Russian Archbishop Alexander: Young People's Moral Values Should Be A Common Concern Of State And Church

Young people's moral values should be a common concern of state and church, said Archbishop Alexander of Kostroma, in charge of the Moscow Patriarchate's youth department, as he spoke Thursday at a press conference ahead of the first Orthodox Youth Congress. The Congress will bring together a total of 600 delegates, including the chancellors of Russian Orthodox Church theological schools and representatives of all dioceses. Archbishop Alexander explained that all the arrangements for the Congress were being made by an organizing committee, with clergymen as well as government officials and prominent culture figures on it. He said that President Vladimir Putin had expressed his support for the Congress' aims and goals. Only through joint effort will we be able to fundamentally change today's situation, with negative moral tendencies--such as disappointment, lack of confidence in the future, and various types of social vice-spreading among the young, the archbishop pointed out. According to him, the youth department of the Moscow Patriarchate develops special programs to make it possible for the Church to address young people in a language they could comprehend. The implementation of such programs will, among other things, be prominent on the agenda of the forthcoming Congress.