The winners of the Patriarchal Literary Prize were writers Boris Tarasov, Boris Ekimov and priest Nikolai Blokhin. Awards were presented to the winners in the hall church councils Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill.

“I sincerely hope that the prize will allow us to identify new authors and recognize writers who continue in their work the best traditions of Russian literature,” the patriarch said.

About spiritual literature and hack work

He noted that modern man often does not find the opportunity to pay attention to something that does not concern him professional activity or family concerns. By holding this competition, the Church hopes to present highly spiritual literature to Russians, he emphasized.

A total of nine nominees were identified, including writer Ksenia Krivosheina, who withdrew her application without explanation. IN short list also included Alexander Gromov, Alexey Karpov, nun Euphemia (Elena Pashchenko), Valery Sergeev, Andrey Tkachev (archpriest). The three laureates were chosen by secret ballot.

At the same time, before the award ceremony, the patriarch criticized modern trend some writers are “hacky.” “Today, sometimes literature becomes simply a means of making money, and texts appear that cannot in any way be called literature, and sometimes they are simply pure hackwork: literary, stylistic, semantic,” the patriarch said.

He noted that he sometimes “has to open such texts for one reason or another.” “It’s embarrassing,” he said.

Patriarch's Prize and laureates

Patriarchal literary prize named after saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius has no analogues in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and in the practice of other local Orthodox Churches.

The prize is awarded not for specific works, but “for a significant contribution to the development of Russian literature.” According to the plan, the competition is designed to develop interaction between the Church and the literary community, which through its creativity affirms the foundations Christian faith. The right to nominate candidates for the prize belongs to the primates of local Orthodox Churches, heads of self-governing Churches within the Moscow Patriarchate, diocesan bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, bodies state power CIS and Baltic countries, Synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as editorial staff literary magazines and literary and public organizations. Until now, only writers have become laureates of the prize.

The award, which has already become well-known and prestigious, was presented this year for the sixth time. It was established by the Holy Synod in 2009 and was first awarded in 2011. Last year, the monetary portion of the prize amounted to 300 thousand rubles per laureate.

The first laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize was the writer Vladimir Krupin. In the second premium season, the winners were Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev, in the third - Alexey Varlamov, Yuri Loschits and Stanislav Kunyaev, in the fourth - Nikolai Agafonov, Valentin Kurbatov and Valery Ganichev, in the fifth - Yuri Bondarev, Alexander Segen and Yuri Kublanovsky.

On May 22 in Moscow, in the hall of church cathedrals of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the presentation of the annual Patriarchal Literary Prize took place. This wonderful event was attended by a delegation from the Yaroslavl Metropolitanate, which included Rybinsk journalists.

The Patriarchal Literary Prize is named after Saints Cyril and Methodius. And this fact has a deep meaning: it was the works of the Thessaloniki brothers that gave a significant impetus to intellectual, spiritual, cultural development Slavic peoples and contributed to their introduction to the rich heritage of Byzantium and Rome.

ON THE DAY OF THE CELEBRATION OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE

BRIEF BACKGROUND

In the three years since the establishment of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, it has become a significant event in public life countries. Exactly so - not only in church life, or only in literary life, but in general - social life. Because, firstly, it draws public attention to the state of modern literature, which is very important for such a “literature-centric” country as Russia has always been. Secondly, this prize unites not only under the arches of the halls of church cathedrals, but also in general - in this area of ​​​​public attention - people living in the church and the church, along with everyone else - reading, writing, rooting for the fate of the country and the world . Thirdly, by highlighting certain authors, the Patriarchal Literary Prize allows the reader to understand the main themes of today, reflected in modern literature.

When electing the laureates of this prize, not only literary achievements authors, but also their social position, creative contribution to the strengthening of the moral principle in man, the establishment of Christian ideals and values. Past laureates of the award were Vladimir Krupin, Olesya Nikolaeva, Viktor Nikolaev. Among the nominees for the Patriarchal Prize are Yuri Ganichev, Boris Ekimov, Alexey Solonitsyn, Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov, Alexander Yakovlev, Archpriest Vladimir Chugunov and other authors.

22 candidates were nominated for the 2013 Patriarchal Literary Prize. At the end of March, a meeting of the Council of Experts was held to form a short list of award nominees. And so on May 22, 2013, in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' led the solemn ceremony of electing and awarding the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

CHURCH COUNTY HALL

Patriarchal Literary Prize. CHURCH COUNTY HALL

The very structure of the Hall of Church Councils is amazing. In it, in addition to a small stage - podium, there are the same stalls and amphitheaters that are found in every socio-cultural complex of this kind. But there are no doors in the hall, just as there are no walls! Its space is as if wide open, the hall of the cathedrals is connected by several glass galleries with halls and corridors, from where the viewer or participant can also watch the event. Oddly enough, there is no strict discipline for the viewer. Moving around the hall is quite acceptable. Moreover, among those present there are many children who, as you know, do not always manage to sit still. But for some reason they don’t interfere with everyone else watching what’s happening. Sounds seem to be absorbed environment. But everything that happens on stage is seen and heard by the viewer in its entirety.

And so the Patriarchal Choir greets those gathered with the Easter “Christ is risen from the dead...”, first in Greek and then in Church Slavonic, and the purity of this harmonious sound makes the heart skip a beat. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addresses the audience with the same festive exclamation, opening the ceremony of presenting the Patriarchal Literary Prize...

“A GENIUS SHOULD Strive for the SKY”

The nominees for the award were named by His Holiness the Patriarch “ true ascetics of the spirit, despite the demands of fashion, striving to remain faithful to God, faithful to their people, faithful to the traditions in which they were raised as citizens and as writers" He also noted that these people most often do not chase any ratings or fabulous fees. " But it is precisely on such writers - ascetics, on such a “small flock”, to put it in the language Holy Scripture, in modern literary movement The national culture of words, which has been created over centuries, continues to this day,- he said. — The seeds once sown on Slavic soil by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius bore abundant fruit in the most diverse areas of national life. One of these shoots became classical Russian literature, deeply rooted in the Cyril and Methodius tradition. National literature– this is a reflection of the historical path that the people who created it went through. We all know well that for centuries cultural path The Russian people were determined by the Orthodox faith. Classical Russian literature was invariably based on the ideals and values ​​given to man in divine revelation. A.S. Pushkin said that “a genius must strive for Heaven.” It was this aspiration to Heaven, intense reflections about God, about His creation, about man, about the search for God, and man’s relationship with God, the constant search for truth that became the features that determined the originality of Russian literature, and placed it among the most important phenomena of world culture».

Today’s result of Russian history at the end of the twentieth century, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill called the isolation of the Russian people from the value paradigm that has defined them for centuries national identity. Literature has ceased to be a source of moral ideas, one of the important means of a person’s knowledge of himself and the world around him. Quoting Vyach. Ivanov, who argued that literature responds to the demands of the time with a gradual revaluation of values, His Holiness the Patriarch noted that modern literature responded to today's world by the loss of values, both ethical and aesthetic. And the postmodern culture that exists today is a culture of relativity, a culture of anti-values. " This culture does not accept the sacred dimension of human life, - he said. — In this culture and literature, the boundaries of good and evil are blurred so much that the spirit of the apocalypse emanates from it. Postmodern culture is unable to lead modern man out of that deep moral and spiritual crisis, in which he found himself. Why? Because a culture built on the denial of the experience of previous generations, on the denial of traditions, the destruction of eternal moral truths, on the postulation of relativity moral standards is a priori destructive, and plunges people into terrible spiritual chaos. That's why it's not viable. Only that which carries goodness within itself, that which fertilizes the individual and society, is viable. Proof of this is the rich cultural heritage left to us by the great Slavic pioneer teachers.».

Arguing further about how it is possible to combine the spiritual experience of the past with the categories of perception of modern man, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said that it seemed to him that the most successful answer to this question was priest Georgy Florovsky, who considered it necessary to include patristic values ​​in modern culture. « Having creatively assimilated the experience of holy ascetics, strive for the future - such a model, I am convinced, is applicable to modern literature and to the entire culture as a whole,”- said His Holiness the Patriarch, and, noting the efforts of modern Russian writers, defending moral values, concluded: “ We hope that our joint works will serve to educate readers.”

“GIVING IS A COMMAND”

The award ceremony was structured, frankly, ingeniously and simply. The viewer barely has time to catch his breath. As soon as the jury members begin voting, the counting commission, consisting of three people - Archpriest Nikolai Agafonov, editor of Literature Yuri Polyakov, President of the Russian State Library Victor Fedorov - to count the votes, detailed videos about the nominees appear on the screens in the hall. All together they act as a further program of action for the thoughtful reader. But first, let's name the winners. The winners of the 2013 Patriarchal Literary Prize were: Dr. philological sciences, teacher at Moscow State University and the Literary Institute, author of a number of books from the “Life” series wonderful people» Alexey Varlamov, poet and writer, author of twenty books, editor of the literary, artistic and socio-political magazine “Our Contemporary” Stanislav Kunyaev, as well as a writer and public figure, historian, author of a number of books in the “ZhZL” series, including biographies of Saints Cyril and Methodius, editor of the magazine “Tobolsk and All Siberia” Yuri Loschits.

In addition to them, the short list of the award included and received diplomas from the nominees Dr. historical sciences, science fiction writer Dmitry Volodikhin, poet and literary critic, teacher at the Literary Institute and editor of the widely known anthology “Poetry” Gennady Krasnikov, Professor of the Department of Philology at the University of Szeged (Hungary), author of seven books on the relationship between Russian icons and Russian literature Valery Lepakhin, journalist and writer, author of popular books Natalya Sukhinina, archpriest Alexander Torik, author of repeatedly republished books “Flavian”, “Dimon” and others that enjoy high reader confidence.

Among the award nominees was a writer and journalist from Serbia, chairman of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Foundation Olga Kulikovskaya – Romanova, for which our Yaroslavl delegation “rooted”. Olga Nikolaevna has visited the Yaroslavl region more than once. For many years she directed all her efforts towards establishing the truth about the Romanov royal dynasty and glorifying the holy royal passion-bearers, as well as the unification of the Foreign and Russian Orthodox Churches. Here are the words from her brief speech. “There is no fiction in my books,” said Olga Nikolaevna. — They were lived and written as before God, for the Russian reader. “Let the voice of the people be the voice of God,” as the poet said. I believe that the time will come when Russian literature will return to the lofty verb, and, like a bell, will call the people to unity in times of trouble. And then the day of Russian celebration will definitely come.”

Let us conclude with the words of another nominee, Gennady Krasnikov, who, as it were, summed up his thoughts on the fate of the writer in Russia. “In Russian literature, the fate of the artist depends on his mission,” he said. — Evgeny Baratynsky once remarked: “Gifting is an order, and failure to fulfill it is a sin.” It turns out that how you use your talent, so will your destiny.”

...When the award ceremony ended, few passers-by on Volkhonka at that moment witnessed an amazing sight - after a downpour, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior found itself inscribed in the very center of a large rainbow.

Anna Romanova, magazine editor

"Rybnaya Sloboda"

Our information:

The Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, was established by the decision of the Holy Synod of December 25, 2009 (magazine No. 115) in order to encourage writers who have made a significant contribution to the affirmation of spiritual and moral values ​​in the life of modern man, family and society, who have created highly artistic works , which enriched Russian literature. This prize has no analogues in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and in the practice of other Local Orthodox Churches.

The prize is designed to promote the development of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the literary community, primarily those writers who, through their work, affirm the foundations of the Christian faith. The right to nominate candidates for the award belongs to the Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, heads of self-governing Churches within the Moscow Patriarchate, diocesan bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, government bodies of the CIS and Baltic countries, synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the editors of literary magazines.

By resolution of the Holy Synod dated July 26, 2010 (magazine No. 78), the composition of the Prize’s House of Trustees was approved.

Responsibility for all activities related to the selection of nominees for the Prize, as well as the preparation of meetings of the House of Trustees, the Council of Experts and the organization of the solemn ceremony for electing and awarding the laureate of the Patriarchal Literary Prize rests with the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk; the first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow, Metropolitan Arseny of Istra; Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk; the abbot of the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery, Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov; Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate, Bishop Pavel of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky; Bishop Nikodim of Edinet and Brichany; Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov; Chief Editor Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate Archpriest Vladimir Silovyov; Deputy Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov); 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 House of Trustees of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, Russian literary scholars, journalists, representatives of government and public organizations, cultural figures.

The Soyuz TV channel broadcast live from the Hall of Church Councils.

The ceremony began with a screening of the film, dedicated to history Patriarchal Literary Prize.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed those gathered with the Primate's word.

The acceptance of applications for the Patriarchal Literary Prize began on September 14, 2016. During the seventh award 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 House 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;
• Viktor Ivanovich Likhonosov;
• Boris Fedorovich Sporov;
• Alexander Borisovich Tkachenko;
• Archpriest Yaroslav Shipov.

• Bishop of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky Pavel, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate;
• Yu.M. Loschits, 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 election of laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize took place: members of the House of Trustees filled out voting ballots. The ballots were transferred to the Counting Commission. 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 for the 2017 Patriarchal Literary Prize was shown.

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

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

IN musical accompaniment The ceremony was attended by the choir of the orphanage "Otrada" at the Nikolsky Chernoostrovsky Monastery in Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Region.

At the end of the evening there was 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 establishment of spiritual and moral values ​​in the life of modern man, family and society, who have created highly artistic works that have enriched Russian literature. This prize 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 award season (2012), the winners were Olesya Nikolaeva and Viktor Nikolaev. In 2013, the awards were awarded to Alexey Varlamov, Yuri Loshchits and Stanislav Kunyaev. In the fourth award season (2014), the winners were Archpriest Nikolai Agafonov, Valentin Kurbatov and Valery Ganichev. In 2015, the prize was awarded to Yuri Bondarev, Yuri Kublanovsky and Alexander Segen, in 2016 - to Boris Ekimov, Boris Tarasov and priest Nikolai Blokhin.

Word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the ceremony of presenting the Patriarchal Literary Prize 2017

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

Christ is Risen!

I warmly 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. And I am sure that today, as in past years, truly worthy authors will become new laureates.

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

Once I had the opportunity to read an article in a well-known foreign publication dedicated to current state Russian literature. The article was published under a very bright and provocative title: “Is Russian literature dead?” I will not retell the contents of this article - I think the essence is clear from the title. The author’s main message was that Russian writers allegedly “shredded”, the last great works were written several decades ago, and the authority and influence of Russian literature on the minds of contemporaries is no longer what it used to be.

Let's leave aside the fact that the article was published in a foreign weekly. Unfortunately, one encounters similar pessimistic views among representatives of the domestic intelligentsia. At such moments, I always want to ask my interlocutor: “Where do such thoughts even come from? Really writers of the XIX or were the conditions for creativity better in the 20th century 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 explain my thoughts, I would like to make a short excursion into history, to the 30s of the XIX century. The well-known censor at that time, Alexander Krasovsky, speaking about contemporary literature, once called it disgusting. Probably, his judgment would not have been so interesting if 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? No! 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 us to see brilliant writers among our contemporaries? Perhaps insensitivity, inattention to the artistic word?

It's no secret that Pushkin's later, more mature works, which we admire today, were greeted by many of his contemporaries very coolly and even with misunderstanding. 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 not immediately accepted and understood by readers.

So what, after all, most determines the ability to see? Maybe a look from some historical distance? This question is not rhetorical; it requires serious thought. 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 a certain cultural environment and through the efforts of more than two or three outstanding people, but the entire writing community. How does a fertile layer of soil promote rapid growth and successful development plants, just as a healthy and properly organized literary process contributes to the emergence of new geniuses and beautiful works of art.

The Lord does not leave any time 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, and tell readers about them.

Today, aspiring authors have to face considerable difficulties when publishing their works. Many publishing houses simply refuse to allow authors to publish their works, citing the current laws of the market, which require, first of all, what will sell successfully and what will make a profit. The sad tendency to make money from literature, unfortunately, often leads to the fact that most publishers are not interested in the actual artistic quality of the work, but in how similar it is to one of the box-office novels in order to continue that 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 and 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 words. This support is extremely important for writers and poets. Do we realize how many authors we don’t know only because there was no one next to them who was sincerely interested in their work and helped them reach the reader? Do we realize how many talented people are no longer published, precisely because there were those nearby who did not have an impeccable sense of language, were not very well versed in literature, but at the same time considered it possible to give negative reviews. Other examples can be given: more than once talented writers and poets found themselves unable to appreciate the works of their contemporaries. 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 literature occupies only a part, and far from a dominant one, in the increasingly powerful information flow. It is becoming increasingly difficult to discern a talented author in a huge array of information. In addition, the attention of the vast majority of people today is focused on electronic media. mass 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, you need to not only read, but also reflect on the book!

So the point, of course, 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 to ensure that fiction regains its position, so that people read not only light, action-packed books, but also texts created by masters of words containing deep thoughts.

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

As you know, in the future Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky tried to defend Pushkin, and who knows how the human and literary life poet, if not for the help of Zhukovsky. 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, the people whom God has gifted. Then our literature will be enriched with new names and wonderful works of art. God grant that the Patriarchal Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, may serve as a modest, but quite effective tool that would help not only specialists 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 Rus'

The prize was established by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the initiative of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. On currently this is the youngest literary prize in Russia, or better to say - using the term that has recently come into use - the Russian World, since among the candidates for the prize there can be not only citizens of Russia, but also all writers who write in Russian, regardless of their in what part of the world do they live? Also in the House of Trustees of the award there are representatives of Ukraine, Belarus and Russian diaspora.

If we talk about the features of the award, then, in my opinion, it is very important that this is not just one of many initiatives supported by the Church, but precisely the initiative of the Church itself, and the initiative that the Church brings to life exclusively on its own - the monetary component of the award will be paid from the church budget.

In this sense, the establishment of the Prize is an unprecedented attempt by the Church to support Russian literature and to give it a helping hand in an extremely difficult period for it. If you want, this is a symbolic act of reconciliation - after all, we know that the history of the relationship between the Russian Church and Russian literature knows different periods, so the appearance of such a prize can be seen as an offer to finally become full-fledged allies.

- Each award has its own criteria. By what criteria are candidates for the Patriarchal Prize selected?

This is stated in the Regulations on the Prize, which in particular states that the Prize is awarded for contributions to Russian literature, as well as for strengthening Christian values ​​in society, which is understood as the set of spiritual and moral norms preserved by the Orthodox Church. This is the main criterion. Unlike prizes that are awarded for a specific work, the Patriarchal Literary Prize is closer in type to, for example, Nobel Prize or to state prizes.

This prize means recognition by the Church of the totality of the writer’s merits, not only as an author specific work, but also how public figure, as a person occupying a certain life position who has a Christian worldview and disseminates views corresponding to this worldview. This approach contains a very important and, unfortunately, in our time often neglected idea of ​​the integrity of the writer’s personality, the inextricable connection between the author’s life and his works. After all, as you know, the spirit creates forms for itself. Actually, this is probably the criterion for the authenticity of literary creativity: is it correlated - directly or, perhaps, indirectly - with what the Word of God reveals to us, what God the Word reveals to us in His Revelation? In this, obviously, key difference a genuine writer from a graphomaniac.

People don’t care what kind of life a priest leads. Likewise, real readers are always interested in the personality of the writer. I remember back at the university, at one of the seminars on the history of Russian literature, we discussed the question: could Pushkin and Lermontov be recognized as national geniuses if they killed their opponents in a duel? Then the very formulation of the question struck me - after all, by the time of their duels, both Pushkin and Lermontov had already written all the texts with which they entered into world literature. As a result of long and intense discussions, we came to the conclusion that the killers could not have received popular recognition as national geniuses. Genius and villainy are incompatible, as Pushkin convincingly demonstrated, which means that true genius is also a moral authority.

- Who can be nominated as a candidate for the Patriarchal Prize?

Of course, this must be a Christian writer, a person who has an Orthodox view of the world and expresses this view in his works. I personally am closer to the definition of a Christian writer than an Orthodox writer, because when we say about a particular writer that he is a Christian, we mean, first of all, his involvement in the great tradition of Russian literature, and not his actual religious affiliation. And the fact that in Russia a Christian writer is precisely Orthodox Christian, it goes without saying, because - excuse me, I don’t want to offend anyone - neither a Catholic, nor a Protestant, nor even a sectarian can be a Russian writer. Such a person can, of course, write in Russian, but be a Russian writer, that is, a representative and successor of a very specific spiritual and literary tradition, he can not.

Therefore, I would very much like the award to contribute, among other things, to rehabilitation in public consciousness such concepts as Christianity and Christian values. So that people finally realize: in Russia, Christianity and Orthodoxy have always been identical concepts and should remain so in the future. Strange thing - in Lately, If we're talking about about Christianity, then for some reason in most cases it is assumed that heterodoxy is meant - Catholicism, Protestantism or even sectarianism. This is a very dangerous bias in public consciousness that needs to be eliminated. I hope that our writers will remind us that our ancestors accepted Christianity, and its preacher and guardian from time immemorial in Rus' was the Orthodox Church.

Unfortunately, we do not have many authors who could be considered successors of the great literary tradition that was formed in Russia and is integral part Russian and world culture. Classical Russian literature is a unique phenomenon, because this literature, like no other literature in the world, is characterized by an appeal to the depths human soul, the human spirit. It was Russian writers who tried to pose in their works the eternal, perhaps insoluble questions of human existence. This is what has always distinguished great Russian literature, and this is what made it interesting to people of other cultures. To the credit of Russian writers, it must be said that even during periods of the deepest alienation of literature from the Church, among them there were always those who realized, or at least intuitively understood, the deep commonality of the tasks that the Church and literature are called upon to solve.

As I already said, there are few writers whom we could rightfully classify today as the creators of great literature, but the quantitative indicator is in this case not the most important one. It is noteworthy that all the nominees are people who were born and lived a significant part of their lives in Soviet era. And the very fact that the Church now recognizes them as continuers of the great tradition of Russian literature - a tradition that is fundamentally Christian - speaks volumes. If our literature did not break down and survived both the harsh era of state atheism and the times of post-Soviet chaos, then there is hope for its revival in the future.

- Who forms the short list, by whom and how is the laureate determined?

The short list is formed by a Council of Experts, which includes famous literary scholars, writers and clergy. The Board of Experts presents a short list to the House of Trustees, and here I would like to clarify one detail. Most often, trustees are understood as philanthropists, but in this case, trusteeship does not consist of providing financial resources. Since the establishment of the Prize was initiated by His Holiness the Patriarch, he is its main trustee, and writers, literary critics, literary critics and the clergy - those who act as assistants and advisers to the Patriarch in electing the laureate - respectively form the House of Trustees.

It is this body that continues the expert work and determines the laureate, and his election will take place directly during the solemn ceremony on May 26 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior; he will be elected by secret ballot. The award will be presented for the first time in 2011, so only one laureate will be selected this year. Subsequently, the number of laureates may be larger.

As the secretary of the Council of Experts, I would like to clarify that our Council selected nominees from those candidates who were nominated in accordance with the Regulations of the Prize. There were quite well-known authors who did not want to be nominated and recused themselves. There were also those who might have wanted to compete for the title of the first laureate of the Patriarchal Prize, but were not nominated by anyone. Each member of the Council of Experts expressed his opinion on who, from his point of view, deserves to be included in this list. Based on the totality of these opinions, the nominees were determined based on the results of the discussion. Among them there is a priest-writer and women writers - and one of them represents Russian Abroad. Unfortunately, this time no one was nominated from Ukraine or Belarus - I hope this flaw will be made up for in subsequent premium seasons.

What role do the literary and artistic merits of a work play in the decision to award a prize?

Artistic merit is a rather subjective concept, and today a work of art is often declared to be something that has absolutely no signs of artistry and, until quite recently, under no circumstances could it have been allowed to be published. After all, as you know, if content is impossible without form, then form is possible without content. And today, precisely under the guise of the originality of the author’s artistic worldview, all sorts of obscene little books are published in thousands of copies, containing obscene language and descriptions of all sorts of baseness that a person is capable of.

The Christian view of literature does not at all neglect form, but assumes that content is primary in relation to form. As Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol said, art is invisible steps to Christianity, therefore the value work of art is determined by the extent to which it is able to lead the reader to the perception of higher meanings. In the Christian picture of the world, meaning as such is the meaning of Divine Revelation, this is the meaning of the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. All other meanings go back to this highest meaning.

It is obvious that what deeper meaning, the more perfect the form that expresses it should be. If a writer created a work, prompted by the power of God, inspired by the prophetic gift - and the theme of prophetic ministry is very close to Russian literature, then this will certainly be reflected in the literary form of his work and will predetermine the artistic merits of his work.

- What literature is needed today? What literature is in demand today?

Needed and in demand are two different questions. Serious, genuine - great literature - will always be needed by human society - more precisely, as long as it wants to remain human. Our society has long been secular, the solution to all spiritual issues here has been pushed into the private sphere of life, therefore serious literature for it is the only space for dialogue about eternal values, for thinking about eternal issues. This is his if you want last hope, the last chance to save yourself from complete savagery.

Another thing is what kind of literature is in demand today - it depends on how this or that book is sold, how successfully it passes the filters that are established by the media. If a book does not comply with a certain format, then it has practically no chance of being published in more or less widely circulated editions. In the overwhelming majority of cases, publishing houses do not undertake to publish works that will not generate income.

This year, the short list of the Patriarchal Prize, along with recognized masters of modern literature, also included lesser-known writers. Some of them are still content with very modest circulations, but the very fact that a particular writer is included in the short list of the Patriarchal Literary Prize should become a signal to publishers about whom to pay attention to.

I would like, of course, for the Patriarchal Prize to become a center of attraction for those writers and writers who are aware of their continuity in relation to the great tradition of Russian literature. In general, the idea of ​​continuity is one of the key ideas of Christianity, because the Tradition of the Church is, by and large, the continuity of faith, teaching and experience. And if the Church lives by Tradition, if Tradition is the basis of the life of the Church, then genuine literature will be alive as long as it maintains continuity with that literature that has enriched the world, all of humanity with its ideas, insights and approaches.

Let's hope that the Patriarchal Literary Prize will remind us of this modern writers, readers and our entire society.

In September, the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church opens the seventh season of the Patriarchal Literary Prize. Applications from applicants for this award will be accepted until February 2017. About how modern literature reflects the spiritual state of a person, about the connection different eras reflects Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. His article is dedicated to the work of this year's Patriarchal Literary Prize laureates - priest Nikolai Blokhin, prose writer Boris Ekimov, literary critic Boris Tarasov.

There are different periods in history. One is called gold, the other, for example, silver or bronze. The secular culture of Russia knows two special eras of its heyday, called the golden and silver age. Obviously, both periods are associated with the desire of society to comprehend the surrounding reality and its tragic experience (be it the war with Napoleon or the Russian revolutions of the early twentieth century), turning to the spiritual potential of the Russian people, to those most important values ​​that were once the basis and still have now determined the uniqueness of Russia's civilizational development. This was reflected both in the development of philosophical thought and in various types art, especially in domestic literature.

In the current post-Soviet era, the need for self-identification is also acutely felt, which, in particular, is reflected in the search for a national idea that unites the principles for modern Russian society. The Russian Orthodox Church, which has preserved for centuries the most important values Russian civilization, supports that modern Russian literature that helps find answers to these pressing questions. In this regard, let's try to think about what is different modern period history of Russian literature, considering the work of the latest nominees for the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Prose writers became its new laureates this year Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov, Boris Petrovich Ekimov And Priest Nikolai Blokhin. These are people different fates, but there is a palpable common component in their work. With a variety of topics and genres of works, all three authors transmit to the modern reader the eternal norms of Christian ethics, as an active, practical part of the worldview that our people have adopted since the Baptism of Rus' by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. And another unifying principle is the fact that they all survived the Soviet era, when a direct and frank presentation of religious views and even kind word against the Church was persecuted by the atheist state.

Priest Nikolai Blokhin V Soviet years, then not yet a priest, was arrested and spent several years in prisons and camps for the illegal publication and distribution of Orthodox literature. It was then, in prison, that he wrote his first story, “Grandma’s Glass.” He even jokes that prison made him a writer. Today he is the author of many books well known to Orthodox readers: “The Deep Mire,” “Give Up Your Brother,” “The Chosen One,” “Paul,” “Frontier,” “The Christmas Tale,” “Vladimirskaya.”

The perception of any sorrows as a source of human rebirth, as a motivating principle for his internal change, runs through the entire work of the author. This leitmotif was internally suffered, understood by priest Nikolai Blokhin personally life experience. It is no coincidence that he said exactly this in his response at the ceremony of awarding the laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize.

The theme of Christian faith, its acquisition, Baptism as the greatest sacrament and the main event in a person’s life, the choice between faith and its denial, between yielding to sin and fighting it, occupies a central place in the work of priest Nikolai Blokhin. It is this that is the main core around which other themes, ideas, and characters are located. It is to her that everything in the narrative is subordinated. For example, in the stories “Grandma’s Glasses” and “The Chosen One,” the author depicts how deeply people, including the youngest, very children, changed when they believed and received Baptism, how differently they began to look at the world, at themselves, at those around them. The reader gets the impression that the adult characters are divided primarily on the basis of faith or lack of faith, that this is precisely their defining feature. This is why coming to faith radically changes the adult characters as well.

I have heard that Blokhin’s heroes lack psychologism, which is why they are somewhat schematic and even unreliable. But, in my opinion, most of them are not devoid of the main thing - internal change, as a result of spiritual choice. The absence of subtleties of emotional experiences in the narrative can be explained by the fact that the writer, when creating his characters, sought to focus the reader’s attention on the main thing - to show the responsibility of the person himself for his own choice.

This choice is always alternative: either acceptance of the Savior, the desire to follow Christ, read the Gospel, the lives of the saints, try to follow their example, or unbelief, or even a willingness to communicate with dark forces... According to the author, it is this choice as the focus of spiritual life every person at any age is at the center of the story. He is the main thing that the author wants to tell the reader about, and everything else is secondary, less important. That is why some “schematism” and a lack of “psychologism” in individual images are possible here.

There is an element of fantasy in the books of priest Nikolai Blokhin. It is intertwined with reality, and in the living fabric of his works they cannot be separated.

Often, only children, with their spontaneity, better than anyone else, grasp the essence of what is happening and can express it. In my opinion, the most striking example of this is Alyosha from the story “Give Back Your Brother.” The child, not understanding what the adults intend to do, not knowing at all that what the adults intended (termination of pregnancy) is possible, intuitively senses trouble. Feeling afraid that something is threatening his future brother, he turns to adults (parents and hospital doctors) with the most important request for him: “Give me your brother!” And these words of the child “wake up” the elderly doctor, who thought that over the years of working in such a hospital he had become accustomed to everything. Then he admits that “he hasn’t run like that since the war,” when he found and caught up with Alyosha to tell him that his brother was alive, that he wasn’t killed...

The theme of suffering for faith and readiness for this suffering, the determination to endure it with God's help, but not to retreat, occupies a significant place in the work of Priest Nikolai Blokhin. Here you can remember the teacher Julia, Zoya and Seva-Sevastyan from the story “The Chosen One”.

Of the works of priest Nikolai Blokhin, the most artistically powerful, in my opinion, is the story “The Deep Mire,” which tells about the events of the Civil War. Reality in it is intertwined with elements of fantasy, each character has his own story, and it is not immediately and not always clear to the reader why suddenly this particular hero sees a mysterious monastery, a place of salvation for many, when other people do not see it. One of the most important thoughts in this story is the hope for the possibility of repentance, which remains with a person even when it is obvious that he has committed terrible atrocities, and by earthly standards this cannot be forgiven. In this regard, the first thing that comes to mind is the Red Army commander Vzvoev, who also suddenly saw that monastery and even found himself in it.

The writer conveys to the reader the idea of ​​the importance of preserving Orthodoxy by every living generation, despite the obstacles inherent in its time. This is very important not only for us living today, but also for our descendants. Spiritual succession is the essence of the history of our people as a whole and the individual families that make it up, which, like a baton, pass on Orthodox faith and a virtuous life from one generation to another.

The writer who became this year's Patriarchal Prize laureate Boris Petrovich Ekimov- one of the best prose writers not only of our time, but, as it seems to me, of all Russian literature. His works are written at the highest artistic level. This is exemplary (so to speak) prose, created in the best traditions of Russian literature. I remember how many years ago I first read Boris Petrovich’s stories, and they made a very special, unforgettable impression on me.

Each period of the country's history is reflected in its own way in its secular culture. Various works arts: painting, music and literary works and the like - are the most valuable and detailed evidence of the era in which they were created. IN to a large extent It is from them that descendants can judge the period as a whole, the development of culture and society, and what worried the people who lived then. Someday our descendants will judge our time by the cultural heritage of our era, including literary works contemporary authors. I think that among the best, worthy prose works The books of Boris Petrovich Ekimov will remain in history.

Most of his works can be classified as rural prose.. But they all tell not only about the villagers, they are about all people. Love for the small homeland, beauty native nature, habit and craving for rural work, for one’s land, joys, sorrows, worries, relationships between relatives and fellow villagers - all this is in the works of B.P. Ekimova. One of his collections (“Return”) has the subtitle “Stories about Living Life.” This is the most accurate definition of the essence of all the writer’s prose.

There are many themes in his works, they are intertwined with each other into a complex artistic whole, they cannot be divided into components or separated from each other. When asked what, for example, one of the best stories in all Russian literature, “The Shepherd’s Star,” is about, it is impossible to give a monosyllabic answer. It is better to advise you to read it.

Boris Ekimov's novels and stories are imbued with the Christian spirit, including those in which there is no direct mention of Christian realities. Let me again remember “The Shepherd Star” and its main character Timofey, for whom the moral principle “thou shalt not steal” is so natural that it does not even occur to him that he can appropriate other people’s sheep. At first he cannot even think that this is exactly what the owner who hired him as a shepherd intended. Timofey himself does not take what belongs to others.

“I don’t even need someone else’s,” he removed the money. - No matter how many times I passed, thank God I wasn’t flattered. But what about... People are crying somewhere, and we will crow with happiness, - he said weakly, but still hoping to convince . “You can’t thrive on other people’s tears.”

The whole image of the village simpleton, in which the greatness of the Russian spirit is focused, appears before the reader in the same lively, uncontrived, whole way. Timofey is truly responsible for his work, remembers the advice of the old shepherd, from whom he himself once learned. He lives in full force only in his small homeland, near his native farm, where he is surrounded by nature that is close to his heart, so familiar and at the same time the most beautiful.

But for all his simplicity, Timothy has wisdom. He is not offended by the owner's teenage son, who at first behaves somewhat arrogantly. Over time, Timofey becomes a truly close person to this boy. Unobtrusively, he convinces the teenager that it is impossible to spoil the growing bread. You cannot let a herd into the field, because even if the authorities are ready to turn a blind eye to this, a person should not act against his conscience:

“Don’t waste your bread. Poisoning bread is a great sin.”

The story “The Mistress” clearly illustrates how yielding to one sin leads to a whole chain of subsequent ones. The main character Olga is widowed and wants to find her happiness with Mikhail, a childhood friend who has had a wife and children for a long time. Dreaming of destroying someone else's family and life together with someone else's husband, Olga goes further and further along the path of untruth, hardening her heart. She kicks the mother of her deceased husband out of the house in which she lived all her life, despite the fact that her mother-in-law always helped her raise her daughters and took on the hardest work. Olga forces her to move to another village to live with her daughter, where she is not very welcome, and then refuses to take her back. When old woman asks with tears to let her spend her last earthly years in this house, Olga emphasizes that now they are strangers. All the injustice and callousness of Olga’s persistent desire to remain the only mistress in the house is revealed by her relationship with her own daughter Rosa, who insists that grandmother Akulina (“Baba Kulya”) live with them. After all, for her, “babanechka” is the dearest and most beloved person.

The story “Talk, Mom, Speak...” is about complete mutual understanding and true love between a long-grown daughter and mother. Both are able to feel from a distance what is especially important to a loved one, and give him exactly that. Both know, remember and take care of what their loved one loves and values.

Even if these works do not directly talk about Christianity, such was the era, but moral values ​​are spelled out everywhere in them.

The 2016 Patriarchal Prize laureates included Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov- writer, philosopher, literary critic, Doctor of Philology, professor of the M. Gorky Literary Institute, who headed it as rector for many years, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.

In the “Life of Remarkable People” series, Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov published two books. These are artistic biographies of Christian thinkers Pascal and Chaadaev. I believe that most readers appreciate this probably oldest book series, which dates back to 1890. It was from this time that the publishing house F.F. Pavlenkov began to publish biographical and artistic-biographical books under a general title. Later, in the 30s of the 20th century, the series was resumed by Maxim Gorky.

Both books by Boris Tarasov are in demand by readers and have been reprinted several times. The wide readership, in my opinion, knows both thinkers somewhat “one-sidedly”: one as a scientist, the other as a contemporary of Pushkin, the addressee of his lines, a man whom the government declared crazy for his writings. Other aspects of their activities remain as if in the shadows. Meanwhile, Chaadaev himself considered himself a Christian thinker. In the books of B.N. Tarasova B. Pascal and P.Ya. Chaadaevs are revealed as versatile, deep personalities. Boris Nikolaevich has done a tremendous amount of work. He studied and analyzed many sources, resulting in his books that were very informative and entertaining.

In addition to the above-mentioned biographical works, Boris Tarasov published a number of educational books (“In the World of Man,” “Where History is Moving,” “The Historiosophy of F.I. Tyutchev in modern context", "Man and history in Russian religious philosophy and classical literature", "The mystery of man" and the mystery of history (unread Chaadaev, unheard Dostoevsky, unidentified Tyutchev)", "Dostoevsky and modern world”, etc. He also prepared a two-volume book “Nicholas the First and His Time” and a one-volume book “Knight of the Autocracy”), the titles of which indicate the author’s constant interest in the history of Russian literature and its connections with religious philosophy.

I would like to particularly focus on the book by B.N. Tarasov “Where is history moving (Metamorphoses of people and ideas in the light Christian tradition)". In it, the author consistently pursues a relevant idea: when they try to replace Christian values ​​with some other values, even the most seemingly good, humane, humane ones, nothing truly good and bright comes out as a result. All attempts to replace Christian values, Christian norms, Christian views with any others, supposedly aimed at the benefit of individuals and all humanity, which have been made more than once in history and are being undertaken in our time, do not lead to anything good. If the foundation is not based on the Christian hierarchy of values, if these values ​​are distorted, then everything done on such a foundation most often turns out to be evil for man and the world around him, although, as it seemed, those who tried to build on such a foundation were pursuing good goals.

In the book by B.N. Tarasov “Where History is Moving” is about famous Russian writers, philosophers and politicians 19th century (emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, Westerners, Slavophiles, soilists, F.I. Tyutchev, A.S. Pushkin, P.Ya. Chaadaev, K.N. Leontyev, L.N. Tolstoy) and about their contemporaries . Exploring their heritage in a variety of aspects: cultural, literary, philosophical, social, the author analyzes the problems they faced and ways to solve them in the complex context of Russian and world history.

At first glance it may seem that XIX century fairly well studied and largely known to most people. Domestic and world history of this century, as well as the classics of Russian literature in our country are studied at a school desk. This period of history is widely represented in research, popular science and fiction. But it should be noted that ideas about it in our society are, as a rule, superficial, insufficient and, importantly, contain a significant number of cliches.

The special value of the works of B.N. Tarasov is that he consistently, on a strictly scientific basis, destroys many templates. One of the most bright examples— attitude towards Emperor Nicholas I, assessment of his personality and the period of his reign. From school course history, most students learn that it was an era of reaction, stagnation in all areas of life, and the emperor himself is perceived by them as a strangler of all freedom, an “offender” of the best poets, writers and in general thinking people- as "Nikolai Palkin". Opposing this cliché, Boris Nikolaevich Tarasov convincingly shows that the figure of the emperor was not so unambiguously gloomy, and the years of his reign cannot be characterized only as a time of complete darkness in all spheres of life. The researcher gives many examples from the life and work of the emperor, which convince the reader that Nicholas I had many positive qualities that were important and necessary for governing the state, and his deeds for the benefit of the country are numerous and undeservedly forgotten.

I consider it very valuable that B.N. Tarasov does not go to the other extreme, maintaining a critical assessment historical figures. It happens that authors who write about someone undeservedly forgotten or who has received an undeserved “dark halo” in history become too carried away with apologetics and create in their works an unrealistically positive, to some extent “inanimate” image. In the studies of B.N. Tarasov, the historical truth is preserved, the heroes remain real people with both advantages and disadvantages. The author does not idealize the actions of the heroes of his books, does not present them in a “favorable” light, and does not select justifications for any of their actions. He recognizes not all the thoughts and actions of those he writes about as true.

Thanks to the works of B.N. Tarasov presents the reader with a much more real, versatile 19th century with all its contradictions, with many interesting and important people who lived at that time. The author does not just list facts and write about emperors, writers, philosophers, he gives the reader the opportunity to comprehend historical and cultural patterns and the significance of Christian values, norms, and traditions in history.

In conclusion, it should be noted that this year’s Patriarchal Literary Prize laureates in their own way reflect the diversity of modern literature, rooted in the Orthodox worldview. Years of atheist censorship in national culture not weakened creative potential writers who broadcast Orthodox moral principles and beliefs. And today we need more such writers. I don’t know what the contemporary period of Russian literature will be called. But its distinctive feature, in my opinion, is the interest of many talented authors in the spiritual laws of existence and their manifestation in the realities of our time.