On September 25, the Central House of Culture of the Diveevsky Municipal District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region hosted the awarding ceremony for the winners of the pedagogical competition "Serafimovsky Teacher — 2026". The awards were presented by Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas.
The celebration was attended by representatives of the clergy, authorities and the teaching community, participants of the final conference "The Legacy of St. Seraphim of Sarov and current issues of spiritual and moral education." The conference brought together teachers from 45 regions of Russia and the Republic of Belarus.
Addressing the audience, Metropolitan George emphasized the importance of the teacher's work in the spiritual and moral education of children and youth. The archpastor thanked the teachers for their dedication to their work and noted the importance of understanding the content of education from an evangelical perspective.
Eight teachers were awarded the title of "Serafimov teacher — 2026". ""Serafimov Mentor" honorary title was awarded to Nun Natalia (Lyalyushko), director of the Alexandrinsky Monastic Orthodox School, and Natalia Makshantseva, Professor of the Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University named after N. A. Dobrolyubov, was awarded the title of "Serafimov Educator". The full list of winners is published on the website of the Nizhny Novgorod Archdiocese.
Following the results of the competition, a two-volume collection was published, which included 54 works on the spiritual, moral and patriotic education of children and youth. It presents educational projects, programs, and methodological developments for use in teaching practice.
The "Serafimovsky Teacher" competition has been held by the St. Seraphim of Sarov Charitable Foundation since 2005 and is aimed at supporting teachers and spreading the experience of spiritual and moral education.