The Fifth International Festival of Orthodox media "Faith and the Word" opened on Monday in Moscow. Participants in the festival will discuss new forms of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and contemporary society, the church and secular journalism.
"The main goal of the festival is the dialogue and the consolidation of the Church and of journalism, to discuss new forms of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and contemporary society, and to find ways of promoting Orthodox media", said the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Church, which is organising the forum.
The festival takes place every two years, and was first held in 2004. This time it will feature 467 delegates from 154 dioceses, located in Russia, the CIS and other foreign countries. They are journalists, editors, including the federal media, members of the diocesan press services, media experts and social scientists.
The first and second day of the forum will be held in the Moscow suburban resort "Foresta Tropicana". The programme will include round tables and panel discussions on issues of relations between the Church and the media, and an exhibition on the diocesan press services. A festival will be held on Wednesday at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
Among the identified topics for discussion are "A positive agenda: how we can create it"; "the Inter-Council Presence: Is the media involved in shaping the discussion of culture?” “How does the news differ from the ‘surge’?”; "Blogs, social networks and forums: what are they - new media or hobby clubs?"; "Print media: is there a crisis of the genre?", "Religion in the media: between PR and journalism"; "The future of ‘officialdom’: Development of official church media"; "Church and Society in Russia in the eyes of a sociologist"; "Cultural policy issues in the context of the relations of Church and State"; "Children's and women's Orthodox media: a search for development. "
On the closing day of the festival – October 31 – Christ the Saviour Cathedral will host a meeting of its members with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, during which you can ask questions about the Russian Orthodox Church.