For oatmeal cookies. Books of the Patriarchal Prize Laureates Patriarchal Literature Prize Laureates

On May 11, 2017, in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led the seventh ceremony of electing and awarding laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church: the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church; the first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the city of Moscow, Metropolitan Arseniy of Istra; Metropolitan of Saratov and Volsky Longin; Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov, abbot of the St. Andrew's Monastery; Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate Bishop Pavel of Molodechno and Stolbtsy; Bishop of Edinet and Brichansk Nikodim; Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archpriest Vladimir Siloviev, Editor-in-Chief of the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov), Deputy Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate; employees of the Publishing Council, the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate and other synodal institutions, clergy and monastics.
The event was also attended by members of the Chamber of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, Russian literary critics, journalists, representatives of state and public organizations, and cultural figures.
On the Soyuz TV channel there was a live broadcast from the Hall of Church Cathedrals.
The ceremony began with a demonstration of a film dedicated to the history of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed the audience with the First Hierarch's word.
Acceptance of applications for the Patriarchal Literary Prize began on September 14, 2016. During the seventh premium season, 50 applications were received from various regions of Russia, as well as from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Latvia. March 28 this year At a meeting of the Chamber of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, a short list of nominees for 2017 was approved, which included:
Irina Anatolyevna Bogdanova;
Dmitry Mikhailovich Volodikhin;
Vasily Vladimirovich Dvortsov;
Victor Ivanovich Likhonosov;
Boris Fedorovich Sporov;
Alexander Borisovich Tkachenko;
Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.
The names of the laureates are determined by secret ballot. To count votes from among the members of the House of Trustees, a Counting Commission was formed in the following composition:
Bishop Pavel of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate;
Yu.M. Loshchits, writer, publicist and literary critic, laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize;
K.P. Kovalev-Sluchevsky, professor at the Institute of Journalism and Literary Creativity, writer.
Then the elections of the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize took place: the members of the House of Trustees filled out the voting ballots. The ballots were handed over to the Counting Commission. The members of the Counting Commission counted the votes, filled out the protocol and handed it over to His Holiness the Patriarch.
During the voting and counting of votes, a film about the nominees of the 2017 Patriarchal Literary Prize was shown.
Then the results of a secret ballot were announced, according to the results of which V.I. Likhonosov, B.F. Disputes and Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.
His Holiness the Patriarch presented the laureates with a diploma and badges of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.
All the nominees of the 2017 award were also invited to the stage - I.A. Bogdanova, D.M. Volodikhin, V.V. Palaces, A.B. Tkachenko, to whom the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church presented honorary diplomas.
The choir of the orphanage "Otrada" at the Nikolsky Chernoostrovsky Monastery in the city of Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Region, participated in the musical accompaniment of the ceremony.
The evening ended with a concert.

The Patriarchal Literary Prize was established by the Holy Synod at a meeting on December 25, 2009 (magazine No. 115) with the aim of encouraging writers who have made a significant contribution to the affirmation of spiritual and moral values ​​in the life of a modern person, family and society, who have created highly artistic works that have enriched Russian literature. This award has no analogues in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Orthodox Churches.
The first laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize in 2011 was the writer Vladimir Krupin. In the second premium season (2012), Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev became the winners. In 2013, Alexei Varlamov, Yuri Loshchits and Stanislav Kunyaev were awarded. In the fourth premium season (2014), the winners were Archpriest Nikolai Agafonov, Valentin Kurbatov and Valery Ganichev. In 2015, the prize was awarded to Yuri Bondarev, Yuri Kublanovskiy and Alexander Segen, in 2016 - to Boris Ekimov, Boris Tarasov and priest Nikolai Blokhin.

On May 11, 2017, in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led the seventh ceremony of electing and awarding laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church: the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church; the first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the city of Moscow; ; viceroy; Chairman of the Publishing Council; ; Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate; Chief Editor ; deputy manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; employees of the Publishing Council, the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate and other synodal institutions, clergy and monastics.

The event was also attended by members of the Chamber of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, Russian literary critics, journalists, representatives of state and public organizations, and cultural figures.

Acceptance of applications for the competition of the Patriarchal Literary Prize on September 14, 2016. During the seventh premium season, 50 applications were received from various regions of Russia, as well as from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Latvia. March 28 this year at a meeting of the Chamber of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, a short list of nominees for 2017, which included:

• Irina Anatolyevna Bogdanova;
• Dmitry Mikhailovich Volodikhin;
• Vasily Vladimirovich Dvortsov;
• Victor Ivanovich Likhonosov;
• Boris Fedorovich Sporov;
• Alexander Borisovich Tkachenko;
• Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.

• Bishop Pavel of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate;
• Yu.M. Loshchits, writer, publicist and literary critic, laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize;
• K.P. Kovalev-Sluchevsky, professor at the Institute of Journalism and Literary Creativity, writer.

Then the elections of the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize took place: the members of the House of Trustees filled out the voting ballots. The ballots were handed over to the Counting Commission. The members of the Counting Commission counted the votes, filled out the protocol and handed it over to His Holiness the Patriarch.

His Holiness the Patriarch presented the laureates with a diploma and badges of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.

All the nominees of the 2017 award were also invited to the stage - I.A. Bogdanova, D.M. Volodikhin, V.V. Palaces, A.B. Tkachenko, to whom the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church presented honorary diplomas.

The choir of the orphanage "Otrada" at the Nikolsky Chernoostrovsky Monastery in the city of Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Region, participated in the musical accompaniment of the ceremony.

The evening ended with a concert.

The Patriarchal Literary Prize was established by the Holy Synod on December 25, 2009 () with the aim of encouraging writers who have made a significant contribution to the affirmation of spiritual and moral values ​​​​in the life of a modern person, family and society, who have created highly artistic works that have enriched Russian literature. This award has no analogues in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Orthodox Churches.

The first laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize in 2011 was the writer Vladimir Krupin. In the second premium season (2012), the winners are Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev. In 2013, Alexey Varlamov, Yuri Loshchits and Stanislav Kunyaev were awarded. In the fourth premium season (2014), the laureates are Archpriest Nikolai Agafonov, Valentin Kurbatov and Valery Ganichev. In 2015, the award to Yuri Bondarev, Yuri Kublanovskiy and Alexander Segen, in

On May 11, 2017, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia held a solemn ceremony for the election and awarding of laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles.

Your Eminences and Eminences! Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Ladies and Gentlemen!

Christ is Risen!

I cordially greet you all. We have gathered in this hall to elect for the seventh time the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles. And I am sure that today, as in past years, truly worthy authors will become the new laureates.

According to the established tradition, I would like to preface the ceremony with some reflections on the fate of Russian literature.

Once I happened to read an article in a well-known foreign publication devoted to the current state of Russian literature. The article came out under a very bright and provocative title: “Is Russian Literature Dead?” I will not retell the content of this article - I think the essence is clear from the title. The main message of the author was that Russian writers allegedly "chunked", the last great works were written several decades ago, and the authority and influence of Russian literature on the minds of contemporaries is not at all the same as before.

Let's leave out the fact that the article was published in a foreign weekly. Unfortunately, such pessimistic views are encountered among representatives of the domestic intelligentsia. At such moments, I always want to ask the interlocutor: “Where do such thoughts come from? Did the writers of the 19th or 20th centuries have better conditions for creativity, or was there more food for thought than today?

Talented people are born and live in any era. The question is not at all that we do not have new Pushkins, Dostoevskys, Chekhovs, Pasternaks. We have them. The question is how to reveal these writers to the world, how to make their work the property of the whole society.

To clarify my thoughts, I would like to make a short digression into history, in the 30s of the XIX century. The well-known censor Alexander Krasovsky at that time, talking about contemporary literature, once called it disgusting. Probably, his judgment would not have been so interesting if it were not for the fact that Krasovsky lived in an era that would later be called the golden age of Russian culture.

So, you ask, was the critic ignorant? Not! Krasovsky was an educated, well-read man, he knew several foreign languages. What prevented him from seeing Pushkin or Gogol? What was the reason for such blindness, which did not allow contemporaries to see brilliant writers? Maybe insensitivity, inattention to the artistic word?

It's no secret that the later, more mature works of Pushkin, which we admire today, were met by many of his contemporaries very coolly and even with incomprehension. There were also those who wrote about the general crisis of literature and the decline of Pushkin's talent. And even "Boris Godunov", written earlier, was accepted and understood by readers far from immediately.

So what, after all, to the greatest extent determines the ability to see? Perhaps a view from some historical distance? This question is not rhetorical - it requires serious reflection. It is important to understand that the literary process is not one, not two, or even three names. This is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The literary process is formed in the conditions of a certain cultural environment and by the efforts of not two or three prominent people, but the entire writing community. Just as a fertile layer of soil contributes to the rapid growth and successful development of plants, so a healthy and properly organized literary process contributes to the emergence of new geniuses and beautiful works of art.

Not a single time does the Lord leave without talented people, without real writers and poets. Let me emphasize once again: there are talented authors in any era, and our time is no exception. It is important not to overlook these talents. Contemporaries, especially the writing community, editors, publishers should try to notice talents, support them, especially at the beginning of their journey, give them the opportunity to publish, tell readers about them.

Today, novice authors have to face considerable difficulties in publishing their works. Many publishing houses simply refuse to publish works by authors, referring to the current market laws, which require, first of all, what will be successfully sold, what will make a profit. The unfortunate tendency to make money from literature unfortunately often results in most publishers not being interested in the actual artistic quality of a work, but in how similar it is to one of the top-grossing novels, in order to continue this line of bestsellers.

Such market filters become a big obstacle for original and truly talented authors. And those who are able to influence the cultural environment and who have some leverage, including the publishing process, are called upon to overcome these obstacles. I am deeply convinced that a special role should be played by editors, publishers, that is, people on whom the publication of certain authors depends.

I hope that the Patriarchal Literary Prize will also make a significant contribution to the discovery of new names, in support of gifted masters of the word. This support is extremely important for writers and poets. Do we realize how many authors we do not know just because next to them there was no one who would be sincerely interested in their work, who would help to reach the reader? Do we realize how many talented people stop publishing - precisely because there were those who did not have an impeccable sense of language, were not too well versed in literature, but at the same time considered it possible to give negative reviews. Other examples can be cited: more than once talented writers and poets were unable to appreciate the works of their contemporaries. And how many texts were lost because they were not printed on time?

In general, this is a very serious topic - the ability to see, understand, feel, and much here also depends on how the public consciousness is oriented. If in the 19th and 20th centuries (at least in the first half of the 20th century) literature was an important source of food for thought, today, in the ever-growing information flow, literature occupies only a part, and far from being dominant. It is becoming increasingly difficult to discern a talented author in a huge information array. In addition, the attention of the vast majority of people today is riveted to electronic media. The general acceleration of the pace of life is another factor that adversely affects reading in general and the ability to identify outstanding authors. There is no time to read a book from beginning to end, but in order to understand the author's intention, to feel the beauty of the style, one must not only read, but also reflect on the book!

So, of course, the point is not only in publishers and editors, but also in how much the general cultural context contributes to the orientation of mass consciousness towards the sphere of fiction. And we all need to think carefully about what should be done in order for fiction to regain its position, so that people read not only light action-packed books, but also texts created by masters of the word containing deep thoughts.

The remarkable Russian poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky was able to accurately assess the scale of Pushkin's gift when he was still quite young. I quote: “For everything that happened to you and that you brought on yourself, I have one answer: poetry. You do not have a talent, but a genius ... By the authority given to me, I offer you the first place in the Russian Parnassus. And what place, if lofty genius connect and target altitude!" Probably, only a person who possessed not only literary talent, high professional qualifications, but also very strong eyesight, capable of distinguishing spirits (see 1 Cor. 12:10) could penetrate the poet’s talent in this way (see 1 Cor. 12:10). So the question arises: can a person living in our fast-flowing, busy time have such a vision, or is a modern person completely deprived of the opportunity to see the essence of things, be able to find talents and support them? I don't think there is a simple answer to this question. But we live in an era that God has determined for us, and our task is to create tools that enhance our spiritual vision and enable us to find talents, feed on their thought and beauty of style.

As you know, in the future, Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky tried to defend Pushkin, and who knows how the poet's human and literary life would have developed if it were not for Zhukovsky's help. And today it is important for us to learn to be attentive, to learn to see talented contemporaries and to help, in whatever way we can, people whom God has given. Then our literature will be enriched with new names and remarkable works of art. God grant that the Patriarchal Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles would serve as a modest, but quite effective tool that would help not only specialists to identify talented authors, but also the general reader to get acquainted with the work of their remarkable contemporaries.

Thank you for your attention.

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

On May 11, 2017, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led the solemn ceremony of electing and awarding the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles.

Your Eminences and Eminences! Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Ladies and Gentlemen!

Christ is Risen!

I cordially greet you all. We have gathered in this hall to elect for the seventh time the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles. And I am sure that today, as in past years, truly worthy authors will become the new laureates.

According to the established tradition, I would like to preface the ceremony with some reflections on the fate of Russian literature.

Once I happened to read an article in a well-known foreign publication devoted to the current state of Russian literature. The article came out under a very bright and provocative title: “Is Russian Literature Dead?” I will not retell the content of this article - I think the essence is clear from the title. The main message of the author was that Russian writers allegedly "chunked", the last great works were written several decades ago, and the authority and influence of Russian literature on the minds of contemporaries is not at all the same as before.

Let's leave out the fact that the article was published in a foreign weekly. Unfortunately, such pessimistic views are encountered among representatives of the domestic intelligentsia. At such moments, I always want to ask the interlocutor: “Where do such thoughts come from? Did the writers of the 19th or 20th centuries have better conditions for creativity, or was there more food for thought than today?

Talented people are born and live in any era. The question is not at all that we do not have new Pushkins, Dostoevskys, Chekhovs, Pasternaks. We have them. The question is how to reveal these writers to the world, how to make their work the property of the whole society.

To clarify my thoughts, I would like to make a short digression into history, in the 30s of the XIX century. The well-known censor Alexander Krasovsky at that time, talking about contemporary literature, once called it disgusting. Probably, his judgment would not have been so interesting if it were not for the fact that Krasovsky lived in an era that would later be called the golden age of Russian culture.

So, you ask, was the critic ignorant? Not! Krasovsky was an educated, well-read man, he knew several foreign languages. What prevented him from seeing Pushkin or Gogol? What was the reason for such blindness, which did not allow contemporaries to see brilliant writers? Maybe insensitivity, inattention to the artistic word?

It's no secret that the later, more mature works of Pushkin, which we admire today, were met by many of his contemporaries very coolly and even with incomprehension. There were also those who wrote about the general crisis of literature and the decline of Pushkin's talent. And even "Boris Godunov", written earlier, was accepted and understood by readers far from immediately.

So what, after all, to the greatest extent determines the ability to see? Perhaps a view from some historical distance? This question is not rhetorical - it requires serious reflection. It is important to understand that the literary process is not one, not two, or even three names. This is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The literary process is formed in the conditions of a certain cultural environment and by the efforts of not two or three prominent people, but the entire writing community. Just as a fertile layer of soil contributes to the rapid growth and successful development of plants, so a healthy and properly organized literary process contributes to the emergence of new geniuses and beautiful works of art.

Not a single time does the Lord leave without talented people, without real writers and poets. Let me emphasize once again: there are talented authors in any era, and our time is no exception. It is important not to overlook these talents. Contemporaries, especially the writing community, editors, publishers should try to notice talents, support them, especially at the beginning of their journey, give them the opportunity to publish, tell readers about them.

Today, novice authors have to face considerable difficulties in publishing their works. Many publishing houses simply refuse to publish works by authors, referring to the current market laws, which require, first of all, what will be successfully sold, what will make a profit. The unfortunate tendency to make money from literature unfortunately often results in most publishers not being interested in the actual artistic quality of a work, but in how similar it is to one of the top-grossing novels, in order to continue this line of bestsellers.

Such market filters become a big obstacle for original and truly talented authors. And those who are able to influence the cultural environment and who have some leverage, including the publishing process, are called upon to overcome these obstacles. I am deeply convinced that a special role should be played by editors, publishers, that is, people on whom the publication of certain authors depends.

I hope that the Patriarchal Literary Prize will also make a significant contribution to the discovery of new names, in support of gifted masters of the word. This support is extremely important for writers and poets. Do we realize how many authors we do not know just because next to them there was no one who would be sincerely interested in their work, who would help to reach the reader? Do we realize how many talented people stop publishing - precisely because there were those who did not have an impeccable sense of language, were not too well versed in literature, but at the same time considered it possible to give negative reviews. Other examples can be cited: more than once talented writers and poets were unable to appreciate the works of their contemporaries. And how many texts were lost because they were not printed on time?

In general, this is a very serious topic - the ability to see, understand, feel, and much here also depends on how the public consciousness is oriented. If in the 19th and 20th centuries (at least in the first half of the 20th century) literature was an important source of food for thought, today, in the ever-growing information flow, literature occupies only a part, and far from being dominant. It is becoming increasingly difficult to discern a talented author in a huge information array. In addition, the attention of the vast majority of people today is riveted to electronic media. The general acceleration of the pace of life is another factor that adversely affects reading in general and the ability to identify outstanding authors. There is no time to read a book from beginning to end, but in order to understand the author's intention, to feel the beauty of the style, one must not only read, but also reflect on the book!

So, of course, the point is not only in publishers and editors, but also in how much the general cultural context contributes to the orientation of mass consciousness towards the sphere of fiction. And we all need to think carefully about what should be done in order for fiction to regain its position, so that people read not only light action-packed books, but also texts created by masters of the word containing deep thoughts.

The remarkable Russian poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky was able to accurately assess the scale of Pushkin's gift when he was still quite young. I quote: “For everything that happened to you and that you brought on yourself, I have one answer: poetry. You do not have a talent, but a genius ... By the authority given to me, I offer you the first place in the Russian Parnassus. And what a place if you combine the loftiness of a goal with the loftiness of a genius! Probably, only a person who possessed not only literary talent, high professional qualifications, but also very strong eyesight, capable of distinguishing spirits (see 1 Cor. 12:10) could penetrate the poet’s talent in this way (see 1 Cor. 12:10). So the question arises: can a person living in our fast-flowing, busy time have such a vision, or is a modern person completely deprived of the opportunity to see the essence of things, be able to find talents and support them? I don't think there is a simple answer to this question. But we live in an era that God has determined for us, and our task is to create tools that enhance our spiritual vision and enable us to find talents, feed on their thought and beauty of style.

As you know, in the future, Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky tried to defend Pushkin, and who knows how the poet's human and literary life would have developed if it were not for Zhukovsky's help. And today it is important for us to learn to be attentive, to learn to see talented contemporaries and to help, in whatever way we can, people whom God has given. Then our literature will be enriched with new names and remarkable works of art. God grant that the Patriarchal Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles would serve as a modest, but quite effective tool that would help not only specialists to identify talented authors, but also the general reader to get acquainted with the work of their remarkable contemporaries.

Thank you for your attention.

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

The prize winners were writers Viktor Likhonosov, Boris Sporov and Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.

The ceremony of selecting the winners by secret ballot was held in the hall of church cathedrals of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow with the participation of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who traditionally personally presents awards to writers, TASS reports.

In total, eight people were included in the short list of nominees for the 2017 award. In addition to the winners, these are Irina Bogdanova, Dmitry Volodikhin, Vladimir Dvortsov, Hieromonk Roman (Matyushin) and Alexander Tkachenko.

Reflections of the patriarch on Russian literature

As the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church noted in his opening speech, there are literary talents at all times, you just need to find them and provide all possible assistance. “There are talented authors in any era, and our time is no exception. It is important not to overlook these talents. Contemporaries, especially the writing community, editors, publishers, should try to notice the talent, support him, especially at the beginning of the journey,” he addressed the guests.

The Patriarch expressed concern that the development of literature is greatly influenced by the laws of the market. “Many publishers simply refuse to publish works, referring to the laws of the market, which require that it will be successfully sold and make a profit. It is a sad trend to make money on literature,” Patriarch Kirill lamented.
He expressed the hope that the Patriarchal Literary Prize will serve as “an instrument, albeit modest enough, but, God forbid, at the same time effective enough, helping not only specialists to distinguish talented people, but also the general reader through this award to get acquainted with the work of their wonderful contemporaries.”

About the 2017 winners

Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov (born 1947) is the author of the books Long Days, Paradise Farms, Forest Desert, First Prayer, Yearning for Heaven, Spring Dream.

Prize and laureates

The Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles was established in 2009, and was first awarded in 2011. The purpose of the award was to encourage writers who have made a significant contribution to the affirmation of spiritual and moral values ​​in the life of a modern person, family and society, who have created highly artistic works that have enriched Russian literature.

The first laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize in 2011 was the writer Vladimir Krupin. In the second premium season (2012), Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev became the winners. In the third premium season, awards were given to Alexey Varlamov, Yuri Loshchits and Stanislav Kunyaev, in the fourth - Nikolai Agafonov, Valentin Kurbatov and Valery Ganichev, in the fifth - Yuri Bondarev, Alexander Segen and Yuri Kublanovskiy, in