On 21 November 2013, the Department for External Church Relations hosted the first meeting of a workshop for composing a study guide for migrants from Muslim countries. Among those taking part in the meeting chaired by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk were Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, chairman of the Synodal department for cooperation with the Cossacks; archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal department for Church-Society relations; hegumen Petr (Yeremeyev), rector of the Russian Orthodox University; hegumen Serapion (Mitko), vice-chairman of the Synodal department for Mission.
Members of the workshop studied a textbook for migrants, ‘The fundamentals of the Russian Language and Culture,’ written by experts from the Synodal department for Church-Society relations, the Russian Orthodox University and the Federal Migration Service of Russia in the framework of the ‘Education’ project. The participants in the meeting shaped a working plan and made recommendation to the authors of the study guide, which will be oriented at the requirements made to migrants by the authorities for the knowledge of the Russian language and intellectual culture. Also, the study guide will introduce migrants to the religious traditions of the peoples of Russia.
Source: DECR
