May 24 is celebrated in Russia Slavic writing and culture. In many regions of the country there are holiday events, but the main actions will take place in Moscow. The traditional festive concert.
The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is inextricably linked with the names of two Christian saints - Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, whose memory is revered by everyone Slavic peoples. It is unknown what the Slavic world would be like today if it were not for these brothers: the brilliantly educated Cyril, who speaks six languages, and Methodius, who continued his brother’s work after his death. It is to these two greatest enlighteners that we owe the appearance in 863 of the Slavic alphabet, for the creation of which they adapted Greek, adding 14 more letters to 24. This alphabet, named after one of the brothers “Cyrillic”, underwent various changes and transformations and came to us days. But the merits of Cyril and Methodius are much deeper: they made an invaluable contribution to the history of enlightenment and the rise of the general Slavic culture and they did the main thing - they united the Slavs “by letter and word.” It was from the moment the alphabet was created that the Slavs began to perceive themselves as a single people, with their own writing and language, which became the basis for the development of statehood and civilization.
The Day of Remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius originated in Bulgaria back in the 10th-11th centuries, in Russia much later, in 1863, in the year of the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet. This day was declared a “holiday of Slavic culture and writing” only more than 100 years later - in 1985, and in 1991 it was given state status. The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is the only church and state holiday in our country. Various kinds of secular and church events are dedicated to this day, which are not limited to just one date and one location. Days of Slavic Literature and Culture are held throughout the country: concerts and festivals, seminars and forums, poetry evenings and conferences, exhibitions and book fairs, liturgies and religious processions. Until recently, every year the capital of the holiday became new city, but since 2010 it was decided that the main events would take place in Moscow.
On May 24, a gala concert took place on Red Square, in which took part: a combined two-thousand-strong choir of artists from major Russian academic and folk groups, Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (symphony and brass compositions), State Academic Russian folk ensemble"Russia" named after L.G. Zykina, leading soloists musical theaters countries, popular film and pop artists. The main choirmaster is Lev Kontorovich. They performed works by Russian composers, as well as songs from different years.
In the program “ Bright evening“We talked with the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Orthodox Conversation” Valentin Lebedev.
On the day of Slavic literature and culture, we talked about this holiday, about the 25th anniversary of the “Orthodox Conversation” magazine, about the topics that were raised in the magazine, whether the view in society on these topics has changed, especially on the topic of family values.
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K. Matsan
Hello, dear friends! This is “Bright Evening” on Radio Vera. In the studio of Konstantin Matsan. And today Valentin Lebedev spends this “Bright Evening”, this hour of bright evening with us - editor-in-chief magazine "Orthodox Conversation". Good evening, Valentin Vladimirovich!
V. Lebedev
Good evening, Christ is Risen, Konstantin!
K. Matsan
Truly He is Risen!
V. Lebedev
Christ is Risen, dear radio listeners!
K. Matsan
Yes, He is Truly Risen! For us, these Easter days continue until the Ascension, and we greet each other with this joyful exclamation.
V. Lebedev
Definitely, always and everywhere, yes.
K. Matsan
Do you know what happened? Christ is risen.
I have in my hands an issue of your magazine “Orthodox Conversation”, on which it is written: “Our magazine is 25 years old.” I congratulate you on your anniversary, it’s yours this year.
V. Lebedev
Yes, thank you. Yes, yes.
K. Matsan
And it is no coincidence that we have gathered today - today we also have a big holiday, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, the Day of Remembrance of the Saints of Enlightenment Slavic Kirill and Methodius.
V. Lebedev
The name day of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is a red day in church calendar, this is also a holiday.
K. Matsan
Yes, we congratulate our primate, of course, and all the Kirills too. And all Methodius, by the way, too.
And the connection, in my opinion, is obvious - the oldest, one of the first, if not the very first magazine, as you position it...
V. Lebedev
Well, he's the very first.
K. Matsan
- ...an Orthodox publication is like this new Russia, clearly a cultural artifact, a cultural phenomenon. And today we are talking, on this Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, about those topics that arise on its pages, and important topics, topics that concern us. And on the pages of the anniversary issue there is a picture of a very pretty Orthodox woman in a headscarf, a beautiful, wonderful photograph, a wonderful white-toothed smile, clear eyes - in a word, it’s simply a joy to the eye.
V. Lebedev
Orthodox beauty.
K. Matsan
Yes, an Orthodox beauty, definitely. I would simply say - a beauty, because beauty is either there or it is not, it is both confessional and non-confessional.
V. Lebedev
Well, after all, according to Dostoevsky, she is a girl with easter egg, which is not very noticeable, however, - she precisely possesses, is the bearer of beautiful beauty.
K. Matsan
What is it? How is this different from just beauty?
V. Lebedev
Just beauty? This is the beauty that should save the world. Not everyone always understands what we are talking about. This is not beauty, let’s just say right away, in the empire of the harlot of Babylon, that is, this is not culture - today we are the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture... Well, so outwardly beautiful, like the cover of a glossy magazine, but graceless. And beauty filled with goodness. Real good, good that is fulfillment - well, with a capital letter, then we are talking to the authorities here, at the Vera radio station, not just somewhere, but filled with evangelical life. This girl has this image, as it seems to me and those who make this cover, our employees, so we see this combination: she is modern, she is beautiful, but she is a handsome young woman.
K. Matsan
You used a lot of beautiful words and, perhaps, not fully understandable ones in the context of the conversation. You said: “It is not the beauty of a glossy cover that is graceless.” What does “gracious beauty” mean? That is, we are talking about inner beauty, which generates the external one?
V. Lebedev
This is the concept of inner beauty. I’ll repeat once again: when we try to solve riddles: what are, for example, the secrets of lawlessness - very often, in connection with various sociological (?) moods that are characteristic of many, especially newly converted people... There, for example, what is this the harlot of Babylon... That’s just me... I will not list further all these apocalyptic provisions, including, by the way, the patristic sayings. Let's focus on the Whore of Babylon. The Harlot of Babylon in the patristic, and not only in the philosophical interpretation, in the religious-philosophical interpretation, this is just culture, external. This state, naturally, is the same last days, years, I don’t know what, and culture, both in the narrow and broad sense of the word. IN in this case, narrower, closer to artistic culture, for publication, since we are now talking about a magazine. But also to the face of a person who external features has enough - well, of course, we will be absolutely clear - correct, according to the canons of harmony, but cold, not filled with love, graceless, let’s say so again, and even anti-graceful, since we are talking about it, we started talking about the Apocalypse and then about the harlots of Babylon, such as...
K. Matsan
Good start, optimistic!
V. Lebedev
Well, we have a well-known saying from the fatherland(?) of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, which directly concerns women. A young monk and student in Alexandria looks at someone passing by beautiful woman- a harlot, in fact, - and says: “Teacher, why is vice so beautiful?” He says: “He is not handsome, he dresses up in beautiful clothes.” That's what I meant.
And this question is not accidental, because we, in fact, have been talking about this for 25 years, since the spring of 1991... Well, not only about this, but partly about this too - regarding the life of the same woman (well, I mean , conditionally), depicted on the cover, well, and other similar situations related to both upbringing and some kind of interpersonal relationships, we write tirelessly, in almost every issue.
K. Matsan
Look, this is important, and 25 years - long term also in this regard. I admit (I almost don’t remember these times, I was very little then - in the early 90s), but I admit that then, of course, any words, well, let’s say, about an Orthodox family (let’s take these some terms just established in quotation marks), about organizing a family in the gospel spirit, in the spirit Christian religion, the Orthodox Christian religion, were something new, something shocking, something, perhaps, that they were striving for, what they did not know and what they wanted to know. And now, 25 years later, I, as a presenter, have to put the expression “Orthodox family” in quotation marks, because it’s a little awkward. Well, now it will begin, there: “Let the wife fear her husband,” “There must be many children, otherwise there is no other way,” and so on and so forth. “Otherwise you won’t be saved.” The woman wears a headscarf, and the man is a lumberjack, brings a mammoth, mines it, they live in a village, on the land, and so on. And it’s not that everything is wrong...
V. Lebedev
Well, yes - father is a former physicist, but now he planes with a plane.
K. Matsan
It’s not that everything is wrong, but, probably, it’s still somehow stylistically, aesthetically difficult for us now to seriously discuss this in this context. How has this topic - family - changed for you over 25 years?
V. Lebedev
Well, you know, in fact, if this is so... We also have such a question, even if it is significant, journalistic... Here you are - radio "Vera", I am the magazine "Orthodox Conversation", and I am now wondering how to answer. What we just talked about in the preamble all exists, and I will also say a few words about this. As for changing the topic for us, that is, for our magazine, it probably hasn’t changed - family remains family. And new attacks on the family, unlike the end Soviet period... It was simple, now there are more attacks. Simple with what? There was - by the way, I'm going a bit aside - more enthusiasm. Yes, this preaching of Orthodoxy in the form of a subculture of the early twentieth century - all this was present then: the departure to the village, and the kettle on the coals. I remember one woman said that now time is subordinate to her, so there is no point in starting electric irons - you need to light the coals in the morning. This, of course, makes some sense. But with many children who, so to speak, were entrusted, well, both by our ancestors and by the appeals of people, to give birth, although marriage is not only about childbearing - we can talk about this separately, we have the wrong idea about the same women. Well, you see, we are all in different endless retreats.
K. Matsan
Well, the topic is huge because...
V. Lebedev
Huge, huge. I don't even know what to focus on.
So, of course... Then what happened? Great enthusiasm everywhere. Well, terrible hunger, churching. Various non-existent structures in the Church were replenished and were in such, of course, a rather rudimentary state. For example, Sunday schools were formed, and the first gymnasiums appeared. Yes, they were simply replenished... The clergy were replenished, let’s say, from the same modern people. Those same Orthodox families were formed - somewhat as exotic as we think. In fact, truly Orthodox. Many have now given wonderful children and grandchildren. We have such a father, Alexander Lyashenko, a famous person - he is also our author and participant in the program that I host, by the way, on Radio Radonezh about family, love, it is called “Love and Loyalty.” He has 12 children, for example, and 39 grandchildren per at the moment. And in general they are Orthodox people.
Or the children of the late father Gleb Kolyada - all purely Orthodox people. These are both famous monks and priests. But this is not the topic... So it wasn’t all just a picture.
Now we are faced with something else, you are right. What then needed to be overcome? It was necessary to overcome the life of grandmother and mother (well, by the way, if mother did not leave) in an incomplete Soviet divorced family, because at first there were fewer divorces (well, if measured by generation), despite actual marriages in the 30s. Then, let’s say, people who are now... Well, war veterans, who are now mostly deceased or alive - they had fewer divorces. And their children mostly get divorces. This is a small kitchen (it’s good if there is one), designed, by the way, for one grandson, for a child. These are grandparents. That's it. After all, in fact, the demographic crisis that they are talking about now, for some reason, everyone is blaming it on new period, on democracy. Somehow people have already grown up (that’s how you said - “I have grown up”) and think: “Yes, it’s probably these democrats”... No, I myself am a person of right-wing convictions, therefore... “Everything has collapsed! No family, you know, and the streets are broken”... The streets were broken just before!
K. Matsan
Well, I didn’t say that, I didn’t even suggest you go in this direction.
V. Lebedev
No, no, not you. I say that young people (and they are already adults) believe that, for example, the demographic crisis was born right now, in these last 25 years. Nothing of the kind! If we turn to experts, it originated in the 60s of our - well, now last century. That's what I want to say.
K. Matsan
Valentin Lebedev, editor-in-chief of the Orthodox Conversation magazine, is conducting the Bright Evening program with us today. So let's continue. And these are the roots of this crisis?..
V. Lebedev
Here it was necessary, when the Orthodox people wanted, and this is a good desire, to overcome this situation. Well, what is it - here I am saying - not that without a father there is an incomplete family, but also without a mother who is in search of a husband, I’ll say so directly, probably, if they left the child to the grandmother - there, a boy. When asked: “Who are you growing up with?” - “With grandfather, with grandmother.” That's all. Rarely with mom. Well, sometimes - “with mom.” And then, of course, churchgoers tried and created some of these large families. And, I must say, in fact...
K. Matsan
That is... I’ll interrupt you, I just want to clarify for myself: that is, then, rather, the task was simply to establish some kind of even just secular norm - that there should be both a father and a mother, that it is not normal when the mother is alone?
V. Lebedev
Dad, mom and more than one child.
K. Matsan
That even just this, perhaps, is not a question of some kind of religious motivation, but simply of common sense for the family: a family should have a father, a mother and, preferably, more than one child, because then life is better!
V. Lebedev
And religious motivation is the basis of common sense. After all, childbirth is associated with tradition, which is based on the religious self-awareness of a particular people. Well, not necessarily even Christian, as we see now, say, in the East. And we see that in Europe the birth rate is extremely low. With what comes what? - mortification, as we say. Well, indeed, in the West it exists. Do you know how many children are born in France? They are not born at all. The fact is that there is a norm: 2.6 children (well, such a statistical one - it sounds strange - “2.6”) for two parents. Now, by the way, we don’t have anything good either - 1.5. Here is Father Dmitry Smirnov...
K. Matsan
Well, it even sounds a little monstrous.
V. Lebedev
Monstrous. Father Dmitry Smirnov, who has been a member of the editorial board of our magazine from the first days and who heads it at the moment, well, has generally devoted a lot to upbringing, education - all these years, not only this, but also military affairs, of course, and much more, but heads the Patriarchal Commission on Motherhood and Childhood - he once, when I cited these figures (this was not so long ago), said: “Yes, in general it’s already approaching 1.3.” Here you go, do you understand?
At the same time, those Orthodox people we are talking about now still have more than one child - well, if they can. Well, you never know, someone is sick there... Still, more than one. Maybe not six... But also six - after all, now I immediately remembered examples of some of our quite young... Well, quite young - I mean, 40 years old, let’s say, for a parent who has many children. He can't be 18, right?..
K. Matsan
OK then. And 25 years ago there was this... the context was clear: the legacy of the Soviet family - a mother, divorced, most likely...
V. Lebedev
She's insolvent, yes.
K. Matsan
Yes. It was necessary to look at it in a Christian way and show the norm - against the backdrop of what was probably not the norm.
V. Lebedev
K. Matsan
Now 25 years have passed, society is changing. Well, I would venture to say that the Church has been revived and already, just by the numbers, there are more believers in society. What is the context for you now - specifically on the topic of family?
V. Lebedev
Yes... Well, this does not directly relate to what we were talking about, because after all, the issue with the birth rate was, and remains, I must say, important. Now the main thing, if we talk about our magazine or our activities, is real religious education.
In many ways, religious education - well, that’s what I think... Not only me, but some of my interlocutors, say, some of our authors, of course, of the magazine. And this, in general, famous people- these are Christian teachers, these are writers, priests. They believe that this system of education and upbringing has turned out to be not very perfect over the past 20 years.
Look what's happening. After all, the same parents, boys and girls, they grow up. That is, they were small, now they have grown up. Well, it is clear that every person is both a child and a grandfather, if life goes completely normally. He is both husband and woman, he is also father and mother. But look: the boys who, together with their parents - whom you remembered, in the 90s, when the magazine came out - filled the first Sunday schools (now they are, of course, more perfect, there are more of them), two thirds of them are non-church people .
K. Matsan
Now, having grown up?
V. Lebedev
Yes, having grown up. Moreover, this happens - pay attention - so, somewhere around the 10th grade. That means Sunday school, going to church with mom (no matter what kind of family is there, whether it’s with dad or mom) and then...
K. Matsan
This is a problem that worries, it seems to me, all the parents of such churchgoers...
V. Lebedev
-...the girls remain, for the most part...
K. Matsan
And I, as a parent who will someday have a teenager, and I think...
V. Lebedev
You will encounter the same thing, yes, yes, yes!
K. Matsan
-...what awaits me...
V. Lebedev
As soon as a boy, one out of three boys becomes an Orthodox activist (this is really true), that’s exactly the kind of person he is. Well, he enters some educational institution (now there are many, thank God - not only special ones, but also about, well, different ones). And others disappear. No, they are not God-fighters, of course, so here I am... Not only me - what do you mean I?..
K. Matsan
Well they're getting cold...
V. Lebedev
You study, you look, there - on Easter, of course, he will come. But this is almost the same as welcome from the world - they will also come for Easter if there are enough churches. Now, thank God, the program for the construction of new churches in Moscow will be implemented - they will be filled partly with these people. Yes, let's say, today they came, tomorrow they applied - this is a different process, from a different country. Why are our people leaving? Here's why. Here is the question that...
K. Matsan
How to avoid this?
V. Lebedev
I tried to ask this question... When we talk about our same successes - about Sunday schools, indeed, about educational institutions various theological schools, well, or, let’s say, such - theological faculties are appearing, trying for many years with varying degrees of success to introduce the foundations of Orthodox and other cultures... Well, there are opportunities. There are a lot of people invited, and there is somewhere to come. But the result is the same.
And the answer is that, probably, at the root, said one smart priest, it is necessary to change - and the parent too, of course, and the teacher too in the same schools - the course itself, the system itself, the attitude itself today.
The thing is that parents and schools don’t notice - well, it’s like a summary so that our radio listeners understand what we’re talking about, otherwise we’ll always talk. How does, well, what in a lofty sense is called “worldview” change? Below, in the mental-psychological - the psychology of the same boy. And here he is... for him, the former, what they were talking about... And now I’ll tell you how this happens, especially in the 90s, regarding church life, it becomes in many ways a fairy tale, especially against the backdrop of what is happening now, against the backdrop of those temptations. Not even temptations, but the conversations of his peers, the problems that are put before him. Here he is a high school student, and then - what to do next? Life in general.
Why a fairy tale? Well, because, well, look, at one time, I remember, I was studying publishing activities, worked in the department of religious education, we had an Association of Orthodox Publishers, and in general it was just planned what to publish - no one knew. In 1991, they still didn’t know what to publish in our Orthodox publications. I remember we compiled a list, including pedagogical books, and books related to the same problems of marriage and so on, education. So then children's Bibles came to us for help. I must say that it was... Well, they just tore it apart...
K. Matsan
So blue. I think everyone had it.
V. Lebedev
Blue color! Blue!
K. Matsan
This is what I had.
V. Lebedev
It was very massive, you remember absolutely correctly, by the way! That's right, blue!
K. Matsan
I read - I didn’t understand anything, but I read. Mom said to read - I read.
V. Lebedev
I read it. Blue color. These are already massive deliveries. Before that, you know, there were such thick ones... Such a Serbian publication, in my opinion, is almost adult. It seems to be very good, as it seemed, for such, on the contrary, former Soviet pensioners. Because it’s a bit difficult for children, adults seem to find it inconvenient, but for someone like this… a Soviet grandmother to read… Like, by the way, the Children’s Encyclopedia, a Soviet edition, is a general educational thing. There's a lot of interesting stuff there. Few people read now, and in vain. Nothing has changed in biology. Well, that’s just me, I stepped aside. I just advise our parents this Children's Encyclopedia - not about the history of the CPSU, but about natural sciences- It’s quite safe to give it to middle school children and read it themselves.
So, these Bibles arrived - different ones, not just blue ones. And there were even such short ones, in the form of such folding ones... Well, I forgot what the children's book is called - my children are already adults - it folds out...
K. Matsan
Such an accordion.
V. Lebedev
Such an accordion, yes. And there the Lord Almighty sits on a cloud, in such a very non-canonical image. Well, then the forefathers come, the prophets, with a sling - King David, and everything in color. And then someone said - smart man, a priest, in my opinion, just the aforementioned (he was engaged in pedagogy, organizing physics courses, and in the near future they became the Tikhvin University) Father Gleb Kolyada, in my opinion. We worked together in the department of religious education, I was in charge of the department, the publishing sector, and he was in charge of the pedagogical sector... That this is all wrong. I say: “Why, Father Gleb?” Well, no matter how I am a young man, he is naturally smarter and more mature, we always argue. I say: “How good!” He says: “But nothing good! This is a fairy tale. A Protestant depiction of the absolutely sacred history of the Old, and then it’s really bad - the New.”
K. Matsan
Yes, but they grow out of fairy tales.
V. Lebedev
And from fairy tales they grow, you said correctly, Konstantin! And this is what all training is built on. And now you hear: “In our Sunday school classes, come!” Our parishioner, teacher such and such, is leading. We will go through - there, I don’t know - the First Book of Kings. Prophets. Well, of course, for children - in the same presentation. Life, teaching... In general, various - I don’t know how to say it Orthodox-correctly - old stories. This is again a slingshot, the kings of the Amorites, the war of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. When it's all over, the boys are already leaving. They don't even live up to Christianity. Do you understand what it's all about? And it remains. Well, then, naturally, well, there are 16 written (?) prophets, not to mention others, about whom the same historical books of the Holy Scripture speak. Here are all these pictures... Here is this entire building... Auntie teacher with a pointer. Slides - and now he doesn’t have slides, but there are others...
K. Matsan
Presentations…
V. Lebedev
Yes, yes, yes. All this makes the attitude towards Christianity partly fabulous. Blessed, but fabulous. And here is the result: the boy matures, he becomes a man. There’s also that same pubertal age difference. And he does not protest, but leaves.
Then the parents, as a rule, are already the same mother (the father is still busier with work), and the father too, cannot cope with the teenager, they cannot. So he dictates himself at home - this is a separate conversation, pedagogical, we also write about this - the conditions for his parents. He displays natural disobedience... Natural for modern young man, because the traditions of such a fairly strict upbringing - they were not restored in these good families of the 90s. And now there are even debates - should we punish or not punish in general? But the main thing is love, or not love? And on many Orthodox sites, this topic is developing, it must be said, and, as is well known, it is detrimental. This is called “non-directive pedagogy.”
This non-directive pedagogy, which leaves the child, and even more so the young man (well, of course - now he is independent!) - alone, well, that is, completely disobedient to his parents, and therefore to the school, and therefore to the Church, in fact, at one with the world. And he forgets about this one fairy tale image Sacred history. Of course, he knows the basic prayers, thank God. He knows the basic prayers - I mean, Orthodox child who walked. But no further.
K. Matsan
A most interesting topic. Let's continue after a short pause. Let me remind you that in “Bright Evening” today - Valentin Lebedev, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Orthodox Conversation”. My name is Konstantin Matsan, and we will take a break and return to you in a few minutes.
“Bright Evening” on Radio Vera continues. Christ is Risen, I will say it again, dear friends, and to our guest Valentin Lebedev...
V. Lebedev
Truly Risen, Konstantin, Truly Risen, dear radio listeners!
K. Matsan
Valentin Lebedev is the editor-in-chief of the Orthodox Conversation magazine. And today we are talking about one of the very important topics, which has been raised invariably in this magazine for 25 years - this is the topic of family and education, the topic of childhood, the topic of relationships between children and parents. And, in continuation of our conversation about why teenagers, even receiving a church upbringing, some kind of religious education, nevertheless, in adolescence, unfortunately, often leave the Church, so to speak roughly, and so they leave the Church altogether , we have already started talking about this.
You said that it’s probably wrong, in the wrong form, perhaps a child is told the gospel story in childhood...
V. Lebedev
Not only, this is not only connected with this.
K. Matsan
I would like to clarify this point - we can expand the topic in any direction now, but what is important to me. I have a son of kindergarten age, but he will go to kindergarten in the fall. And I, of course, understand that if I tell myself that “well, it’s still early, but when I’m five years old I’ll tell him about the Gospel,” it will be wrong. Of course, we are reading now. I think this is correct. And, of course, I understand that I am forced to bring into this - explaining, commenting - including elements of fairy tales. Or maybe I’ll even say it differently: even if I’m just trying to tell him the story of some ancient people, with his childish consciousness he still perceives it as a fairy tale in the highest sense of the word. That is, there is a fairy tale about a kitten, there is a fairy tale about cars, and we also read a fairy tale about people who once lived. And I don't think it's that wrong at his age. How to build a process here? Are you an experienced dad?.. How not to do harm at this young age, how to start? And is it possible, in principle, to do without a fairy tale at this very first stage, when the child is three or four years old?
V. Lebedev
Well, it’s probably quite difficult to get by at the first stage. We are now talking about a five-year-old child.
K. Matsan
My son is almost three years old.
V. Lebedev
Three years old, five years old... Of course, for him there are fairy tales and there is this very folding thing that we are talking about, this very Bible in the form of an accordion. Well, how could it be otherwise?
But there are, in fact, different methods. Some people believe that a child grows up late. In general, there are, in fact, different approaches even to the mysterious life, that the most important thing in the West is the first communion at the age of 12, but here we have it right away, you know? There, rationalism prevailed a long time ago, so the small child remains, and, it seems, he is in the world of fairy tales. With us - no, which means he should not be in the world of fairy tales.
I want to say: after all, we have Orthodox magazine, an Orthodox radio station, - what are we talking about didactics now. There is not only didactics - there is education, non-education, punishment, let’s say, encouragement. There is something that people read. Here we teach. There is an important thing in church life that, perhaps, is not forgotten with a three-year-old child, but beyond that. This is the introduction of a boy or a girl, it doesn’t matter, into the circle of mysterious life. After all, Christianity, unlike others...
K. Matsan
Well, that is, participation in the sacraments? Communion in particular?
V. Lebedev
Yes. In communion, in other sacraments that are possible for a child or then a young person. Divine services. Well, in the right portions, but definitely a mysterious life. Prayer for him is a must, which the same popes leave later. So, in fact, as a child becomes a young man, he forgets. As if this is no longer necessary. Mom still yes, but dad no longer. He leaves with the child. This is another topic, by the way. Breaks away from church life.
Why am I talking about the sacraments? Because - very briefly - some people are wondering... I'll step aside a little. These are the kind of pious people - they seem to belong to other religions. But there are even some good people- they are even grandfathers like this, great-grandfathers for many - they seemed to be very decent, not some kind of unhinged hooligans, you know, rock and rollers. What's the matter? And they cannot find the answer to this question. And he really exists.
The fact is that Christianity - real, Orthodox, church Christianity - it leads and gives not righteousness, which goes without saying, that is, correct life, but holiness. This is what a Christian, a member of the Church, strives and should strive for. But holiness is given only from above - not in conversations, not in reading poems, not in listening even to our good passes and not even in reading our magazine “Orthodox Conversation”. It is given by the power of the Holy Spirit, humility and repentance. Well, in prayer, of course. We shouldn’t forget about this.
And now the boy is 15 years old, he is interested in other things, no one prays for him, he no longer takes communion - well, that’s it.
K. Matsan
But he actually breaks away from God.
V. Lebedev
And then there are the Amorite kings, do you understand? And everything went away. Does he agree further? Yes, he is not an enemy. But he is not an active Christian either.
This should not be forgotten. For some reason, this is often the picture. You, as a young father, are clearly faced with this. Mass - well, in such a good, active Orthodox parish, which is called a community - babies are given communion, they shout, everyone goes to the chalice. Okay, very good. There are almost no young men, there are fewer of them. Where do they disappear in these 25 years? Where are their parents?
That's what we're talking about. There are small children. This impression is created (and psychologically it probably exists, it is incorrect) that these mothers are, basically, mothers who go (well, and fathers, of course, participate) to communion - they still give the child some kind of then another pill. You see, this...
K. Matsan
In terms of?
V. Lebedev
Well, there are both adults and non-adults... Adults - I mean our old parishioners - have a kind of folk-magical attitude, after all, and a consumer attitude towards the Church. Well, look - indeed, “the holiday of little faith.” As soon as Epiphany, the churches are filled, well, just... They came for water, you know?
K. Matsan
I understand, yes. There are such features of such naive folk religiosity.
V. Lebedev
How? Of course, faith...
K. Matsan
But it has always been, it seems to me, and will always be.
V. Lebedev
Yes, this is very important. Always, because faith is truly preserved in the form of popular piety; it is impossible to do otherwise. But this consumption, look... It’s small - it’s scary, we take communion all the time. He’s an adult, but he’s already into boxing on his own, boy. Well, it’s good if he’s boxing, and not something else, not sitting in the entrance with a beer. Here. Well, that’s it - it seems like there’s no need to take communion. Well, I seem to be healthy already. The body, you know?
K. Matsan
Oh, I see. I understood your point, yes.
V. Lebedev
At first there is anxious concern: here - what kind of food, there - what weight, here you need to give communion, here you need to sprinkle the same holy water. Like drugs. It's the same question...
K. Matsan
This brings us to the main topic, in fact, it seems to me...
V. Lebedev
Yes, yes. This is what we are talking about now. This is the same as an elderly woman coming up and asking: “Father, tell me, is it possible to have validol before communion?” - very often. “Yes you can,” he says. Because you can’t think of the sacrament as another pill like Validol. That’s not why we don’t eat...
K. Matsan
But look...
V. Lebedev
It's the same here. This is why... That is, there are a lot of problems here...
K. Matsan
This is all interconnected. We pointed out...
V. Lebedev
It has established itself - and it seems good. Well, he went on his own.
K. Matsan
That's it. We have pointed out the problems.
V. Lebedev
K. Matsan
Now I would like us to talk about attempts at solutions. It is clear that we will not invent recipes for happiness and will not answer all questions. But, for example, we started talking about the religious upbringing of children, about the fact that, probably, as I understood your idea, at some point the child still needs... Well, that is, you need to let him feel - by your example or somehow - then otherwise (well, probably the most important thing - by your example and communication with him) - that the Gospel is not a fairy tale. That when he grows out of the fairy tale age, tell him that this is actually life.
I heard this idea from one priest, which seemed very true to me in our conversation. He says: “Children come to me for confession...” Well, apparently already older than seven years old, older, they tell something. And so he says: “Everyone will tell: “Well, I did this, I didn’t listen to my mother, this and that, and my mother told me about my sins, I confess them, I take communion regularly,” and the priest asks: “ But tell me, do you turn to God? So you just pray to Him yourself? Are you talking to Him yourself? Just like with a friend?” By the way, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh also wrote about this very interestingly. Because... “Do you want to have a friend - Christ”? - “No, but I didn’t know about it.” That is, it is important at some point, as I understand the thought of these experienced shepherds, to actually give the child, offer him the experience of his personal communion with God. This is what the Gospel is life, right?
V. Lebedev
And the experience of communion with God, you say correctly, Konstantin. This goes without saying. Well, for some it doesn’t go without saying, as we can see. Because there are instructions from experienced shepherds, and there are those people, those parents who need them, but the examples are no longer fabulous. The Old Testament and the New, even more so. No, actually, not even more so, for us it’s all one. This is not a fairy tale. But especially to teach a boy... We’re not talking about girls - well, okay, they’re somehow more humble, more in the Church... Otherwise, no program at all will be enough. Mmm... Yes, in front of the girl too, of course. We must... The Gospel is life, you said it right. We need examples of living people, saints - not necessarily ancient ones. With us, you understand, everything is converted - yes, this is where the Church stands, we now do not question either the teachings of the prophets or the miracles that the ancient saints performed. But turn to present life, you understand?
K. Matsan
But, for example, what example of a saint can a child learn?
V. Lebedev
Yes, today's new Russian martyrs!
K. Matsan
V. Lebedev
Warriors. In general, well, let’s say, not even a saint yet, but a pious person - there are many of them. Here are the same, again, new martyrs. So to speak, not even ascetics, perhaps - heroes of modern history, clearly Orthodox people. Just to say... One mentor once told me, even before the start of professional church life, but already in the process of becoming a church member (this was also 10-15 years before the start of publication and work)... In general, the role of a mentor is very important, by the way, especially for a boy. So I remember the people who influenced me - these are not necessarily my parents. These are those who previously, under traditional upbringing, fulfilled this role - from uncles to teachers, some military commanders, those who influence. He told me: “Who do you want to be with? With these people? (Well, I won’t name names now - these were some regional committee figures and low-ranking Soviet writers.) “Or, say, with Dostoevsky and Ushakov? With whom? Here you choose! This series can be... After all, there are 300 great scientists - and there are about 300 of them, great ones, of the 17th century, when modernization began. Well, these are the laws that we go through - not us, but the whole world in general - in schools, in universities named after them - they were all practically religious people, and, obviously. Well, most of them are Christians, although not all, of course. Do you want to be with them - or with these? Now let’s offer this example: you want to work with these corrupt officials, let’s put it this way, right? What about these unclear, torn knees, wobbling boys or girls? Or with these current Orthodox heroes? Our current ones are from a hundred years and the present life. Well, these examples are diverse - now are we going to delve into any particular one? Now we will deal with the life of a modern hero. But there are many of them, you know, these examples?
This is an example of new martyrs, I insist again. Here we have... Well, for example, every hour we... Now we have Easter days. Every year at the beginning of Lent we commemorate the Sebastian martyrs. And it must be done. The Church is established on the blood of martyrs. We also have our own current ones. There are, for example, similar cases that few people know about. I myself read, by the way, in the order of reviewing publications in our magazine in the 90s, such an educational... Here in the same section “Home Church”... We also had a magazine within a magazine - “Grain”, because then there were no children’s publications. Besides the blue Bible that we remembered, well, and other different ones. There were no children's magazines, and no one knew about websites then, because there was no Internet yet and there never will be; it will appear in 10 years in its infancy - well, maybe a little earlier.
A letter from one of our foreign bishops - now we are all reunited - who writes about exactly what we are talking about - I did not come up with this. Here we remember, honor and will honor the ancient martyrs. But here we have approximately the same number as the Sebastian martyrs - 40 priests whom the NKVD shot in the forest (well, in the forest - in the sense, outside the city), asking only one question: “Do you believe or not?” If you say no, we won’t shoot you in the back of the head.” This is an inhuman test. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can do this.
Well, we understand ourselves. Let's take a walk somewhere in a deserted area in the evening - what kind of gun is there? These were ordinary priests. So we sometimes call them “demand executors” in a disdainful manner. “Here’s the same guy, he blessed Easter cake there, he went, he had many children, pre-revolutionary, maybe he didn’t preach very much, but as a result the revolution came” - that’s how all these conversations begin. But where does this come from? This is already the 20s. Here's an example! Is this how you want to be? This is more than heroism. Because this is the crown that God gives to the martyr. A person himself cannot deserve this on his own. This is that chosenness. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This was what was given to these people, who were unremarkable before. They were not high preachers or some kind of, you know, fighters against the shifting lawlessness, bright ones. No, that's not true.
This is just one example. It's like a method. The old archpastor writes about... This is just an example. And now you can find a lot of them. After all, just don’t be lazy now, you know? There you press the buttons, then I’ll consult you... That’s what you need to pay attention to!
Of course, it turns out like this, some will say: well, what is this, are you against studying the Holy Scriptures, or what? Well, of course not. In fact, the study of prophetic books, if we really digress, is generally a serious, purely churchly matter, and not a fantasy thing, at home or somewhere under the guidance, perhaps even of a pious woman with a pointer. Because a step to the right, a step to the left is already a heresy, in fact, if we turn to those works that are associated with recommendations, with comprehension. Only in the church mainstream!
K. Matsan
Of course, of course.
V. Lebedev
Therefore, this is exactly what needs to be transferred here if we are to compile some training manuals... Again, we cannot deal with this now within the framework of the transfer. On the contrary, perhaps this is for the senior classes at the same Sunday or other schools. We are for adults, and for some teenagers, and for institutions. This is a serious study, it does not have to be a fairy tale. This is an appeal - correctly said, the Gospel is life - to today's life, this is participation in the mysterious life. This is the prayer of the young man himself. This is an ongoing prayer for him. Now he is an adult and in jeans, not short pants, and will no longer pray. No, it will.
K. Matsan
Valentin Lebedev, editor-in-chief of the Orthodox Conversation magazine, is spending this “Bright Evening” with us.
You said something that also seems to me fundamentally important - the child’s own prayer to God, at different ages. Well, or rather, it must be assumed, a prayer that needs to be told to the child in time, so that he feels it from his own experience, so that later in the storms of any teenage crises and searches there will be some kind of core, at least, there will be something to resort to so that this knowledge, this experience was. Here you are, like an experienced dad... What words can you tell your child about prayer? How can I offer him this experience, perhaps for the first time?
V. Lebedev
For the first time, experience must be offered, without theorizing, of course. That is, what words should I suggest? This must enter... prayer must enter - well, not with mother's milk, of course, this is only among the great ascetics, as we read in their lives and believe in these lives, but close to it.
Well, here's how, for example... Let's digress. Our radio listeners know that monks, those who engage in mental prayer and asceticism, generally follow this path, they read not only evening and morning prayers, like you and me, but more, let’s say, prayers in general, of course - monastic rule. But they also read the Jesus Prayer so that it enters their mind, it’s called. And it repeated itself - well, there are different degrees, it seemed to happen by itself in the mind and in the heart. There is different characteristics- what is the mind, what is the ascetic heart. You need to read about this separately, and this, of course, has nothing to do with raising children, probably - the ascetic path.
But prayer... The basic prayers, well, first of all, “Our Father”... should also enter under your sensitive, your parental (I mean our radio listeners) guidance into the mind and heart of the child. Not only the boy, of course, whom we were talking about. Other short prayers.
There are interesting things. I remember that in our magazine one author - he even has a school, at least had his own for teachers - for some reason tried to argue that children are incapable of learning the prayer “Our Father” until a certain age, almost 10 years old. " There are some such infantile approaches, oddly enough. Again fairy tales and the inability to learn anything. Now these are, forgive me for the common expression, so to speak, advanced children who, in my opinion, can do anything. And, of course, stop. .. So they swallow entire texts and repeat them by heart in children’s books, because that’s how memory works? So, together with these texts, only more spiritually, it is necessary, of course, not just to plant, but to incorporate into consciousness these sacred and simple words basic prayers...
K. Matsan
I even read...
V. Lebedev
Accustom the child to repeat them - well, let's say, in difficult moments of his life, so that they are connected, so that it is truly an appeal to God the Father as father and mother. That is for a reason. Here, again, just about the old kings from the Book of Kings. Okay, just learned a prayer. Well, I learned it like a poem. What's there? Six stanzas. Six lines, or rather, not even stanzas. Yes, and in the big one a little, he is already starting to teach much more in kindergarten, then at school. Well, what next?
K. Matsan
Well, yes, so that God is a person with whom you can communicate.
V. Lebedev
You were correct in what you said about Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. He has a lot of useful information, and we would probably recommend reading his books with you. Of course, you need to address... After all, people address God using “You,” mind you, in all languages. Using “You” as to the Father: “Our Father”, “My Father”, “Our” - the child should turn to God, like this. And ask Him, and it will be given to Him, as we know and believe. This is very important, of course.
K. Matsan
I was very struck by the thought of one modern pastor. In one of his lectures, he said that in general, do not consider that you need to babysit with children when talking about faith. He used such a rude, unpleasant word “lisp.” One should not think that a child is not able to perceive who Christ is, that He died and rose again, that He suffered, that He came and became incarnate. Who is the Mother of God, what are the apostles? That is, it may be more difficult for us, adults, with already such blinkered brains, such a rationalistic consciousness, to perceive this than a child with his open heart. Therefore, do not be afraid to speak at a certain age, when the child is ready to understand you, do not be afraid to speak directly and simply about Christ. The child will absorb it. What do you feel about it?
V. Lebedev
I completely agree. We have already turned a lot to texts, to Sunday school. You used the word “lisping” - that’s correct. There's no need for fabulous lisp. Everything must be serious. In prayer, a child should turn to a parent, even an elder, even if invisible. You also need to talk to him about the Gospel and about Christian life, and about church life, in all seriousness. And he, naturally, cannot comprehend this. Of course it can. To be afraid that there will not be enough knowledge (we are already talking about this), some ability to comprehend the texts... Well, not directly, not a Slavic text, of course, to offer directly to a five-year-old child. Here we go too far - let’s go to the side. Otherwise, now they will listen to the program, take the Holy Scripture, and not in Russian, and say piously: “Well, there, Peter or Nastya...”
K. Matsan
Won't start with Old Testament, from the First Chapter of the First Book of Genesis.
V. Lebedev
Yes, and they will begin to read in Slavic... In Slavic, yes, yes, read. Or the Gospel of John - so that everyone, you know, understands, so to speak.
By the way, about the Gospel and memory. My godson now - after all, the children are grown up there - is already an adult, but at one time, when he was little, he knew the Gospel of John by heart, as a junior schoolchild.
K. Matsan
But the same Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh tells the story of his conversion - that it was turned upside down by the Gospel of Mark, including because it is the shortest and was intended by the author, let’s say, specifically for children. It was precisely an attempt to present the Gospel simply and accessible to, as Bishop Anthony says, such 14-year-olds, almost naughty ones. Now, perhaps, if you can give advice on which book to start with, say, when discussing the Holy Scriptures with children, here is the Gospel of Mark. At least this is the example that experienced shepherds give.
V. Lebedev
So, I want to say that in fact there is no need for amateur performances either. The radio broadcast is a reference point. Well, any.
K. Matsan
We are just the media.
V. Lebedev
Yes, we are just the media. There, the magazine “Orthodox Conversation” is more serious, in the sense that it is a printed word. That's the only reason. Like books, it is perceived differently.
K. Matsan
No, of course, the printed word is perceived as more significant than the spoken word.
V. Lebedev
You read it - it could be serious, maybe Metropolitan Anthony read it, or, so to speak, our wise teacher, a member of the editorial board of the aforementioned, there, say, Dmitry Smirnov, who is in charge of the same Commission, has maintained an Orthodox gymnasium for 25 years and participates in educational process. But in general it is necessary to contact, of course - you said correctly - to generally have a spiritual father. If not the father, we usually have a lot of different problems here.
What's happened spiritual father, but not a spiritual father? And this is a special, mysterious connection. We are talking about adults now. It ends with no connection, no father and complete amateur performances. It’s either pseudo-piety or none at all, really.
K. Matsan
Well, it ends with the fact that in itself turning to a priest for advice is considered unnecessary.
V. Lebedev
Yes. Or this option. Or endless unnecessary advice. Some trips to some places - well, it’s different here. There are again many options.
So we need to consult - what to study, what Gospel to read. Take advice yourself. Well, maybe not for everyone - certainly not at all, we also love every crumb... Well, in the so-called frank conversation, during the same classes, if the shepherd leads it. Well, ask a couple of clear questions: is the Gospel of Mark or not from Mark to be read to my, Mark, child. (Laughs.) Well, because the priest can see it too. Firstly, he is generally a shepherd, that is, your shepherd shepherds you, your father. He is also the father of your child. This can be seen when your child gets married or gets married: this is a couple or not a couple. An experienced person can see. The inexperienced cannot see it. The parent often doesn't care. In general, it’s as if the vector should continue. Today - which Gospel to read, and tomorrow - is it possible for Peter to marry Anastasia. This is also important. In our country everyone will immediately say: “This is some kind of fettering of freedom, a person must...” Yes, yes. And yet it is necessary to be guided.
And for us, parents, we hardly consider this aspect today... By the way, we had a wonderful work in the magazine (I myself re-read it twice) by Tatyana Shishova (this is a Christian writer, our author) about punishment. And then, together with Irina Medvedeva, about the harmfulness of non-directive pedagogy. That is, I want to say now, quite briefly, about a fairly traditional upbringing. After all, it is often absent. Prayer - yes, sacramental life - yes, the main church life. But we shouldn’t forget, in fact, just about upbringing. We often lack this. Often this is laziness, which is hidden behind some newfangled, sometimes Orthodox media, preached theses. Sometimes completely false. It's about somehow, completely cut off from everything, about Christian love and that love is generally the most important thing in life. Who will argue? Do you know these theses? What's important? Love is very good. But should you love a child? We must love. What next? Oh, well, then let him do whatever he wants. You say this is a fantasy. Nothing of the kind. How many children we see, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, who can come up and, practically, being already schoolchildren, in general, smear you with ice cream. What is this anyway? What kind of church education, what kind of education in general can we talk about then? This is also very important. This is generally a very difficult job.
K. Matsan
Important, yes. It’s important, and we talked about turning to a priest. I think this is also important because everything is very individual. And we, of course, are just the media, and we cannot...
V. Lebedev
K. Matsan
- ...to develop uniform patterns for all boys and girls. The most important thing is learned in live communication. And who like... Well, there are many, many, perhaps, useful advisers, but, among them, the priest who regularly sees this child...
V. Lebedev
And you said it right...
K. Matsan
- ... and he, for his part, from his spiritual bell tower, not to spite the parents, not instead of the parents, but together with the parents, can suggest something.
After so many words about the journal “Orthodox Conversation”, at the end of our conversation, let’s tell you where to look for it, whether there is a subscription, for those who are interested, how to read it all.
V. Lebedev
At the age of 25 (nrzb.) ... And those who have been reading for a long time know that, well, firstly, you can buy it in church. It’s not always possible, because practically everything diverges and it’s impossible. Circulation depends on large funds - after all, this is a glossy magazine, as we see now, and it is expensive to publish. Therefore, of course, we all need to participate in this matter and help. Not only for us, but also for other media.
Then, of course, there is a simple subscription, in the same Rospechat. This is the former Soyuzpechat, well, it’s for adults in the main catalogue. Now it’s May for us - this is a subscription for the second half of the year. And in September - the main one, for next year, for 2017. You must not be lazy to find index 73319 in the catalogue. Yes, they have now forgotten about it. This is also spiritual work - to search. And subscribe.
And the main thing is not even this - to sign your neighbor, it’s called, give it to him, tell him.
K. Matsan
Yes, it's important.
V. Lebedev
That's what's important.
Some people think: “Where should we put it?..” Here is an adult, an elderly person, I can’t really go anywhere. Here's the strength... I listened to the program, but I want to help. Well, whether it’s this program or whether I read it, I want it. So here's your assistance, please. Well, sign up your neighbor and let her read it! This is what I simply proposed as a module.
K. Matsan
Yes, great plans- an excellent optimistic conclusion to our program with some kind of projection into the future, a look into the future.
Let me remind you that Valentin Lebedev, editor-in-chief of the Orthodox Conversation magazine, spent this “Bright Evening” hour with us. Thank you very much for the conversation, for sharing life experience. Christ is Risen!
V. Lebedev
Truly He is Risen! Thank you, thank you, dear radio listeners. Peace be with you!
K. Matsan
We'll meet again on the waves of Radio Vera. It was Konstantin Matsan. Goodbye!
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Today Russia celebrated the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. The holiday coincides with the Orthodox one, when the church honors the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius - preachers who lived in Greece in the 9th century and created the first Slavic alphabet, the basis of not only Russian literature.
All over Russia, and not only, adults and children today remember the Cyrillic alphabet - an alphabet that has become the basis of the culture of many peoples. The names Cyril and Methodius are on everyone’s lips today.
“They gave the Russian people the opportunity to read the Gospel, they introduced the texts of the Gospel in Slavic language, brought the word of God to our people. It’s much easier to read the Gospel in Slavic than to learn Greek,” says one of the parishioners.
“They translated liturgical books into Slavic. Firstly, they created it, the alphabet, and translated the books into the Slavic language. Before this, all scriptures were in three languages - Hebrew, Latin and Greek. This is where enlightenment came from, so the Slavs could already conduct worship, could read books, Scripture, the Gospel, and could translate the holy fathers into the Slavic language. This event is simply difficult to overestimate!” - notes another parishioner.
Solemn services and concerts were held in many cities of the country, and Moscow became the center of the celebration of Slavic literature and culture. A concert was held on Red Square, before the opening of which the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill congratulated the Russians.
“It is becoming a tradition that on this day, the day of remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who, in fact, created our alphabet, laid the foundation for our literary language, and therefore writing, on the day of their memory we meet on Red Square in order to , of course, remember this cultural feat amazing people, who connected the cultural enlightenment of the people with their spiritual enlightenment,” the Patriarch said.
The large combined choir performed the repertoire of Soviet and Russian composers, and also performed well-known folk songs. At these same minutes Palace Square St. Petersburg began the performance of the Bolshoi Children's half-choir, and that’s two thousand performers! All the audience had booklets with the words and could sing along with the choir, although everyone knows most of the songs by heart.
And here is the scene on the banks of the Volga. On the lower terrace of the historical and memorial museum-reserve " Battle of Stalingrad» for the first time in history Volgograd region a choir of more than a thousand performers.
The holiday of writing is one of the most understandable and, one might say, popular, although it was established by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1991. Cyrillic is what unites everyone.
“These letters that we write, we put our soul and feelings into, convey to people, declare our love, write about what worries us, admire our nature. These are all our words, our alphabet,” the visitor shares.
Veliky Novgorod, the Millennium of Russia monument, a religious procession moves here from the St. Sophia Cathedral, and a festive concert begins here. Among the spectators are foreign tourists.
“I'm impressed this day is celebrated so widely. Russian people remember ancient history a country that suddenly becomes so relevant. I am convinced that loving and knowing your history is useful both for the present and for the future,” says history teacher from Germany Stefan Schipperges.
Today, the day of Slavic writing is celebrated in Ukraine and Belarus, Macedonia and Transnistria; Cyrillic is written in Bulgaria, Serbia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the USSR, some former Soviet republics switched from Cyrillic to Latin, but for many of these citizens now independent states Cyrillic remains a clear and important alphabet.
