The 13th Ferapontovo Readings were held by the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes together with the Spiritual and Educational Centre “Northern Thebaid” with the assistance of the OJSC “Severstal” from October 20 to 22. The conference first lasted not for 2, but 3 days in view of a large number of participants. As usual, it was timed to the anniversary of the uncovering of the St. Martinian’s relics (celebrated on October 20) coinciding with the anniversary of the day when St. Sergius of Radonezh had taken the vows. The 700th anniversary of his birth is celebrated in Russia in 2014.
By tradition, the readings started on the parvis of the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral: flowers were brought to Dionisy who glorified the Ferapontov Monastery with his frescoes (1502). But first a liturgy and a service took place in the gate Church of Epiphany.
Four representatives of the orthodox clergy first attended the readings - rural dean of the Kirillov district Vladimir (Kolosov); monk-priest of the bishop’s yard “Ferapontov Monastery” Ioasaf (Vishnyakov); Father Superior of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Ignaty (Mochanov); senior priest of the parish Church of St. Nil Sorsky Alexiy Mokievsky. 54 reports were given during three days, 132 people took part in the conference.
The younger generation of researchers read their papers on the first day. Pupils of Vologda, Cherepovets, Veliky Ustiug, Torma, Sokol, the Sokol, the Verkhovazhiye, the Sheksna and the Kirillov districts told about local saints, outstanding priests, destroyed and restored churches, chapels, family relics and Orthodox traditions. The level of reports and their scientific character increase every year. This time the schoolchildren prepared very good and stayed within the allotted time. The best researches were determined at the end of the first day. The jury decided to name six best works. The winners were the following:
Arthur Smirnov (Churovskaya Secondary School) with his report “Care about Children as One of Spiritual Traditions in the Russian Church History”;
Igor Kuksov (Centre of Children’s Creative Activity in Totma) with his report “Revival of the Trinity Church after Devastation”;
Mikhail Ozhogin (Kirillov Secondary School) with his report “Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery”;
Elizaveta Tovtina (Children and Youth Centre “Unity” in Vologda) with her report “History of the Church of Ss. Florus and Laurus in Kumzero (Kharovsk District)”;
Yegor Popov (Centre of Children’s Creative Activity in Totma) with his report “History of One Icon – History of One Family”;
Dmitry Sobolev, Nikita Solovyov (Children’s Home ¹ 5 in Vologda) with their report “The Holy Place is Never Empty… (Sokolovsky Spring in Kiriki-Ulity)”.
The authors of the best works received prize money in the amount of 2000 rubles each. The other participants and their teachers were given letters of gratitude. Besides, by tradition, winners of the regional contest of children’s creative activity “Light of the Depth of Centuries” were awarded on the first day of the conference.
Organizers and guests of the readings presented their reports on art, history, restoration and teaching on the second day. Among them there were employees of the State Museum-Reserve “Rostov Kremlin”, the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve, the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes, representatives of the Moscow State University and schools of the capital cooperating with the museum according to the program “School of Dionisy”, restorers and archeologists of Vologda, teachers of history of the Ferapontovo Secondary School.
Nine papers were read by employees of the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes on the third day of the conference. They were about different subjects because they reflected the peculiarities of work of the museum departments, for example: elaboration and use of the method of photo monitoring of the frescoes in the cathedral; temperature and humidity conditions in the Church of St. Martinian, analysis of the attendance of the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes from 2010 to 2013, analysis of the visitors’ survey in 2013, chronology of sources about the history of the Ferapontov Monastery in the 15th century, life of priests of the abolished Ferapontov Monastery in the early 19th century.
