Wednesday, October 31, 2018, in the suburban boarding house “Klyazma” was held the closing ceremony of the VIII International festival “Faith and word”. Within the closing ceremony the awarding ceremony of the winners of the Contest of the Church’s resources in social media, and was also awarded Special prizes of the Chairman of Department on interrelations of the Church with society and the media.
The co-organizers of the festival were the Synodal Department for Church relations with society and the media and the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. The most important event in the program of the festival was the meeting of the participants of the festival with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on October 30.
The program of the festival started on the evening of 28 October, when, on the eve of the official opening, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and society and the media V. Legoida held a traditional informal meeting with representatives of the diocesan press service and information departments, departments for Church-state relations with society and the Orthodox media.
The same evening was a screening of the film “Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Photo of the Millennium” and the meeting with the author of a documentary — editor-in-chief TK “inter” Anton Nikitin, culminating in the discussion of the film.
29 October took place the official opening ceremony of the VIII International festival “Faith and word”.
On the same day in different rooms of the boarding house “Klyazma” was a series of forum events:
- panel discussion “Mission in social media”;
- round table “Response in times of crisis” with the participation of the head of the Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia priest Alexander Volkov, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and society and the media I. V. Masana and editor-in-chief of the informational-educational portal “Parishes” E. E. Zhukovskaya;
- master-class of Alexey Sokolov (“Foma” magazine) “Texts in the age of Instagram: who reads them and how to write them”;
- master class by Yulia Spanaway “How to use video to reach people’s hearts”;
- meeting with chief editor of “Russian Faith” Reverend Joseph Gleason;
- round table “news hooks of the year in traditional and social media”;
- the meeting with the Director General of the presidential grants by Ilya Chukalin;
- presentation of the Digital Agency “Interium”;
- presentation of Natalia Rodomanova project “Храм78. The Orthodox symbol of Saint-Petersburg”;
- workshop “neo-paganism in Russia: Genesis and development of the phenomenon in the end of XX – beginning of XXI centuries”
Also on the first day of the festival “Faith and word” was held the meeting with the well-known publicist and political scientist, first Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and society and the media A. V.-String.
The day ended with two momentous events: teleconference with the Director of the Department of information and press of the Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova and meeting with the press Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia priest Alexander Volkov.
October 30 was the Central event of the forum — meeting of his Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill participants of the festival, before which the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, accompanied by the Governor of the Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Metropolitan Vyshgorod and Chernobyl Paul visited the photo exhibition “the way of the cross monastery”.
Opening the meeting, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the audience with opening remarks, and then answered their questions. Among the themes dealt with his Holiness — the work of the Orthodox journalists in the information wars, Church events in Ukraine and the relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the problems of blogging priests, etc., the Meeting was broadcast live on TV channel “Union”.
On the same day the delegates of the festival visited the offices of leading media sites: the newspaper “Izvestiya”, TV channel “Spas”, office IT-company “Ashmanov and partners” and Internet companies Mail.ru Group.
The day ended with a meeting with the General Director of channel “Spas” Boris by Koschevnikovi.
31 October following festival events:
- meeting with the Secretary for inter-Orthodox relations of the Department for external Church relations, Archpriest Igor Yakymchuk editor-in-chief of magazine “Foma in Ukraine” Protodeacon Alexander Karpenko, devoted to the discussion of the situation in Ukraine;
- master class of the Director General of SMM-Agency GreenPR Damir Khalilov on social media;
- round table administrators of the Orthodox communities.
- master class Eugene Strelchika on print media;
- round table of the priests help;
- master-class of priest Igor Palkin photography;
- a master class by Miroslav Flogged by the social network Odnoklassniki;
- master class Galina Gradoselskaya social network “Vkontakte”;
- master class Alena’s Ateway “Mechanisms and tools of social advertising: prospects for use in Church work”;
- master class by Yulia Pokrovskaya “Where are the fakes and how to fight them?”;
- master class of Kseniya Kadyrova on the social network Facebook;
- round table on regional radio broadcasting with the participation of the Director of radio “Faith” Roman Torgashin.
On October 31, the VIII International festival “Faith and word” ended with a solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the Contest of the Church’s resources in social media. In addition, was awarded two Special prizes of the Chairman of Department on interrelations of the Church with society and the media. The awards were presented by the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and society and the media V. Legoida, and the head of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia priest Alexander Volkov.
The winners of the Contest of the Church’s resources in social media in the nomination “the Official community of the diocese / Archdiocese in Facebook” are:
1st place — Odessa diocese;
2nd place — Nizhny Novgorod diocese;
3rd place — Vladikavkaz diocese.
In the nomination “the Official community of the diocese / Archdiocese in Instagram”:
- 1st place — Pyatigorsk diocese;
- 2nd place — Tatarstan Metropolia;
- 3rd place — Simbirsk Archdiocese.
In the nomination “the Official community of the diocese / Archdiocese in the “Classmates””:
- 1st place — Fraternal diocese;
- 2nd place — Nizhny Novgorod diocese;
- 3rd place — Klintsovskiy diocese.
In the nomination “the Official community of the diocese / Archdiocese in “Vkontakte””:
- 1st place — Tatarstan Metropolia;
- 2nd place — Arkhangelsk eparchy;
- 3rd place — the diocese of Tula.
In the nomination “the Official channel of the diocese / Archdiocese on YouTube”:
- 1st place — Ryazan eparchy;
- 2nd place — the diocese of Tula;
- 3 place — Zaporozhye diocese.
In the nomination “the Blog of a priest on YouTube”:
- The 1st place was not awarded;
- 2nd place — father Alexander Kuchta;
- 3rd place — the priest Svyatoslav Shevchenko, priest Pavel Ostrovsky.
Special prizes were awarded: journalist of “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” E. Yakovleva — “For special contribution to the development of religious journalism in the secular media”, the Ekaterinburg Metropolitanate — “For gains in media coverage of the 100th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Royal passion-bearers”.
The festival was attended by over 550 delegates, including representatives of the 183 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.