The presentation of the first volumes of the Collected Works of the Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan took place at the Department for External Church Relations

The presentation of the first volumes of the Collected Works of the Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan took place at the Department for External Church Relations В Отделе внешних церковных связей состоялась презентация первых томов Собрания трудов равноапостольного Николая Японского print version October 17, 2018 10:06 On October 16, 2018, the presentation of the first two volumes of the ten-volume collection of works of the equal to the apostles Nicholas of Japan was held at the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The event was headed by the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Collected Works of Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk . This research project on publishing the full written heritage of St. Nicholas (Kasatkin) is carried out by the Nikolo-Ugreshskoy Theological Seminary in collaboration with the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and a number of Oriental scientific and public organizations in Russia. Representatives of domestic and foreign science and culture, local historians, clergy, translators, and public figures are involved in research. The meeting was attended by the head of the Deserving Me Foundation, I.F. Aristov, President of PJSC Rosbank G.V. Zabolotsky, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the RSUH, A.N. Meshcheryakov, teacher of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary, Priest Alexy Sorokin, teacher of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary, Priest Andrei Kolganov. The meeting was also attended by members of the editorial board: rector of the Nikolo-Ugresh seminary, hegumen Ioann (Rubin), master of theology, Priest Nikolai Shcheglov (Nikolo-Ugreshskaya Theological Seminary), hieromonk Nikolai (Ono), DECR employee D.I. Petrovsky, Ph.D. in History, scientific editor T.G. Sila Novitskaya, executive editor I.V. Kuzmina, doctor of historical sciences I.Yu. Smirnova (Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences), Ph.D. Hesmy, specialist in educational and methodological work of the Scientific and Creative Center "Musical Cultures of the World" of the Moscow State Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky N.F. Klobukova. The rector of the Nikolo-Ugresh Orthodox Theological Seminary, Hegumen Ioann (Rubin), welcomed Metropolitan Hilarion and all those gathered. Then the DECR chairman addressed the audience with an opening speech: “Today we present to your attention the first two volumes of the 10-volume complete collection of works of Nicholas the Equal to the Apostles. The publication is carried out by the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary with the support of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. In the framework of the ongoing work on the preparation of this meeting, we are trying to gather together and present to the wide reader all the presently written legacy of St. Nicholas. In 2020, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the glorification in the face of equal to the apostles of the archbishop of Tokyo Nikolai (Kasatkin). I believe that our modest efforts will contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about the faithful son of the Russian Orthodox Church, the apostle of the Land of the Rising Sun, an outstanding archpastor, orientalist, diplomat, ethnographer, linguist and translator. The publication of the works of the saint, I hope, will become a worthy monument to his denonoschny works in the field of the Lord, a unique source of knowledge about this historical figure, church and social structure of Russia and Japan of the late XIX - early XX centuries. The publication is also timed to the significant date celebrated in 2020 in the history of the brainchild of St. Nicholas - the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Russian spiritual mission in Japan. The Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill gives personal attention to this publication. The project was presented in detail to His Holiness during a visit to the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary in May of this year. The welcome speech of His Holiness the Patriarch opens the first volume of our publication. I note that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church over the years has been concerned about the preservation of the written heritage of the enlightener of Japan. It was precisely his diligence, when he was rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy , that they acquired from a private owner letters from St. Nicholas of Japan, addressed to priest Sergius Suzuki. These materials, supplemented by a scientific and reference apparatus, will be included in subsequent volumes of our publication. The publication is carried out in cooperation with the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan , whose representatives take part in the work, provide materials preserved in Japan. So far we have not been able to ensure the realization of our intentions to publish the entire volume of collected works in Russian and Japanese. But the greeting word of the Metropolitan of Tokyo Daniel, the content of the volumes, the titles and annotations of each section are also given in Japanese. Knowing the love of Orthodox Japanese for their Russian apostle and the attention of Japanese academic circles to his contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese relations, I believe that over time his works will be available to the Japanese reader in full in Japanese. Thanks to Saint Nicholas, Orthodoxy organically entered the cultural landscape of Japan, akin to the culture of the Japanese people. Now the Japanese Church, being an integral part of world Orthodoxy, carefully preserves and develops its traditions, rooted in the ancient national culture, contributes to the strengthening of the bonds of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Japan. With spiritual trepidation we began this work, and throughout the work we felt the prayer support of the saint. The appeal to the works of Nicholas the Equal to the Apostles presents to the readers the possibility of touching the richest inner world of a saint person. From the pages of the books that you see now in front of you, a person speaks to us, deeply rooted in the Truth of Christ, fully living the life of the Church. His word was filled with true love without arrogance, self-denial without external pathos. The resurrected Lord was his unchanging hope. Today we present the first two volumes of the collection. They keep an official correspondence, which was led by a young hieromonk - rector of the embassy church in Hakodate, then head of the Russian spiritual mission in Japan, Bishop of Revel, and finally - the Archbishop of Tokyo and all of Japan. Many documents are first introduced into scientific circulation, so the publication will be the most valuable source of information for future researchers of the heritage of Nicholas of Japan. Volumes are equipped with a scientific apparatus, the books contain geographical and biographical indexes, maps of missionary trips of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas are given. The publication of the collection of works of St. Nicholas is of great importance for the scientific, cultural, and most importantly - the church life of Russia and Japan. The publication is carried out with the support of leading Russian scientific and educational oriental institutions, theological schools, the Russian State Historical Archive. I want to thank the members of the Board of Trustees. Thanks to your support, this grandiose project has become possible. I would like to hope for support in the future, since we are still only at the beginning of the path, there will be significant works of considerable volume and scientific significance that will require proper competence and resources, both human and material. I would especially note the work of scientific editors and consultants, carried out under the guidance of the Executive Secretary of the Scientific and Editorial Board Abbot Ioann (Rubin) and the Executive Editor Irina Vladimirovna Kuzmina. I thank all of you for the work you have endured, and I call upon the blessing of God for your continued efforts. Thank you for your attention". Hegumen Ioan (Rubin), rector of the Nikolo-Ugresh Theological Seminary, thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for his speech and donated the first two volumes of the meeting, as well as the icon of St. Nicholas of Japan. Metropolitan Hilarion presented the president of PJSC Rosbank G.V. Zabolotsky and the head of the Worthy Eating Foundation, I.F. Aristov icons of St. Nicholas the Japanese Equal to the Apostles.