Anna Dmitrenko Presents a History of the Interactions Between Metropolitan Arsenij (Stadnitskij) and Bishop Makarij (Opotskij) at a Symposium in Tashkent

“It is important that we should have the possibility to meet, see each other, and speak together, so as to undergird the bond of unity, brotherhood and friendship between different Christian confessions in Uzbekistan,” declared Metropolitan Vikentij of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, as he greeted participants of the 11^th annual scholarly-educational symposium in Tashkent, on the 9^th of September. “We are glad that living in Uzbekistan, in a country where most of the population is Muslim, Orthodox and other Christians feel free and can freely fulfil their calling. For that we need give thanks to God.”

“Christianity is faith in Christ’s teaching, which calls us to bear good fruit, nurturing our people in the spirit of elevated Christian morality that Christ our Saviour has brought to us. Our teacher says: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and you shall gain everything else”, added the leader of the Central Asian metropolis.

Anna Dmitrenko, a graduate of St. Philaret’s Institute and author of a monograph entitled “For the Holy Truth of Love and Brotherhood: Bishop Catechist Makarij (Opotskij) 1872–1941”, presented a history of the personal and spiritual interactions between Metropolitan Arsenij (Stadnitskij) and Bishop Makarij. The two hierarchs made each other’s acquaintance in 1902 at the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Later, when Metropolitan Arsenij headed the Novgorod Diocese and then the Diocese of Tashkent and Central Asia, their relationship deepened and affected both men’s lifepaths.

The symposium was timed to coincide with the feast day of the Central Asian metropolis. The first session was held on the 5^th of September. The second session focussed on a historical survey of the life and activity of Christian denominations and confessions in Central Asia. The symposium was organized in conjunction with the Biblical Society of Uzbekistan.

Orthodox priests and representatives of other Christian confessions and denominations, teachers and students of the seminary in Tashkent and other Central Asian Christian educational institutions, and academic and cultural activists took part in the symposium.