On November 9, 2026, the II All-Russian Conference "Orthodox Moscow in the Past and Present" was held at the Church-wide Postgraduate and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius. The participants of the scientific forum discussed the history of Moscow churches and parishes, the activities of the clergy and church organizations in the synodal and Soviet periods.
Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church and rector of the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, addressed the audience with a welcoming speech.
The conference was attended by representatives of theological educational institutions, historians, researchers of church life and experts on the history of Moscow.
A significant part of the reports was devoted to the fate of the Moscow clergy. The participants reviewed the pastoral ministry of Archpriests Nikolai Kopyev and Valentin Amfiteatrov, the history of the Levshin priestly dynasty, as well as the confessional feat of Archpriest Mikhail Golunov during the years of Soviet persecution.
The researchers paid special attention to the activities of Moscow parishes and church-public organizations. There were reports about the handwritten synods of the capital's churches, the brotherhood of St. Mary Magdalene, the development of women's teacher education and assistance to the children of Khitrov market.
A separate section of the conference was devoted to the church life in Moscow after the 1917 revolution. The scientists presented research on the confrontation between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church during the years of St. Tikhon's patriarchate, the fate of the inhabitants of the Donskoy Monastery, the preservation of monuments of the Moscow Kremlin and the activities of the capital's parishes in the 1920s and 1930s.
Reports based on little-known historical sources also aroused interest. Thus, the history of the Peter and Paul Parish on Basmannaya Street was presented based on the unpublished diary of its rector, Archpriest Dimitry Kastalsky. Another presentation was devoted to the reflection of the liturgical life of Moscow churches in Soviet documentaries from 1945-1964.
The conference allowed us to turn to the little-studied pages of the church history of the capital, to recall the names of clergy and laity who contributed to the preservation of the Orthodox faith and church traditions.
The scientific forum was prepared and conducted with the participation of the Society of Lovers of Church History.
Photo: OCAD press service