Dmitry Lisitsin

Director of Russian Orthodox Open University. Married, his wife Olga born on March 8, 2001 a daughter.

The following interview was translated by Paul Stevens (http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews).

Anniversary of Father Men's murder marked with dedication and bitterness

SPIRIT OF INTOLERANCE SHOULD NOT EXIST IN THE CHURCH
Vecherny klub, 10 September 1998

This was the conviction upon which the curriculum of the Orthodox University was built.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the day when Fr Alexander Men began delivering public lectures on the fundamentals of the Christian faith and the history of the Bible and the church and their creative impact upon culture. Thousands of people attended these lectures.

The opening of the Orthodox University was held in the fall of 1990, but without Fr Alexander [murdered 9 September 1990]. Delivery of lectures in the university was continued by his friends and students, clerics and laity. Our interviewee today is the executive director of the university, Dmitry Anatolievich Lisitsin.

--Dmitry Anatolievich, please tell us about the distinctives of your university.

--The distinctives of our university include in the first place its openness: we admit students without examinations on the basis of interviews alone; we do not conduct closed lectures which may be attended only by matriculated students and not auditors. Besides, we do not restrict ourselves to the study of Orthodoxy and Orthodox traditions alone and we try not to forget that not all Christians are Orthodox, but that there are in the world also Catholics and protestants of various denominations, and the Anglican church, and the ancient churches of the East, and that each of the churches and each of the denominations maintains in its own way the doctrine delivered by the apostles and the apostolic tradition, both with regard to liturgy, theology, and practice.

--Could you tell us in greater detail about your academic programs?

--Of course; first, we study the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and the biblical languages, Hebrew and ancient Greek. We study in detail the history of the church and philosophy and the history of philosophy, because it is impossible to understand theology without philosophy, because without knowing ancient philosophy it is impossible to understand the holy fathers. The holy fathers constitute an entire world and a complete manner of understanding; it is not a matter of isolated citations of their works which nowadays are often used and cited in support of one or another theological opinion.

We also study contemporary theology, both Orthodox and of other confessions, because we have little acquaintance with the achievements of the theology of the twentieth century; I have in mind the works of fathers Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, Vasily Zenkovsky, George Florovsky, Sergei Bulgakov, and many, many others; we do not even know the names of contemporary Orthodox theologians. It is especially important to study Orthodox theology of the twentieth century inasmuch as the church always responds to the challenge of the present day. But of course we also study the works of Catholic and protestant theologians of our century: Maritan, Rainer and Baltazar, Barth, Tillich and Bultmann, thinkers for whom theology was intimately linked with the existential situation of contemporary humanity.

--Who teaches in your university?

--We have very bright and interesting teachers, for example, Yakof Gavrilovich Krotov, who heads the department of history, Natalia Leonidovna Trauberg, who has produced skilled translations of Lewis and Chesterton, and Valentina Nikolaevna Kuznetsova, teacher of Bible and Greek, the author of the recent book "Letters of the Apostle Paul," a most prominent specialist on the exegesis of the New Testament. Among our teachers we should, of course, also mention our rector, Fr Georgy Chistiakov, who heads the department of biblical studies, and Fr Vladimir Lapshin, who offers the course on the fundamentals of the Orthodox faith. Naturally, these are people who share our convictions and traditions which were established by Fr Alexander Men, a tradition of open Orthodoxy, tolerance, and humaneness. We also try to invite to our seminars, lectures, and meetings with students professors and ministers who come from abroad, not only Orthodox but also Catholics and protestants.

--Does the university also publish?

--Yes, an edition of the book by Sergei Bulgakov "Lamb of God" is being prepared for press, which was published in Paris in the thirties. Like much of the heritage of the first wave of the Russian theological and religious emigration, this still has not reached our land. We have plans for publishing the unpublished works of Mother Maria Skobtsova. Also books from the New Testament series. These will be new and very interesting translations which are important for a full understanding of the sacred text. There also are many indirect translations, mainly from English. The book "The Letters of the Apostle Paul" is a translation from Greek, from the original source which was done, I reemphasize, by a prominent specialist in biblical studies, dealing with New Testament exegesis. This booklet, by the way, was bought up literally in a few days, but I hope that it will be reprinted in the fall.

--Could you describe how you became director of the university?

--In 1988 Fr Alexander Men began delivering public lectures. I came to the church because of these lectures; from 1990 I was a parishioner in the church of Kosma and Damian. I became a student at the university from the moment of its commencement. Fr Alexander Men had already gone, but there were other priests who continued his work, Fr Vladimir Lapshin, Fr Alexander Borisov. In 1996 I was asked to head this university. As a result of various complications there was a real danger that the university would fail, but we managed to avoid this. We have not received any financial support from either the Moscow patriarchate or the state or the city.

--Who studies in your school?

--Our students are of various ages. They study four years. It is possible to be an auditor and to study some new disciplines or new subjects which are showing up every year. The majority of students are young, but there are people of middle age. We get young people after graduation from high school and many of them are studying at the same time in other Moscow institutions of higher learning. Classes are conducted every day in the evening from six to nine. The first two years are lecture courses, and then in the third year study in the major begins--biblical studies, history of the church, philosophy and theology--in a curriculum of special courses and seminars. At this level we rely on independent study by the students and consultation with teachers.

--What can your graduates expect?

--After graduation the most talented students can transfer to western universities where they can earn an academic degree. Very many of our graduates now are teaching in high schools and Orthodox schools. I want to say that many young men and women are studying ancient languages diligently. It is a delight that our youth are interested in them.

--Is it necessary to be a believer to enter your university?

--Upon enrolment in the university there is an interview at which it is determined what courses are appropriate for each student. We do not require of our students a particular confession of faith nor faith in general, because I am sure that someone who is an agnostic or even an atheist who begins to study the history and fundamentals of faith can be converted to God. Thus we understand that the mission of our university is a mission of declaring the faith, a preaching mission.

--Are there other religious institutes in Moscow?

--Yes, of course. But with a few exceptions all the other institutions are official, belonging to the structure of the patriarchate and the greater part of them are narrowly Orthodox. It is our task to see that at all times a spirit of healthy discussion, a spirit of healthy dialogue between believers and unbelievers, between believers of various confessions, among believers of various traditions rules at the university, because even Orthodox hold to quite diverse traditions. One tradition is represented by Orthodox Georgia while a completely different tradition exists in Orthodox America or Orthodox England.

--It seems to me that in our Orthodox church not everything is right nowadays? Or am I mistaken?

--No, you are not mistaken. At the beginning of the nineties, after a long informational blockade, there was a natural interest in questions of religion and faith. Now we have to say frankly that the situation in our society has changed to the exact opposite. There is a tendency for people to leave the Russian Orthodox church and often this happens because the spirit of intolerance toward other Christians and representatives of other religions is intense. The spirit of love and freedom declared in the Gospel, unfortunately, very often is missing from the church. We are doing everything we can to transform the situation in our church for the better.

We welcome everyone who wants to study in our school or simply to attend interesting lectures as auditors. Join us in September. (tr. by PDS)