From July 25 to August 6, 2026, a Summer Institute for students of the John Damascene Theological Institute of Balamand University was held in Russia. The program was organized by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate with the blessing of His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, and His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
The aim of the project was to introduce Orthodox students from Lebanon to the life of the Russian Orthodox Church, its shrines and the activities of higher theological educational institutions. The delegation of 14 people was led by Archimandrite Chrysostom (El Mesherki), Associate Professor at Balamand University.
The program began with participation in the patronal feast of the Metochion of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Moscow. A part of the hymns during the Divine Liturgy was performed in Arabic by the choir of students of Balamand University.
On the Day of the Baptism of Rus, on July 28, Archimandrite Chrysostom and members of the delegation in holy orders concelebrated with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Divine Liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. After the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church welcomed the guests, expressed his joy at their arrival in Russia and presented them with memorable gifts.
In Moscow, the participants of the Summer Institute visited St. Tikhon's Orthodox University for the Humanities, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Church-wide Postgraduate and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Sretensky Theological Academy and the Synodal Library. Meetings with heads of educational institutions, guided tours and lectures on Church history, church law and inter-Christian dialogue were organized for the guests.
The students also visited the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, the St. Andrew's, Pokrovsky, Zachatievsky and Sretensky monasteries, and got acquainted with the historical and cultural sights of Moscow.
From July 31 to August 2, the delegation visited the holy places of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese. In the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery, the guests took part in celebrations on the occasion of the feast of the finding of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The trip program also included visits to churches and monasteries of Arzamas, the Museum of the Russian Patriarchate and the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.
The final part of the Summer Institute was held in St. Petersburg. The students visited the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the Kazan and St. Isaac's Cathedrals, the John and Resurrection Novodevichy Monasteries, the chapel of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg and other shrines and cultural attractions of the city.
Russian Russian Orthodox Church's educational and pilgrimage program allowed future clergy and theologians to become more familiar with the traditions of Russian Orthodoxy, the modern life of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the system of spiritual education in Russia. The trip was another evidence of the fraternal ties between the Russian and Antiochian Orthodox Churches.
On August 6, the participants of the Summer Institute left for their homeland.