The Joy of the Word International Book Exhibition and Forum was held in Chelyabinsk. The opening ceremony of the exhibition at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ was attended by Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursky, Chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, Metropolitan Alexy of Chelyabinsk and Miass. Among the guests of honor were Irina Anfalova-Shishkina, Minister of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region, and Dmitry Semenov, Head of the Regional Government's Public Relations Department.
The exhibition was held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the celebration of the Cathedral of Saints of the Chelyabinsk Metropolitanate. At the opening of the forum, the importance of the Holy Scriptures, Orthodox literature and books in the preservation of spiritual and cultural traditions was discussed.
Metropolitan Vikenty noted that the Word of God has become a source of spiritual strength for the South Ural saints, whose memory is celebrated these days. "At one time, they were guided by the Word of God, fed on the Word of God. And the gifts of God that they received through the Word of God led them to such a height of spiritual perfection that they had the strength of the spirit, the strength of strength and the strength of faith. Therefore, we must be guided by the Word of God, cultivate high moral values, which we need to revive, because, unfortunately, we have lost something. We thank you for this mission, which brings the light of education and knowledge through the book, through the Word of God, through the Gospel and the Bible. This is a book of books that has no equal in the whole world. We need to turn to her again and again. The Lord has given us time for spiritual rebirth and the strengthening of piety, and we must take advantage of this time."
Metropolitan Clement spoke about the history of the "Joy of the Word" project, which has been held on the initiative of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill since 2009. His task is to acquaint residents of different regions with new Orthodox publications and to make spiritual literature accessible to readers. Speaking about the importance of the book for the preservation of Russian culture, Vladyka Kliment stressed: "It is very important for us now that the word unites us, makes us one people. Not just territories endowed with various natural resources. Riches make the glory of Russia, but Pushkin and Dostoevsky, our cathedrals, temples, monasteries, icons, our prayer books and reverends make the glory of Russia. And how do we know if we don't read the word? Russian Russians will become united if we are not just a territory, but bearers of Russian culture, continue the tradition, and develop the Russian language, which was spoken by saints, martyrs, writers, and defenders of the Fatherland. It's not the gadget that should be in our hands, but the Gospel and the prayer book."
Metropolitan Alexy thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for blessing the exhibition, the archpastors for participating in its organization and opening ceremony, and the Government and the Ministry of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region for their support of the project.
The exhibition featured modern theological publications, the works of the Holy Fathers, Orthodox children's and fiction literature, books on the history of Russia and the Church, as well as on Orthodox psychology.
Within the framework of the forum, presentations of new books by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Patriarchal Bible Study Program "Explore the Scriptures" were held, a mobile photo exhibition "Primates of the Moscow Land" was held, and a youth intellectual game was held.
New editions of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House were donated to the Chelyabinsk Metropolis, including the 32nd edition of the Collected Works of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the book "Patriarch Kirill on Holy Scripture" and the publication "War. Beyond apparent cause and effect."