On May 28, 2026, the Book Chamber of the Church-wide Postgraduate and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal to the Apostles, hosted the presentation of a new church-wide textbook "Introduction to Comparative Theology", published by the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church in the series "Textbook of Bachelor of Theology" under the general editorship of Priest Anthony Borisov.
The event was attended by authors, reviewers, editors, clergy, rectors of theological schools involved in the process of creating the book. Opening the meeting, Priest Anthony Borisov presented a new manual prepared by a team of 11 authors, and drew attention, on the one hand, to the methodological continuity of the publication in relation to the works of previous years, primarily by well-known experts in this field, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov and Archpriest Valentin Vasechko, and, on the other hand, to a noticeably expanded the composition of the topics presented in it, including those devoted to the modern life of various Christian denominations. He expressed gratitude to everyone who was involved in the creation and publication of the textbook.
The participants of the presentation highly appreciated the new collective work of Orthodox scientists, emphasizing the timeliness of its release and the importance for the system of spiritual education. During the presentations, it was noted that the book was prepared at a high scientific level, provides a balanced comparison of faiths from the standpoint of the Orthodox faith, and is written in stylistically good language, which makes it accessible to a wide range of readers. This approach will allow students to better understand the essence of other denominations and at the same time appreciate the beauty and truth of Orthodoxy more deeply. It was noted that such a level of systematic textbooks on comparative theology does not actually exist in other Local Orthodox Churches today. The published textbook lays a solid foundation for future research and didactic developments in this disciplinary field.
In conclusion, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, rector of the Ecclesiastical Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, stressed that such a large-scale and innovative project to create textbooks for higher theological schools was made possible solely thanks to the initiative of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Previously, church science had not been given tasks of this level, and neither the Hierarchy nor the teachers had any experience in compiling such a corpus of manuals. At the moment, the Training Committee is actively engaged in planning and developing other manuals in various areas.