On September 16-17, 2026, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, held advanced training courses under the program "Pastoral Ministry in Correctional Institutions of the Penitentiary System of the Russian Federation."
55 clergy from 32 dioceses took part in the training. The program included lectures, seminars and a round table devoted to modern areas of the Church's prison mission, the specifics of the functioning of the penal system, legislative changes and practical issues of spiritual care for prisoners.
The chairman of the Synodal Department for Prison Ministry, Priest Kirill Markovsky, spoke about the organization of clergy ministry in correctional institutions, missionary work among convicts and prison staff, counseling and pastoral practice. The participants also discussed the participation of convicts in church sacraments, suicide prevention, spiritual care for people traveling to the area of a special military operation, and educational work with employees of institutions.
Representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia and the Academy of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia addressed the audience. They highlighted the issues of cooperation between the penal correction system and religious organizations, conducting security events in churches and prayer rooms, as well as cooperation between prison clergy and prison psychologists.
A separate lecture was devoted to the prevention of the spread of neo-paganism, occultism and other destructive religious movements. It was read by Andrey Solodkov, senior lecturer at the Sretensky Theological Academy.
The participants of the course also discussed the possibilities of remote spiritual education for convicts. The pilot projects implemented in 2025-2026 to study the foundations of the Orthodox faith have shown the relevance of such educational programs in educational institutions.
Currently, more than 1,100 clergymen are responsible for pastoral ministry in institutions of the penitentiary system, over 600 of them are in charge of correctional and educational colonies, prisons and correctional institutions.