Russia’s Patriarch to award Best Book

Tatyana Karpekina
13/1/2011

The Russian Orthodox Church now has its own Patriarch Book Prize for the outstanding work promoting spiritual and moral values. Authors may begin sending in their manuscripts from mid January.

Russia’s Orthodox Church already has its own Film Prize, which last year was awarded to Vladimir Khotinenko’s “The Priest”. Now the Church has turned to literature, which carries a great moral impact.

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill considers modern literature to be postmodernism – text for the sake of text. He says it’s a global trend but Russian literature has always been different, possessing not only aesthetic but moral substance. The Patriarch believes this tradition should be safeguarded.

“Many Russian poets and writers saw their work as a mission of prophecy. They foretold social disasters, economic collapses and environmental threats of the 21st century in their writings. Russian literature is world famous for its “global sympathy” and it should preserve its prophetic gift and the power to influence people.”

Contemporary book prizes often choose books of doubtful moral substance, the organizers of the Patriarch Book Prize say. The new award will distinguish authors who combine high moral and aesthetic ideals in their works. The panel of judges comprises clergymen, famous writers, journalists and philologists. Writer Alexey Varlamov is one of them

“Relations between Russian literature and the Russian Orthodox Church are worthy of a book. They are lovers constantly jealous of each other. However, the new Patriarch Prize proves that the church and literature are allies. Any Russian master, be it Dostoevsky or Bulgakov, had religious themes in his work. Modern literature keeps the trend.”

The first awards ceremony for the Prize will be held on May 25, the day that commemorates Cyril and Methodius, the two saints who created the Glagolitic alphabet and disseminated culture among the Slavs.

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