With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, an inter-diocesan round table "Practical fulfillment of monastic vows in modern conditions" was held on August 17, 2026. The meeting was prepared by the joint organizing Committee of the Voronezh, Lipetsk, Ryazan and Tambov metropolitanates and was held in a face-to-face and remote format.
The round table was attended by archpastors, vicars, abbots and abbesses of monasteries, hegumens, abbesses and monastics of the four metropolitans.
Opening the meeting, Metropolitan Leonty of Voronezh and Liski greeted the audience. Abbess Juliania (Kaleda), Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism and Abbess of the Zachatievsky Stavropol Convent in Moscow, read out the welcoming speech of Metropolitan Feognost of Kashira, Chairman of the Synodal Department. The meeting was also addressed by the archpastors of the dioceses that make up the four metropolitans.
28 reports and presentations were made during the round table. The speakers reflected on the meaning of monastic vows and the specifics of their fulfillment in the modern world, on obedience as a school of humility, non-greed, chastity, fasting and sobriety, spiritual reading, work, illnesses and sorrows in the life of a monk.
Special attention was paid to the spiritual care of the newcomers, the preservation of the traditional monastic way of life, the rhythm of life of the modern monastery and the dangers associated with clip thinking. The participants also spoke about the joy of monastic achievement, faithfulness to the chosen path and staying in the monastery for the rest of their lives.
The round table was accompanied by a free discussion. Representatives of the monasteries shared their experiences of passing the monastic path and arranging the life of their monasteries, discussed emerging difficulties and possible ways to overcome them.
The meeting participants noted the relevance of the issues raised and the importance of continuing the inter-diocesan dialogue on the spiritual and practical aspects of monastic life.