of positive development for the diocese, then this is a kind of depth, sobriety. and the correct vision of the situation.

Secondly, the key to success is formation of a qualified teaching staff... The teaching corps should not consist mainly of part-time employees! The backbone should be people for whom the place of work is educational area is the main one. Of course, it is good to attract well-known teachers from secular universities, but even at the church educational institution itself there should be a strong backbone of “its own” qualified teachers.

Thirdly, decent pay for teachers... “A slave is not a worshiper” is a church proverb, or “Slave labor is unproductive,” the words of one non-church economist. Labor should be adequately paid!

Fourth, it is important work with applicants... In our time, this work can be carried out in different forms. As a debatable example, but undoubtedly meeting the challenges of the time, I will name the well-known Kazan Theological Seminary, prepared by its new leadership. Such a vital, positive creativity testifies to the processes of renewal and development that are going on in the theological school, which was once one of the four academies of the Russian Church and is now dynamically developing again.

Seminaries should also provide normal conditions for the life and work of students. His Holiness the Patriarch pays great attention to this - students have come to study, and all sorts of additional obediences and duties must be strictly metered.

Fifth, the key to success is normal atmosphere in the relationship of the educational part of the administration with students... For example, the community system in seminaries is a very important educational beginning: can I live with other people together, not the way I want, as I am used to with my mom and dad, but independently build relationships for 4-5 years of study? Seminarians are students living in a dormitory, performing a certain kind of duties, but at the same time open to modern society.

–Can you describe in more detail the educational component in a church educational institution, what is its significance?

- Church educational institutions are called to provide not only education, but also upbringing. No matter how high these words sound, we all understand that the ministry is not work, but a whole life of service. Of course, there are comparable vocations in society: a doctor, a teacher, a military man. We all want to see in a doctor not only a specialist, but also a sympathetic person; in the teacher, not only the teacher, but also the educator; in a priest, not only a person who can serve the demand, but also a mentor, a comforter. And such a skill with a priest is impossible without acquiring a certain inner experience of the Christian life, educating the soul.

And here we come to the most delicate sphere of education in theological schools, which, on the one hand, is necessary, because how will the one who has not been brought up himself be brought up, and on the other hand, is easily replaced by purely disciplinary principles.

It cannot be said that all approaches have already been found here, but it is also impossible to refuse this part of the work in church educational institutions. A new and good example of the educational principle in church educational institutions is the institution of individual mentors. In the system of the Academic Committee and in the MDA, this work is headed by Oleg Sukhanov - a person with a higher military education, in the past a military sailor, exclusively loved by students and able to find with them mutual language. Interesting materials on a specially created website of individual mentors, the broadcasts on "Theologian" and the live communication that goes between him and other mentors within the framework of this portal, show how much this institution is in demand.

A mentor is a person who occupies a borderline position between students and administration. Most often, this is a young teacher or a recent graduate who can help students in both practical life and learning activities, and in solving any problems that arise in the course of studying with high-ranking members of the administration.

This form has already been introduced everywhere, now it is important that it be filled with content everywhere. Close attention is paid to those cases when representatives of the administration, including educators, do not correspond to their vocation. When the relevant signals are confirmed by the facts, such people will definitely stop working in church schools.

MDA: statistics

- Do you have statistics specifically for the Moscow Theological Academy? To compare over the years and identify a trend.

- This year, the MDA has enrolled several times more young people than usual - more than 150 people for undergraduate studies. Despite the fact that this year there are more stringent requirements and the presence of passing the exam... Of these 150 people, more than 80 were taken to the preparatory department, and about 10 people were immediately taken to the first course.

The new unified curriculum implies mandatory four years of bachelor's degree for all and the presence of a preparatory department. At the preparatory department, church disciplines are taught that are absent in secondary school, the situation with ordinary subjects - the Russian language, is also normalized, foreign language, general humanitarian disciplines, historical disciplines. But the best students from high school, and especially young people with a higher secular education, can immediately enroll in the first year.

On the graduation course, there are usually about 60 people at the MDA: about 30% of students before graduation different reasons does not reach. First, it is difficult to study in a theological school. Secondly, someone goes to extramural, due to different life circumstances. Thirdly, someone himself understands that he was in the wrong place, chose the wrong path. And it happens that the administration understands this in relation to someone.

Most students who graduate from the MDA are ordained. The task of the seminary is primarily to train clergy. But there can be no formal mechanistic approach: “Please decide for the graduation course - either you take monasticism, or you get married. And if you don’t decide, you won’t get your diploma ”. If something like this ever happened, now we are monitoring this kind of pressure and suppressing it in every possible way.

There are courses at the MDA where 60% of the students become clerics by the time they graduate. But there should be no competition in which seminary there will be more clerics by the end of the training. The main thing is that later graduates remain in the sphere of church labor, in dignity or as church workers. And such graduates today are a decisive majority. And in this sense, most seminaries fulfill their task - they prepare people who then go out to serve the Church.

- Father Maxim, what are your feelings, intermediate conclusions from observing the development of MDA during your work at the Uchkom?

- MDA is a unique institution, an ancient spiritual training school... The forced “Soviet” break in the MDA and SPbPDA was minimal, the Moscow and Leningrad theological schools resumed in the mid-1940s could rely on the teaching staff and graduates of pre-revolutionary religious educational institutions who had survived the years of persecution. Therefore, these academies are not comparable in scale to other church educational institutions. These are institutions that have a very large margin of safety, which depend little on the personality of the leader or a particular teacher. This is stability and conservatism in the best sense.

On the other hand, it is this conservatism that can lead to a certain kind of inertia processes. The scale of activity within the framework of a huge teaching and student corporation is such that the solution of some practical issues is slower than in small seminaries. Perhaps that is why today neither the Moscow nor the St. Petersburg academies have state accreditation.

But I think that the current MDA problems are surmountable. Some areas are dynamically developing, for example, a library, which equips itself not only externally, but also internally - by attracting modern technologies... At the Institute of Individual Mentors, the MDA also became the flagship. Distance learning, when lectures were broadcast for provincial seminaries, also relied primarily on the staff of the MDA.

When development was required curricula on a new single curriculum, it was MDA who first posted them on its website for others to use. And there are many such examples of the successful implementation of various tasks of our alma mater.

Crisis or not a crisis?

–One of the main problems of provincial seminaries is the personnel crisis. How is this problem solved?

- I would not call the current situation a crisis: the problem is not so much with the lack of personnel, but with the fact that the necessary parameters for the staff units are met - for teachers, for whom work in the seminary is the main one. And here, indeed, the local diocesan authorities often face the task of combining moral and material factors so that the teacher agrees to make the seminary the main place of work.

Over the past 3-4 years, there has been tremendous progress. The situation of the so-called volunteer contracts for the provision of charitable services by teachers is almost one hundred percent a thing of the past. The level of payment of teachers is still not satisfactory, but we hope that the situation will improve. Namely because of low level salaries, teachers are forced to work simultaneously in several universities and cannot devote the necessary time, attention and energy to students.

Also, graduates of central academies and master's degrees are replenishing the staff in those regions where the self-reproduction of teaching forces is still impossible. Another form of support for teachers in last years professional development courses are becoming, which are both legally required and, in fact, important for keeping teachers in good shape. In general, I see an obvious tendency for improvement in the situation with the teaching staff.

–Are distance lectures for provincial seminaries in demand?

- Time has shown that simply broadcasting lectures or classes from central theological educational institutions as a form of education is in little demand.

A full-fledged distance education, implying the corresponding faculties, the assessment of students' knowledge is a task that is not so easy to implement. Such a system exists today at the Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities. But we must still gradually move towards distance learning replaced current sectors distance learning... The form distance education- this is the requirement of the time, and we will inevitably come to it.

In conclusion, I would like to express my firm confidence that this important academic year, when for the first time in our recent history theological universities will work according to a unified curriculum approved by the Supreme Church Council and the Holy Synod, will become an important stage in raising them general level and approaching the solution of the problem of creating a unified educational field for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Study Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church established in 1867, recreated in 1945. It is a department at the Holy Synod, called upon to carry out general management and coordinate the activities of theological schools, provide them with methodological assistance, and together with the ruling bishops perform administrative functions. A group is constantly operating under the committee to develop a new concept of education. Over the past 10 years, the committee has been holding rector's meetings, seminars for teachers of theological schools in certain disciplines, and cooperates with secular institutions and organizations. Chairman of the Uchkom: Eugene, Archbishop of Vereysk, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese.

First Deputy Chairman: Archpriest Maxim Kozlov ... Appointed to the office by the decision of the Holy Synod of March 15, 2012. Also, by the decision of the Holy Synod of June 6, 2012, he was appointed secretary of the Inter-Council Presence Commission on Spiritual Education and Religious Education. Rector of the Patriarchal Compound - the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in Moscow.

On March 9, 2017, a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in the meeting room of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow, chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, according to the official website Patriarchia.ru.

At the meeting of the Synod, the report of Archbishop Eugene of Vereya, chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, on the rating of higher theological educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church as of December 2016 was considered. The Study Committee conducts regular scheduled inspections of higher theological educational institutions (academies and seminaries) located on the territory of the Russian Federation. Based on the results of inspections, the results obtained are analyzed and a rating is compiled, within the framework of which educational institutions are divided into four groups:

The first group includes theological educational institutions, which, in the opinion of the inspection commissions, have reached the master's level or are potentially capable of opening it;

The second group included theological seminaries that functioned stably at the bachelor's or specialist's degree, with minor shortcomings;

The third group unites theological seminaries that function stably at the bachelor's or specialist's degree, which have shortcomings in the provision of the educational and / or educational process;

The fourth group consists of seminaries that do not meet most of the criteria of a modern higher spiritual educational institution.

The fourth rating group currently includes the Vladimir, Voronezh, Kostroma and Tomsk theological seminaries. The Vladimir and Kostroma Theological Seminaries were part of the fourth group even earlier. The Kursk seminary is included in the third group.

In 2013, the Holy Synod, considering the rating of higher theological educational institutions, in particular determined: “Higher religious educational institutions belonging to the fourth rating group according to the results of inspection by the Study Committee shall be given a three-year period to correct the situation, warning that in the absence of a correction, the question of depriving them of the status of independent higher religious educational institutions ”(magazine No. 79).

The Holy Synod decreed:

1. Express gratitude to the rectors and administration of the following theological educational institutions belonging to the first rating group: St. Petersburg and Moscow Theological Academies, Saratov, Kolomensk, Penza, Orenburg, Smolensk, Kazan, Sretensk and Kuzbass theological seminaries.

2. To especially note the efforts of the leadership of the following theological seminaries, which led to a significant improvement in their educational activities in the latter and to an increase in their rating: Orenburg, Kuzbass, Stavropol, Barnaul, Yekaterinodar and Perervinskaya theological seminaries.

3. To suspend the recruitment of students for correspondence courses for a period of two years at the Vladimir and Kostroma Theological Seminaries, about which send appropriate notifications to their administrations, accompanied by a list of instructions from the Study Committee.

4. To indicate to the administration of theological educational institutions that, when considering the issue of enrolling a student expelled earlier from any religious educational institution, take into account the opinion of the spiritual educational institution in which this student previously studied, and in case of disagreement, contact the Academic Committee for which secures the right of the final decision regarding the possibility of further education of such a student in theological educational institutions.

The rating of church educational institutions has been compiled. Which of the theological schools came out on top, what is the secret of their success and what will happen to the seminaries that are in the lower positions of the rating, says the first deputy chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church Archpriest Maxim Kozlov.

The idea of ​​rating the church educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church arose in the second half of 2012 - early 2013, when, in four months, virtually a one-time inspection of all theological seminaries and academies in the territory of the Russian Federation was carried out. Today, the rating of church educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church includes 35 seminaries and 2 academies. All 37 educational institutions correspond to the bachelor's level, while 29 out of 37 have preparatory departments, 10 have educational programs at the master's level. There are 2 postgraduate studies, 19 regency departments and 8 icon-painting departments at 37 educational institutions. There are 9.5 thousand students in church educational institutions, of which more than 7 thousand students are at the bachelor's level, about 1 thousand students at the master's level, more than 500 people at the regency departments, and more than 250 people at the icon-painting departments. The rating takes into account various parameters of the life of theological schools. The Study Committee gets acquainted with some of them on the basis of self-examination sheets - documentation that is sent by educational institutions to Uchkom at regular intervals on a regular or extraordinary basis upon request. Control over other parameters is carried out during routine inspections - on average, each educational institution will be visited by an inspection of the Training Committee once every three years. The main parameters that are taken into account in the rating: - regulatory support, that is, the availability of all the necessary documentation - licenses, state certificates, etc.; - material support, that is, parameters in terms of the number of classrooms, the quality of equipment in classrooms, living conditions of students - food, gyms, etc .; - quality and learning outcomes. - the results of testing graduate students to check the result of knowledge during the inspection; - the presence of additional programs at the educational institution; - indicators of educational work, the work of the institution of individual mentors; - the degree of communication between students and administration; - information and library support; - teaching staff; - educational and methodological support; - research activities - the presence of a website, a collection of teaching papers, conferences, cooperation with secular universities. All these factors correspond to a certain kind of coefficients and are compared with paper data and data of remote control over the defense of qualifying works and final exams, which was introduced last year.

Rating: wake up call

— Father Maxim, can we say that the rating is a purely bureaucratic criterion?

- No, the rating is a criterion showing a certain kind of dynamics in the development of a church educational institution - up, down, stability. If the rating of an educational institution has changed by one or two places in relation to the initial parameters, this is one thing, and if by ten, this is already an important change. And it's good if it's ten up. Therefore, the rating is a kind of warning system. Either a wake-up call, or confirmation that everything is being done correctly at the school.

- Who are the leaders of spiritual education today according to the rating?

In general, church educational institutions that are historically central - SPbPDA and MDA - are traditionally in the top. Also at the top of the ranking are seminaries that already have state accreditation - these are Smolensk, Saratov and Penza. There are also seminaries with master's degrees: Sretenskaya, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, etc. As well as stable strong seminaries, with a well-formed teaching corps and an attentive archpastoral attitude. This, for example, the Kolomna Seminary, where, among other things, there is an excellent material base and the best seminary building for today, not so long ago built on the territory of the Holy Trinity Novo-Golutvin Monastery, which is ideally suited for the educational process and student living.

The second group - seminaries, which show stable indicators, but have certain disadvantages.

The third group is seminaries with more significant deficiencies, which are under control.

The fourth rating group is the lowest. Here are seminaries, which today do not testify to the confirmation of the status of a higher educational institution. I will not name these seminaries, but they are aware of their situation and the decision of the Synod of July 2013 to give them three years to rectify the situation. If the level is not raised, then these seminaries can be transformed into educational institutions of a different profile. For example, in one of the training centers for parish specialists.

As I have already indicated, the publication of the rating is not intended by the nature of the document, but with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, the interim document has already been sent to the rectors of theological educational institutions, and everyone in the field already knows where they are.

- Why do we need training centers for parish specialists?

- Today there are more than 15 such centers. They have four profiles: youth, missionary, social and catechism. An interdepartmental commission under the Study Committee assesses the organization of these centers and grants them the right to issue a church-wide document to students at the end of their studies. The demand for this kind of personnel in the parishes is great, and so far only a small part of the potential is being used - so this area of ​​church education will develop intensively.

It will be possible to increase the number of such centers at the expense of theological schools ending their historical existence. An example is the Chita Theological School, which is now in the process of being transformed into a Center for the Training of Parish Specialists. But the Vologda Seminary, on the contrary, after the decision of the Synod in 2013, increased its status and is developing very dynamically through the efforts of the rector, the Vologda Metropolitan.

Autonomous and interpersonal existence is not useful to us

- Should church educational institutions meet the parameters of secular universities?

- Undoubtedly. This is the requirement of the times. All church educational institutions are licensed, and His Holiness the Patriarch has set the task of holding state accreditation for at least the best part of the seminaries. Accordingly, seminaries are subject to licensing and accreditation checks by Rosobrnadzor. And the task of the Uchkom is to help prepare church educational institutions for state accreditation.

Of course, this work adds a lot of trouble to us: government requirements change all the time. For example, there was a requirement that the university needs an agreement with the polyclinic, but the polyclinic, in order to carry out medical activities on the territory of the seminary, needs to change the license. You can imagine what efforts are needed for the management of the polyclinic to agree to renew their license! The same applies to the requirements for the teaching staff, for educational and regulatory support - the norms, unfortunately, are extremely unstable.

On the other hand, the process of obtaining state accreditation is a stimulating factor. An autonomous and interpersonal existence is very unhelpful for us. And the church educational institution as a kind of abstract provincial theological school with the issuance of its own diplomas has now come to an end.

- How painful was the transition to the Bologna system for church educational institutions?

- There was a lot of useful things in this transition. Yes, master's programs have become specialized in the direction, but these are obvious requirements of the time, it is clear that it is necessary to move to specialization of the faculty type, this is carried out in the master's program - biblical, theological, historical, church-practical disciplines are taught to choose from.

Obviously, it was also necessary to switch from the lesson-questionnaire system, which was recommended in theological schools in the Soviet and post-Soviet period, to a lecture-seminar system. Teaching in higher educational institutions is not lessons with surveys, but lectures, seminars, and practical exercises.

As for the holidays, yes, we began to study more, but if not with my heart, then with my head, I understand that the inadequate number of days off and vacation days that we had before the Bologna system was detrimental to the educational process. The liturgical cycle is one thing, but the academic year is another, it cannot be directly related to Easter, for example.

If there is any pain in anything, it is in the incomprehensible variability of the external forms of our state higher education, which we must take into account. There is a constant flickering of criteria and requirements - for example, the issue of the status of theology in the higher education system has not been fully resolved. Today it is impossible to defend dissertations in theology, there is no corresponding advice. There is discipline, but there is no corresponding dissertation council - it's absurd.

Success components

- O What does the success and failure of a spiritual institution depend on, can you give examples of the correct strategy or typical mistakes as a result of the inspection?

- As a positive example, of course, we can name the Saratov Theological Seminary. What are the parameters of success?

First, from unconditional interest of the ruling bishop... When the ruling bishop sees that it is not only prestigious to have a good seminary in his diocese, but in itself the forging of cadres of educated clergy and church workers in a high-quality higher educational institution is one of the cornerstones of positive development for the diocese, then this is a kind of depth, sobriety. and the correctness of the vision of the situation.

Secondly, the key to success is formation of a qualified teaching staff... The teaching corps should not consist mainly of part-time employees! The backbone should be people for whom the place of work in the educational field is the main one. Of course, it is good to attract well-known teachers from secular universities, but even at the church educational institution itself there should be a strong backbone of “its own” qualified teachers.

Thirdly, decent pay for teachers... “A slave is not a worshiper” is a church saying, or “Slave labor is unproductive,” the words of one non-church economist. Labor should be adequately paid!

Fourth, it is important work with applicants... In our time, this work can be carried out in different forms. As a discussion, but undoubtedly meeting the challenges of the time, I will name the famous video of the Kazan Theological Seminary, prepared by its new leadership. Such a vital, positive creativity testifies to the processes of renewal and development that are going on in the theological school, which was once one of the four academies of the Russian Church and is now dynamically developing again.

Seminaries should also provide normal conditions for the life and work of students. His Holiness the Patriarch pays great attention to this - students have come to study, and all sorts of additional obediences and duties must be strictly metered.

Fifth, the key to success is normal atmosphere in the relationship of the educational part of the administration with students... For example, the community system in seminaries is a very important educational beginning: can I live with other people together, not the way I want, as I am used to with my mom and dad, but independently build relationships for 4-5 years of study? Seminarians are students living in a dormitory, performing a certain kind of duties, but at the same time open to modern society.

- Can you tell us more about the educational component in a church educational institution, what is its significance?

- Church educational institutions are called to provide not only education, but also upbringing. No matter how high these words sound, we all understand that the ministry is not work, but a whole life of service. Of course, there are comparable vocations in society: a doctor, a teacher, a military man. We all want to see in a doctor not only a specialist, but also a sympathetic person; in the teacher, not only the teacher, but also the educator; in a priest, not only a person who can serve the demand, but also a mentor, a comforter. And such a skill with a priest is impossible without acquiring a certain inner experience of the Christian life, educating the soul.

And here we come to the most delicate sphere of education in theological schools, which, on the one hand, is necessary, because how will the one who has not been brought up himself be brought up, and on the other hand, is easily replaced by purely disciplinary principles.

It cannot be said that all approaches have already been found here, but it is also impossible to refuse this part of the work in church educational institutions. A new and good example of the educational principle in church educational institutions is the institution of individual mentors. In the system of the Academic Committee and in the MDA, this work is headed by Oleg Sukhanov, a person with a higher military education, in the past a naval sailor, exceptionally loved by students and able to find a common language with them. The most interesting materials on a specially created website for individual mentors, broadcasts on "Theologian" and the live communication that goes between him and other mentors within the framework of this portal show how much this institution is in demand.

A mentor is a person who occupies a borderline position between students and administration. Most often, this is a young teacher or a recent graduate who can help students both in practical life and in educational activities, and in solving any problems that arise in the course of studying with high-ranking members of the administration.

This form has already been introduced everywhere, now it is important that it be filled with content everywhere. Close attention is paid to those cases when representatives of the administration, including educators, do not correspond to their vocation. When the relevant signals are confirmed by the facts, such people will definitely stop working in church schools.

MDA: statistics

- Do you have statistics specifically for the Moscow Theological Academy? To compare over the years and identify a trend.

- This year, the MDA has enrolled several times more young people than usual - more than 150 people for undergraduate studies. Moreover, this year there are more stringent requirements and the presence of passing the exam is required. Of these 150 people, more than 80 were taken to the preparatory department, and about 10 people were immediately taken to the first course.

The new unified curriculum implies mandatory four years of bachelor's degree for all and the presence of a preparatory department. The preparatory department teaches church disciplines that are absent in secondary school, and there is also a normalization of the situation with ordinary subjects - the Russian language, a foreign language, general humanitarian disciplines, and historical disciplines. But the best students from secondary school, and especially young people with a higher secular education, can immediately enter the first year.

There are usually about 60 people on the graduation course at the MDA: about 30% of students do not reach graduation for various reasons. First, it is difficult to study in a theological school. Secondly, someone goes to the correspondence department, due to different life circumstances. Thirdly, someone himself understands that he was in the wrong place, chose the wrong path. And it happens that the administration understands this in relation to someone.

Most students who graduate from the MDA are ordained. The task of the seminary is above all the training of clergy. But there can be no formal mechanistic approach: “Please decide for the graduation course - either you take monasticism, or you get married. And if you don’t decide, you won’t get your diploma ”. If something like this ever happened, now we are monitoring this kind of pressure and suppressing it in every possible way.

There are courses at the MDA where 60% of the students become clerics by the time they graduate. But there should be no competition in which seminary there will be more clerics by the end of the training. The main thing is that later graduates remain in the sphere of church labor, in dignity or as church workers. And such graduates today are a decisive majority. And in this sense, most seminaries fulfill their task - they prepare people who then go out to serve the Church.

- Father Maxim, what are your feelings, intermediate conclusions from observing the development of MDA during your work at the Uchkom?

- MDA is a unique institution, an ancient spiritual educational school. The forced “Soviet” break in the MDA and SPbPDA was minimal, the Moscow and Leningrad theological schools resumed in the mid-1940s could rely on the teaching staff and graduates of pre-revolutionary religious educational institutions who had survived the years of persecution. Therefore, these academies are not comparable in scale to other church educational institutions. These are institutions that have a very large margin of safety, which depend little on the personality of the leader or a particular teacher. This is stability and conservatism in the best sense.

On the other hand, it is this conservatism that can lead to a certain kind of inertia processes. The scale of activity within the framework of a huge teaching and student corporation is such that the solution of some practical issues is slower than in small seminaries. Perhaps that is why today neither the Moscow nor the St. Petersburg academies have state accreditation.

But I think that the current MDA problems are surmountable. Some areas are dynamically developing, for example, the library, which equips itself not only externally, but also internally - using modern technologies. At the Institute of Individual Mentors, the MDA also became the flagship. Distance learning, when lectures were broadcast for provincial seminaries, also relied primarily on the staff of the MDA.

When it became necessary to develop curricula for a new unified curriculum, it was MDA who first posted them on its website for others to use. And there are many such examples of the successful implementation of various tasks of our alma mater.

Crisis or not a crisis?

- One of the main problems of provincial seminaries is the personnel crisis. How is this problem solved?

- I would not call the situation a crisis today: the problem is not so much with the lack of personnel, but with the fact that the necessary parameters for the staff units are met - for the teachers, for whom work in the seminary is the main one. And here, indeed, the local diocesan authorities often face the task of combining moral and material factors so that the teacher agrees to make the seminary the main place of work.

Over the past 3-4 years, there has been tremendous progress. The situation of the so-called volunteer contracts for the provision of charitable services by teachers is almost one hundred percent a thing of the past. The level of payment of teachers is still not satisfactory, but we hope that the situation will improve. Namely, because of the low level of salaries, teachers are forced to work simultaneously in several universities and cannot devote the necessary time, attention and energy to students.

Also, graduates of central academies and master's degrees are replenishing the staff in those regions where the self-reproduction of teaching forces is still impossible. In recent years, one more form of support for teachers has become professional development courses, which are both legally required and, in fact, important for keeping teachers in good shape. In general, I see an obvious tendency for improvement in the situation with the teaching staff.

- Are distance lectures for provincial seminaries in demand?

- Time has shown that simply broadcasting lectures or classes from central theological educational institutions as a form of education is in little demand.

A full-fledged distance education, implying the corresponding faculties, the assessment of students' knowledge is a task that is not so easy to implement. Such a system exists today at the Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities. But we still need to gradually move towards the fact that distance learning replaces the current sectors of distance learning. The form of distance education is a requirement of the times, and we will inevitably come to it.

In conclusion, I want to express my firm confidence that the current responsible academic year, when for the first time in our modern history, theological universities will work according to a single curriculum approved by the Supreme Church Council and the Holy Synod, will become an important stage in raising their overall level and approaching the solution of the task of creating a unified educational field of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Study Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church established in 1867, recreated in 1945. It is a department at the Holy Synod, called upon to carry out general management and coordinate the activities of theological schools, provide them with methodological assistance, and together with the ruling bishops perform administrative functions. A group is constantly operating under the committee to develop a new concept of education. Over the past 10 years, the committee has been holding rector's meetings, seminars for teachers of theological schools in certain disciplines, and cooperates with secular institutions and organizations. Chairman of the Uchkom: Eugene, Archbishop of Vereysk, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese.

First Deputy Chairman: Archpriest Maxim Kozlov... Appointed to the office by the decision of the Holy Synod of March 15, 2012. Also, by the decision of the Holy Synod of June 6, 2012, he was appointed secretary of the Inter-Council Presence Commission on Spiritual Education and Religious Education. Rector of the Patriarchal Compound - the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in Moscow.