In Russia the number of those who want to become priests increased by 25%

The Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church reports that the number of men who want to become Orthodox priests has significantly increased.

Heads of educational institutions and seminarians associate the growth of interest in spiritual education with the increase of its status in Russia. The vice-rector of the Nikolo-Ugresh seminary, Priest Valery Dukhanin, stated about the "completely new attitude towards spiritual institutions in Russia" and stressed that graduates will be granted state-recognized diplomas.

Also, the number of those enrolled in the first year of the ROC's higher education institutions increased by 19% and made 1,593 in 2016 (in 2015 – 1338). In total, today 5,877 students study in seminaries to become priests.

Student of the Moscow Theological Academy Sergei sees the reason for the increase in entering the ROC higher establishments in the development of the country's spiritual education and the fact that "the religious situation in the state is very favorable". "It cannot be said that in the 1990s there were persecutions of the church, but still religiousness was under public contempt. Now more and more people come to faith," he explained.

Meanwhile, the associate professor of the Department of Social and Humanitarian Disciplines of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the Russian Academy of Science Igor Zagarin stresses that a replicated stable image of the priest’s profession often has nothing to do with reality.

"There is a large group of clerics who are in a very difficult situation in small villages," Zagarin said. "Inside the church there is an expression of "ragged robes". This is how clergymen who serve in difficult parishes are called, and their economic situation is quite problematic."

Read also