Department for External Church Relations
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"Scholarly-Theological View on Modern Information Society" expert seminar took place at the Laura of the Holy Trinity
"Theology and information society require mutual comprehension and dialogue as far as they are interested in human person," said the Revd. Georgy Zavershinsky, head of the DECR Communication Service, at the "Scholarly-theological view on modern information society" expert seminar that took place at the Laura of the Holy Trinity. The seminar was chaired by Vladimir Legoida, chairman of the Synodal Information Department.
Reports were presented by archimandrite Sergiy (Govorun), first deputy chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; the Revd. Georgy Zavershinsky, head of the DEC communication service; professor A. Korotkov, head of the department of global information processes and resources at the Moscow State University of Foreign Relations, and O. Genisaretsky, leading researcher of the Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Taking part in the meeting and discussion were also vice-rector of the postgraduate and doctoral programme of the Russian Orthodox Church archpriest Vladimir Shmaliy, and secretary of the academic board of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, editor-in-chief of the 'Bogoslov.ru' theological portal archpriest Pavel Velikanov.
The Revd. Georgy Zavershinsky presented report on "Dialogue as a way of human life." He said in particular that personal attitude to the world and its Creator in philosophy and theology has seriously re-oriented human interest to a dialogue and interpersonal relations. A scientific objective method does not present a whole picture of the phenomenon of human being, but rather deals with different aspect of life as a part of the natural world. Personal life is not a product of individual or social conscience, but a function of attitude. We all are born as individuals, and personal principle in us is not an actuality, but rather a potential that is realized when we enter into relations with other people and with the world around us.
He believes that a scientific method isolated from aesthetical outlook, from human spiritual and moral principles that shape personality, does not present a complete picture of the life of the world and human beings in its integrity. This particularly concerns a phenomenon of information society. When we think about it in theological terms, we see that a method of dialogue is more appropriate, as it is an attempt to look at the world and human being in totality of mutual relations. A method of dialogue does not run contrary to an objective method of cognition, but rather supplements it pointing at the necessity to take personal and impersonal relations into account in order to understand the life of the world and human beings in their ontological relation.
Fr. Georgy answered many questions. He remarked that when we ask ourselves whether theology and information society need relationship, we might well answer that both require mutual comprehension and dialogue as far as they are interested in human person.
Patriarch
Department Chairman
Sermons
24.01.2021
06.11.2020