The traditional Pokrovsky Academic Conference was held at the Moscow Theological Academy on October 12, 2026. This year, its central theme was the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Synodal Translation of the Bible.
Opening the conference, the rector of the Moscow Orthodox Church, Bishop Kirill of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov, in a greeting read by Archpriest Alexander Zadornov, called the Word of God a source of grace and saving knowledge, sounding in a language understandable to a seeking person. His Eminence also recalled that the work on the Synodal Translation had united the theological academies of the Russian Church.
The plenary session was devoted to the history and peculiarities of the Russian translation of the Bible. The speakers discussed discrepancies in biblical texts, the translation of the epistles of the Apostle Paul, discussions around the Synodal translation and its role in shaping the Russian liturgical language. A separate presentation was devoted to the Patriarchal Bible Study Program. According to the speaker, there are 2,388 groups working on this program in Russia today.
After the plenary session, the work continued in ten sections. The participants discussed theology, biblical studies, patrology, church history and art, spiritual literature, canon law and education in theological schools. Among the topics of the reports were the Christian understanding of love, Orthodox ecology, the study of ancient Russian manuscripts, the preservation of temples and church education.
In parallel with the plenary session, the Faculty of Church Singing Arts of the Moscow State Academy of Arts held a round table "Modern issues of Church singing education." The participants talked about studying the ancient Russian singing tradition, working with library collections and teaching znamenny singing. The discussion was accompanied by a performance by a student ensemble: chants of the ancient Russian tradition were performed.
Another round table was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The reports dealt with the history and modern structure of the church court, the pastoral care of the Orthodox Diaspora, and the work of the Inter-Council Presence.
The Pokrovsky Conference annually gathers teachers, researchers and students of theological schools. As noted by Archpriest Alexander Zadornov, her program combines the discussion of a common topical topic with the work of sections prepared by departments and master's programs. This year, the anniversary of the Synodal Translation became an occasion to revisit the history of the Russian biblical text and its significance in the life of the Church.