“Having Hope” is a National Repentance Forum started on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Catastrophe in 1917. It is a call addressed at those whose hearts ache for the fate of Russia, Russian people and Russian church. The Forum calls those who participate to demand full deCommunization, to restore the best Russian traditions, to remember not only the honour and worth of every human person, but also a sense of nobility and generosity.

Kirill Mozgov is a Russian philologist and holds his BA in Theology from St Philaret Christian Orthodox Institute (SFI, Moscow) and his MA in Theology from the Russian Christian Academy of Humanities (RCHHA, St Petersburg). He is a lecturer History of Catechism and Church Slavonic. Kirill is also the Head of the SFI Publishing House. Since 2015 he is also the Head of St Seraphim Orthodox Brotherhood.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia saw an unprecedented interest in Christian faith and church life, with the hope to restore the religious aspect of human dignity. Yet, deprived of any religious upbringing, most people found it hard to enter the church. The practice of prolonged catechumenate that was developed in the Transfiguration Fellowship of Minor Orthodox Brotherhoods served to help those seeking God to discover the Scriptures and bring their life in accordance with the teaching of Christ. The presentation examines how the principles of catechumenal practice of the ancient church are applied in today’s Russia in order to restore human dignity.

Vladimir Yakuntsev holds his BA from St Philaret Christian Orthodox Institute (SFI, Moscow) and MA in Theology from the Russian Christian Academy of Humanities (RCHHA, St Petersburg). He is Head of the Research Centre for Mission and Catechesis at SFI and a lecturer in Missiology and Catechetics. From 2000 to 2020 he was also the Head of St Sergius Orthodox Brotherhood.

Zoom: https://wwu.zoom.us/j/96937117931; Code: summer