On 5 September 2012, the working presidium of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church held its session under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk at the Orthodox Encyclopedia Church Research Centre.
Participants in the session considered the concept of the Synodal and Biblical Commission’s activity, approved by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and discussed the issue of establishing an Institute of Theology and Biblical Studies.
The members of the presidium also considered a plan of the next year theological conference of the Russian Orthodox Church and defined the most topical themes for discussion. A suggestion was made to hold thematic seminars in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Minsk, and other cities before the conference.
The participants in the meeting also discussed the current state of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the world of science.
Metropolitan Hilarion informed all those present about the ongoing work on modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the meeting, Sergei Kravets, head of the Orthodox EncyclopediaChurch Research Centre, told Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission, about the Centre’s work.
After that Metropolitan Hilarion chaired the session of the working group for compiling modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church.