On March 30, 2026, the White Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow hosted the awarding ceremony for the winners of the XII season of the International Children's and Youth Literary Competition named after I.S. Shmelev "Summer of the Lord". The ceremony was led by Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The event was attended by Andrey Sorokin, director of the Political Encyclopedia publishing house, Alexander Galitsky, poet, musician, presenter of the Spas TV channel, Sergey Lobanov, poet, member of the SVO, Ekaterina Uba, head of the Education Development Center of the Russian Academy of Education, Alexander Orlov, director of the Golden Knight Literary Forum, Igor Vityuk, Colonel of the reserve, Secretary of the Writers' Union of Russia, teachers, experts and organizers of the competition.
The ceremony was led by poet Vsevolod Volokolamsk and the winner of the previous seasons of the competition, actress Vasilisa Denisova.
In his opening remarks, the head of the Publishing Council said: "For a person working with the word, it is important to accumulate different stories. Where is the memory stored? In the Church, we believe that it is in the soul, not in the brain, and some scientists come to the same conclusion — the brain is just a repeater, its cells are constantly being renewed... Therefore, if you have a good idea, write it down in a notebook on your smartphone. It will mature when the time comes."
During the ceremony, the names of the laureates in three age groups were announced. Presenting awards with Metropolitan Clement to the winners of the competition from the junior group (grades 6-7), Andrey Sorokin urged young authors to constantly realize their responsibility to the Lord, who gave them the gift of the word.
Alexander Galitsky performed his poems and songs. Sergey Lobanov, who participated in awarding the participants of the middle group (grades 8-9), recalled: "We are responsible for what we wrote. Only the works of someone who is fully responsible for his every word will survive the ages. Accessibility to everyone and truth is the foundation of writing."
Ekaterina Uba shared her impressions of the creative works: "I listen to excerpts from the works that you have written, and I understand that without living the lives of your characters, it would be impossible to write this. By saying words, you collect the world around you. I bow before you and your teachers." Alexander Orlov reminded the laureates and finalists of the need to constantly work on themselves.
Kirill Sidorenkov, a laureate from the senior age group, said in his reply: "The question that faces me and each of us is the same — to remain faithful to God or to do "like everyone else," and it seems to me that the choice of a real person is obvious — to be with God."
Summing up the meeting, Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk gave advice to the young authors: "It's better to fall asleep with a book than with a smartphone."
The list of winners of the competition is available on the website of the Publishing Council.
By decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the editor-in-chief of the Political Encyclopedia publishing house, A.K. Sorokin, was awarded the medal of the Order of St. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, for his contribution to the development of spiritual enlightenment. The award was presented by Metropolitan Clement in the White Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior before the award ceremony for the winners of the "Summer of the Lord" competition.