Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian Liturgical Tradition

The idea of ​​such a center was hatched for a long time - in 2004 at the Bishops 'Council a Commission was established for the affairs of Old Believers' parishes and interaction with the Old Believers ^[4] .

It was established on July 3, 2009 by the decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill at the Intercession Church in Rubtsov in Moscow "with the aim of practical implementation of the Commission approved by the Russian Orthodox Church Commission on the affairs of the Old Believers' parishes and on interaction with the Old Believers" ^[5] .

From the day of its foundation, the “Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian Liturgical Tradition” has been headed by Priest John Mirolyubov . According to Priest John, the patriarchal center is called upon to study the essence of the split more fully and to heal it as much as possible ^[4] .

On February 9, 2010, the Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian liturgical tradition was officially registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation ^[1] .

On February 4, 2011, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in its definition “On issues of the internal life and external activity of the Russian Orthodox Church” noted ^[6] :

The ongoing activities of the Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian liturgical tradition are called upon to further streamline the activities of the Old Believers (single-faith) parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is recognized that it is expedient to develop it as an institution for the preparation of clergy of clergy.

At a seminar for Old Believers (clergy) clergy on January 22, 2018, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) noted: “It is gratifying that strong patriarchal and business ties have developed with the many newly established Old Believer communities. The Simbirsk and Vyatka communities and the Rostov-on-Don community can be especially noted. Some activists of the Old Believer communities become freelance employees of the center. I urge everyone to work closely with the Patriarchal Center, because such cooperation can significantly help not only in the formation of local Old Believer communities, but also in the development of the entire Old Believer movement ” ^[7] .

• Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill , Chairman of the Supervisory Board;
• Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (Alfeev) , Chairman of the DECR MP, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board;
• Archpriest Nikolai Balashov , Deputy Chairman of the DECR MP;
• Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk , Secretary of the DECR-MP for Inter-Orthodox Relations;
• Priest John Mirolyubov , Secretary of the Commission for Old Believer Parishes and for Cooperation with the Old Believers, consultant of the DECR MP;
• Leonid Mikhailovich Sevastyanov , Executive Director of the Saint Gregory the Theologian Charity Fund;
• Dmitry Ivanovich Petrovsky , employee of the DECR MP.

According to the charter, in order to achieve its goals and objectives, the "Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian liturgical tradition": ^[1]

• promotes the full participation of the Old Believers' parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in church life;
• promotes coordination of the activities of the Old Believer parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, studies and summarizes their experience;
• acquaints Orthodox believers with the Old Russian Christian culture, in particular, with the ancient traditions of the domestic and family way of life.
• contributes to improving the skills of clergymen of the Old Believers parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Russian Orthodox Church in conducting services according to old Russian church charters.
• contributes to the teaching of the ancient church regulations and significant singing.
• carries out applied research in the field of Russian and Byzantine liturgics , church archeology, reconstruction of ancient strata (until the middle of the 17th century) of Russian church culture;
• holds round tables, seminars and other events dedicated to the spiritual heritage of Ancient Russia;
• conducts training seminars to prepare young people for a healthy family.

As noted by John Mirolyubov in 2016: “we have several circles where they teach famous singing - to read and sing“ on hooks ”- this is how chants were recorded before the introduction of modern musical notation in Russia. In other circles, future priests study the liturgical charter. Priests from other cities come for internship <...> Famous liturgists - Mikhail Zheltov, George Krylov - give lectures at us, there is a historical seminar. We are forming a circle of scientists who are interested in working in the field of the history of the Russian church: the reason for the schism, the processes that occur in modern old-fashionedness and modern co-religion. We plan publishing activities: scientific, liturgical literature ” ^[8] .

• List of Old Believers' Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church
• Map of Old Believers' Parishes on the Russian Faith website

• The Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian liturgical tradition on the site "patriarchia.ru"
• Facebook page
• Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk visited the Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian liturgical tradition
• Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian Liturgical Tradition ", Moscow