Orthodox Encyclopedia

The Orthodox Encyclopedia[1] (Russian: Православная энциклопедия, romanized: Pravoslavnaya entsiklopediya) is a specialized encyclopedia, published by the Church Research Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" under the general editorship of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia since 2000.[2][3]

The stated objectives of the publication are:[4]

  • Provide comprehensive information on the two thousand years of history and the present state of Eastern Orthodoxy;
  • Acquaint the reader with the other Christian confessions, non-Christian religions, as well as the phenomena of science, culture, philosophy, art and politics related to religion.

History

10 October 1996, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church approved the edition of 25-volume Orthodox Encyclopedia. To implement the project was formed: Supervisory, Trustees, Church-scientific and editorial boards, as well as the Association of philanthropists.[2]

Sergey Leonidovich Kravets [ru] stated: "the basic parameters of the upcoming work on Orthodox Encyclopedia were identified in 1997. From the very beginning the Encyclopedia planned to tackle issue that look far beyond the scope of the Orthodox world: it had to be presented basic information on all Christian denominations and other religions, significant material from the fields of philosophy, morality, ethics, art, music. The edition was to be not only an encyclopedia of the Orthodoxy, but as an encyclopedia of the Orthodox view on the human spirit world, on all human spheres of life".[5]

19 February 1998 the first meeting of the Scientific and Editorial Board for publication 25-volume Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia was held under the chairmanship of Patriarch Alexy II in the Throne Room of the Synodal residence in St. Daniel's monastery. The Scientific Editorial Board approved the thematic division of the Encyclopedia and determined the time of its creation, based on the need to release the first volume on the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ. In addition, it approved the need of interaction with the church and the secular academic institutions, the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as with the fraternal local churches. President Yeltsin took the publication under his patronage.[6]

Initially, the authors hoped to rely on the unfinished Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia (1900-1911)[7] by Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin and Nikolai Nikanorovich Glubokovsky, as on well as the Greek Orthodox Encyclopedia. But already at work on the Dictionnaire it became clear that the information in the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia, despite their high scientific value, was outdated, while information in the Greek encyclopedia was so narrow national in character that could not be used as the main source for the creation of the conceived common Orthodox encyclopedic set.[5]

The entire year 1999 was spent on the preparation of the first, non-alphabetic volume of "Русская православная церковь" ("Russian Orthodox Church") and the completion of the glossary.[5]

On March 16, 2001, by the decree of Patriarch Alexy II, the Public Council for the support of the Orthodox Encyclopedia was established, and its first meeting was held on the same day[8].

1 March 2013 Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has spoken out against spending money on an electronic version of the Orthodox Encyclopedia series, saying it would be unprofitable.[3]

References
  1. "Orthodox Encyclopedia Will Have Wide Readership – Sergei Ivanov". Russkiy Mir Foundation. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. "Церковно-научный центр Русской Православной Церкви «Православная энциклопедия»" [Church Research Center of the Russian Orthodox Church "Orthodox Encyclopedia"] (in Russian). Moscow Patriarchate. 10 September 1996. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  3. "Patriarch Against Electronic Orthodox Encyclopedia". Sputnik International. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  4. "От редакции" [From the editor]. www.pravenc.ru (in Russian). Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарх Московский и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  5. "Церковно-научный центр «Православная энциклопедия»" [Church Research Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia"]. Журнал Московской Патриархии (Russian for 'Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate' [ru] (in Russian). April 2007. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  6. "Первое заседание Научно-редакционного совета по изданию двадцатипятитомной «Православной богословской энциклопедии»" [The first meeting of the Scientific Editorial Board on the publication of the twenty-five-volume "Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia"] (in Russian). Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей (Russian for 'Department for External Church Relations' [ru]). 19 February 1998. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. Богданова, T.A. "К 150-летию со дня рождения Н.Н. Глубоковского. Православная Богословская Энциклопедия" [On the 150th anniversary of the birth of N.N. Glubokovsky. Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Виртуальные выставки. Российская национальная библиотека. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  8. 10-летие Церковно-научного центра «Православная энциклопедия» // Русская Православная Церковь. Отдел внешних церковных связей, 28.03.2001.
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