Fr. Deacon Andrei Psarev (Ph.D. Cand.), Holy Trinity Seminary's Assistant Professor of Russian History and Canon Law, traveled to Moscow again in October to share his academic research to local churches and conferences in the region.

Deacon Andrei began his circuit at the Re-Sanctification of the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem (Воскресения Словущего в Брюсовом пер.), where he presented his paper on the Inter-Council Presence (ICP) of the Moscow Patriarchate, focusing on the significance of the ICP's document on the participation of the faithful in the Eucharist.

The rector of the parish, Fr. Nikolai Balashov, supplemented the lecture by explaining his own participation in the ICP since its foundation in 2010,

During the trip to Russia, Deacon Andrei also offered introductions to his academic specialty, canon law, beginning at the Elevation of the Holy Cross Church on the outskirts of Moscow, where HTS alumnus Fr. Sergio Silva is the rector. Deacon Andrei repeated the lecture at the parish of Prophet Elijah in Cherkizovo, Moscow.  Professor Evgeniia Zhukovskaia from the Moscow Orthodox Institute of St. Apostle John the Divine attended that presentation with her students.

Combining his dual expertise on the ICP and canon law in a single presentation, Deacon Andrei then met with Fr. Alexander Zadornov, secretary of the Church Law Commission of the ICP and professor of canon law at Moscow Theological Seminary in Sergiev Posad.  That led to an invitation to serve as a guest lecturer for Fr. Alexander's fourth-year seminar, together with V. Rev. Professor Vladislav Tsypin and Professor Elena Silvestrova of St. Tikhon's University for the Humanities (Moscow).  Their topic was the unhappy one of suspensions and depositions of clergy.  That joint presentation implemented a decision of the Presidium of ICP to inform members of the Church about ICP decisions.  After a faculty lunch, Deacon Andrei met with the same group of students to tell them about the life of Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York.

Finally, Deacon Andrei participated in a meeting of the ICP canon law committee at Moscow Sretesnskii Monastery, chaired by Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany (ROCOR).  That meeting was graced by the participation of Vladimir Kravets, director of the unprecedented Orthodox Encyclopedia Project.  Mr. Kravets explained the significance of the 46 volumes published so far, as well as his own scholarly work dedicated to analyzing the sources of the canon law of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Through Deacon Andrei’s periodic academic visits to Russia, HTS continues to honor and deepen its ties to the clergy, scholars, and other laity in the mother Church in the Russian Federation.