With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Orthodox book exhibition and forum "The Joy of the Word" is taking place in Tambov from October 1-3, 2025.
The event was organized by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ministry of Culture of the Tambov Region, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Tambov Region and the Tambov Diocese.
Before the opening, which took place in the Tambov Regional Universal Scientific Library named after A.S. Pushkin, a prayer service was held at the ark with a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. The shrine was brought to Tambov as part of the exhibition-forum.
The curator of educational projects of the Publishing Council, Priest Andrey Stepanov, became the moderator of the opening ceremony.
Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council, addressed the audience with a welcoming speech. He drew the audience's attention to the inextricable connection between the work of Russian writers and the Orthodox faith and the spiritual and moral foundations of the culture of the people. Bishop Kliment called on everyone to read the Gospel more often in order to better understand Russian literature and culture. Metropolitan Theodosius and Deputy Head of the Tambov Region N.N. Fedoseyenkov addressed the audience.
The opening ceremony was attended by the clergy of the Tambov Diocese, employees of cultural institutions, teachers and students of higher educational institutions of the Tambov region, as well as residents of the region.
After the opening ceremony, Priest Andrey Stepanov conducted a tour of the book exhibition for the honored guests, where theological, liturgical, historical, children's and other publications were presented. The guests also got acquainted with the St. Tikhon exhibition, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the blessed repose of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Russia.
On the first day of the exhibition-forum, the conference "Enlightenment and Morality: Personality Formation and Challenges of the Time" was held in the assembly hall of the A.S. Pushkin Tambov Library. The event was dedicated to important anniversaries in 2025: the 100th anniversary of St. Tikhon's blessed repose and the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. 
The meeting continued with the presentation of new books by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, published by the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate, conducted by Priest Andrey Stepanov. The sets of books presented were transferred to the library fund of the Tambov Theological Seminary. All participants of the event received as a gift books by Metropolitan Kliment "Family. The principles of happiness."
Archpriest Alexander Abramov, Secretary of the Synodal Commission on Bioethics, gave a lecture on "Human dignity in the technological world: issues of artificial intelligence" in the assembly hall of the Tambov Theological Seminary. Father Alexander told the audience about the ethical challenges associated with high technology, the limits of the applicability of neural networks and ways to use AI for missionary purposes. There was a discussion of the presented issues, during which young people had the opportunity to ask questions. All participants of the event received books by Metropolitan Kliment "God and Man" as a gift.
Books of the Publishing Council for the Higher Theological School were handed over in the library of the Tambov Theological Seminary. The transferred publications will replenish the library fund of the seminary and will contribute to the development of Orthodox education in the region.
In addition, during the first day of the exhibition-forum, a creative meeting with the winner of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, V.N. Nikolaev, and a screening of the documentary film "Golgotha Patriarch Tikhon" took place.