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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\nOn December 22, 2016, the Academic Council of the National Research Nuclear University \u2018MPhI\u2019 held an enlarged meeting with participation of representatives of the staff and United Students Council to honour Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk as MPhI professor, head of its Chair of Theology, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies.<\/p>\n
MPhI Rector M. Strikhanov opened the meeting by introducing the agenda. He reminded the gathering that this year Metropolitan Hilarion has turned 50 and extended him congratulations on behalf of the whole university team. He stressed that the university gives a great importance to the problems of spiritual and moral education by holding a great deal of activities aimed at the cultivation of youth on the basis of vital values traditional for Russia. In particular, two years ago MPhI launched an Academic Readings project aimed at extending the general scientific broadmindedness and knowledge of life and society and promoting the development of future researchers\u2019 active civic position and feelings of patriotism.<\/p>\n
The rector invited to the rostrum A. Nevzorov, director of the MPhI center for humanitarian studies and technologies, who made a brief presentation of Metropolitan Hilarion\u2019s biography and ministry including his creative achievements.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Prof. V. Tishkov, academic leader of the Academic Readings project, said that a number of leading academics and renowned public figures came to the university to read lectures two years before the project was launched. He expressed birthday wishes to Metropolitan Hilarion and presented him with several academic works published recently with the participation of the university.<\/p>\n
Then Metropolitan Hilarion was asked to read a lecture as part of the Academic Readings project.<\/p>\n
His Eminence began his lecture with asking the audience to honour in a moment of silence the the memory of the assassinated Russian Ambassador to Turkey A. Karlov, saying, \u2018I would ask you to honour with a moment of silence the memory of this wonderful man. Such events as the death of Andrey Karlov, which happened before our very eyes and the eyes of the whole world, remind us again and again of the meaning of human life and its transitory nature and of the fact that it is only one step from life in time to life in eternity\u2019.<\/p>\n
Then Metropolitan Hilarion spoke about the early period of Christianity, which he studied in detail in the recent years producing as a result an extensive study on \u2018Jesus Christ. Life and Teaching\u2019. \u2018When I began writing this book it turned out that there was so much material and so extensive literature that I failed to put it all in one book. Ultimately, I wrote six books\u2019, he said. The first two volumes \u2013 \u2018The Beginning of the Gospel\u2019 and \u2018The Sermon on the Mount\u2019 \u2013 have already come out.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Beginning of the Gospel\u2019 considered the Gospel\u2019s story of the birth of Jesus Christ and related events. Some chapters deal with the prophetic ministry of Jesus and relationships between Him and His disciples and the beginning of a conflict between Him and His opponents. The book ends in an attempt to present a portrait of Jesus Christ as He is described by the evangelists and to consider His way of life and His character traits.<\/p>\n
In the second book, which analyzes the Sermon on the Mount, Metropolitan Hilarion emphasizes that this sermon was not something ancient and unfeasible but still remains the spiritual and moral code that Christians are called to embody in their life. \u2018First of all, Jesus Christ has proved by His own life that it is possible to live up such lofty moral principles. Certainly, such a life requires self-sacrifice. Nevertheless, He has proved by His own life that it is possible\u2019, the archpastor stated.<\/p>\n
His Eminence also said that his work on the two books would continue in studies on \u2018The Miracles of Jesus\u2019, \u2018The Parables of Jesus\u2019, \u2018The Lamb of God. Jesus in the Gospel from St. John\u2019, and \u2018The Death and Resurrection\u2019. These studies are based on the Gospels which would be considered both historically and theologically.<\/p>\n
Metropolitan Hilarion named the Gospel as the principle source of his study \u2018Jesus Christ. Life and Teaching\u2019. He spoke in detail on the authors of the Gospel\u2019s text and the history of its creation, reminding in particular that \u2018The three stories \u2013 from Matthews, Mark and Luke \u2013 are described in science as synoptic Gospels. This designation comes from the Greek word meaning \u2018seeing together\u2019, because in them there are much parallel and verbally similar material\u2019. The forth Gospel, written by John the Theologian, renders the events from a different perspective, but, as the hierarch noted, \u2018essentially there is no contradictions between the four Gospels\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018If we take the Gospel\u2019s text, all in all the modern-day science knows of over 5000 manuscripts of the New Testament\u2019 he continued, \u2018No other work of the Ancient History has survived in such a number of manuscripts. It suggests that from the very beginning the Gospel\u2019s testimonies were taken as reliable\u2019.<\/p>\n
In conclusion of his presentation, Metropolitan Hilarion gave some recommendations as to the right understanding of the Gospel\u2019s text: \u2018The history as described in the Gospels can be compared to treasures put in a safe with two locks. To have an access to these treasures one has to have two keys. One key is the conviction that Jesus Christ was an absolutely real worldly man, while the other is the recognition that Jesus Christ was God incarnate. With these two keys the Gospel\u2019s history unfolds. It is with them that the Church has interpreted these stories and the teaching of Jesus Christ through centuries\u2019.<\/p>\n
After the lecture Metropolitan Hilarion answered questions from the audience.<\/p>\n
His Eminence presented the MPhI library with some of his books.<\/p>\n
In conclusion of the meeting, Rector M. Strikhanov expressed birthday wishes to Metropolitan Hilarion and thanked him for his profound and interesting presentation.<\/p>\n
The MPhI academic male choir conducted by Russia\u2019s Honoured Artist Ms. N. Malyavina performed several church hymns, among them \u2018The Beatitudes\u2019 composed by Metropolitan Hilarion.<\/p>\n
During his stay in the university, Metropolitan Hilarion visited its chapel dedicated to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The church choir sang \u2018Many Years\u2019 to him and he venerated the church\u2019s shrines and kissed the altar in the sanctuary.<\/p>\n
Greeting the parishioners of the university church, the hierarch said, \u2018Dear brothers and sisters, I am delighted to visit the MPhI chapel and to see that divine services are held here and that Orthodox students have an opportunity to pray and enkindle a candle before an exam. I hope that the chapel will continue to be the spiritual center for this wonderful educational institution. I wish God\u2019s help to the clergy, to all who work and sing here and to the faculty and students!\u2019<\/p>\n
Press Service of the MPhI Chair of Theology<\/em><\/p>\n DECR Communication Service<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On December 22, 2016, the Academic Council of the National Research Nuclear University \u2018MPhI\u2019 held an enlarged meeting with participation of representatives of the staff and United Students Council to honour Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk as MPhI professor, head of its Chair of Theology, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":140770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}