Chinese Patriarchal Metochion in Moscow conducted educational trip for Chinese students in Holy Trinity-St.Sergius Lavra
22/2/13
Chinese Orthodox Church
English translation by Katherine Ilachinski
On February 16, “Meeting with Orthodox Christianity” educational trip was held in the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra and Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy (MDA). The trip was organized by the Chinese Patriarchal Metochion at the church of St. Nicholas in Golutvino near Moscow with the participation of the Orthodox Missionary School in the Missionary Department of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Missionary Society of Ven. Serapion of Kozheozersk.
Chinese students from Moscow State University, Pushkin National Institute of the Russian Language, and Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship took part in the trip. The purpose of the trip was to give Chinese students the opportunity to directly see the depth and beauty of Orthodox life. They get to hear in their native language about the Orthodox faith and life from the clergy and students of the Academy.
Students and organizers of the trip became acquainted on the way to the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra. The trip participants during a meeting were told about the special significance of the monastery to the Orthodox believer and about the Chinese Metochion in Moscow. This was followed by detailed tour of the Holy Trinity Monastery and lunch. In the second part of the excursion they were told about the deeds and writings of Venerable St. Sergius. This was followed by a tour of the MDA, which included a visit to the Museum of Department of Biblical Studies, the Pokrovsky academic church and the office of Church-Archaeological Studies.
Later on, they were shown a movie about the Academy, meeting and chatting with the students of the Academy, as well as 1.5 hour presentation “Of the Orthodox faith and life in the Church.” In the presentation the following topics were covered: “The significance and meaning of the Faith”, “Search for God and meeting with Him”, “Faith in God, as the basis of human vision”, “Christ as the Savior of the world”, “What is the Church?”, “Sacred Scripture and Tradition of Church, ” The meaning of life and the principles of the Orthodox Christian “,” The value of prayer and worship”. Next was a tour of the building of the Moscow Theological Seminary, where the students visited the Far East Center at MDA and the seminary church in which the evening worship took place.
Trip participants were given books and booklets about Orthodoxy in Chinese.
All discussions, tours and presentation took place entirely in Chinese.
