Print This Post


On October 31, 2016, the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church met at the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. It was chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

In the beginning of the meeting Patriarch Kirill and the Supreme Church Council members lifted up a prayer for the repose of the souls of those who were killed in the plane crash over Sinai a year ago.

Patriarch Kirill made introductory remarks.

The agenda includes reports on the implementation of the decisions made by the Supreme Church Council and the Bishops’ Council. The meeting will also consider draft documents on ‘Provisions for the Advanced Courses for the Russian Orthodox Church Clergy’, ‘The Standard for Educational and Formational Work in the Russian Orthodox Church’s Sunday School’, and ‘Provisions for the Work of Sunday Schools (Groups) for Children’.

The Supreme Church Councils membership is as follows:

  • Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate;
  • Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate;
  • Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk, head of the Publishing Department of the Russian Orthodox Church;
  • Metropolitan Ioann of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, chairman of the Synodal Missionary Department;
  • Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk, chairman of the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechism;
  • Metropolitan Mark of Ryazan and Mikhailov, head of the Financial and Economic Office of the Moscow Patriarchate;
  • Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomysk, chairman of the Synodal Committee for Cooperation with the Cossacks;
  • Archbishop Yevgeny of Vereya, chairman of the Holy Synod Education Committee;
  • Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, head of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monastics;
  • Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate;
  • Bishop Irinarch of Krasnogorsk, head of the Synodal Department for Prison Service;
  • Bishop Ignatiy of Vyborg and Priozersk, head of the Synodal Department for Youth;
  • Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo, head of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service;
  • Bishop Tikhon of Yegoryevsk, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture;
  • Bishop Antoniy of Bogorodsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Institutions Abroad;
  • Archpriest Sergiy Privalov, head of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Bodies;
  • Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission for the Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood;
  • V. R. Legoida, head of the Synodal Department for Relations with Society and Mass Media.

The following clergy were invited to take part in the working meeting: Archbishop Ambrose of Petergof, rector of St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Bishop Savva of Voskresensk, first deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov), deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, first deputy head of the Education Committee; Hegumen Mitrofan (Shkurin), vice-chairman of the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechism; Sister Xenia (Chernega), head of the Moscow Patriarchate legal service; A. V. Shchipkov, first deputy head of the Synodal Department for Relations with Society and Mass Media.

Patriarchal Press Service

DECR Communication Service