Orthodox education in Russia

North Ossetian Orthodox Church starts switchover of divine services to the Ossetian language.
On July 17, the day of the Russian royal family's martyrdom, a sacred procession was held in Vladikavkaz. According to the archbishop of the North Ossetian Orthodox Church, Vasilii Shaurman, the procession was initiated by the congregation of Vladikavkaz and blessed by Archbishop Theophane of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz. Emperor Nikolai II and his family were canonized in 2000. Nikolai II Romanov traveled around the Caucasus region in 1914-1916 during World War I, and visited military hospitals in Vladikavkaz and, as documentation testifies, his visit caused charitable social movements to appear.

Everybody, regardless of confession, could take part in the sacred procession. "I would like this procession to become a remarkable and uniting event for the city and the republic," father Vasilii said. "The church is a peacemaking basis for beneficial discussions, which can reflect our unity. I hope the sacred procession will become traditional for North Ossetia and Russia. The Romanovs always gathered peoples of different confessions and origin together. No single state has such unique experience in good-neighbourly relations of variety of cultures as Russia has".

A non-governmental primary school "Pokrov" has recently been?opened in Vladikavkaz and 120 children have already started attending it.?Despite?the school being religiously oriented the educational process is practically the same as in any regular school. The teachers say the time has come to move on and open junior and senior classes. For almost a year the children have been studying in a new building on the territory of the cathedral, which as yet hasn't been completely redecorated, meaning the school couldn't be included in the Educational Ministry's list of public schools. To receive accreditation the school needs financing in order to meet all the security requirements. This is a huge amount?for the ward, about 1.5 million roubles. Vasilii Shauerman called on all interested religious people of the republic to lend a hand.

The orthodox high school named after Akso Koliev is the only orthodox educational institution in North Ossetia and the second in the diocese after the one in Kislovodsk. It has gained popularity not only among needy families, but also among wealthy ones. The religious leaders say the quality of education is higher due to the orthodox element in the teaching program - and the results of the Common State Exams in Kislovodsk are good evidence of this.

The North Ossetian clergy has started switching the language?of the divine services to Ossetian, and this should strengthen the foundation of the orthodox church in the republic. "We now?have 19 books with translations of the divine services into the Ossetian language," Sahuerman said, "but this is only a quarter what we need, and this figure also needs serious revision. We will also create background music for the orthodox ceremonies."

Tamara Bunturi, Vladikavkaz. Exclusively for VK.