A press conference on the topic "The Beginning of the Academic Year in the Theological Schools of the Kyiv Patriarchate" was held in the assembly hall of the Volyn Theological Seminary (VTS). The revival of church ministry in Ukraine in its full scope — indisputably depends to a great extent on the spirituality and theological education of the clergy and church workers and, no less importantly, — on the proper upbringing and religious education of Christian children and youth. And if the future priest is obliged, relying on the teaching of the holy fathers, creatively delving into the centuries-old experience of the Orthodox tradition, to worthily respond to all the demands of modernity, — then the acute problem of uniting, teaching and educating small or young Christians — is surely the greatest challenge of the secularized world for a good pastor. That is precisely why it is not surprising that for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate — September 1 is a particularly joyful day, since with the beginning of the academic year there is a good opportunity to improve achievements and rethink the problems of this important link in church life. This year, among the ten seminary-type educational institutions and hundreds of Sunday schools of the Kyiv Patriarchate throughout Ukraine — the doors of the Volyn Theological Seminary and the Center for Christian Education of Children and Youth of the city of Lutsk — theological schools that are rightly considered the main components of the Lutsk-Volyn Eparchy — have also hospitably opened before their students. At the press conference, the rector of the Volyn Theological Seminary, Archpriest Ivan Nidzelskyi, and the director of the Center for Christian Education of Children and Youth at the VTS, Archpriest Bohdan Vozniak, spoke before representatives of the mass media. As the father rector reported, the seminary is entering the new academic year with an updated teaching staff, which has been replenished by two graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy who recently defended their candidate dissertations. In total, the VTS has 28 teachers and each has one or two higher educations. Three are candidates of Theological sciences. The pastoral-theological and regency departments of the seminary were joined this year by 34 young men and women. And in total, in the full-time and part-time forms of study — 170 people. Over four years of study, the students master 27 subjects, among which are: homiletics, dogmatic, moral, fundamental, comparative theology, general church history, Latin and Church Slavonic languages, liturgics, the New and Old Testaments, foundations of state and church law, patrology, practical instructions for pastors, rhetoric and speech culture, sect studies, church singing. Thanks to the effective support of donors, the leadership of the VTS managed to purchase a lot of new literature for the seminary library on the eve and to carry out considerable repair work, in particular — to completely renovate the seminary refectory and boiler room. The Center for Christian Education of Children and Youth (formerly — the children's and youth Sunday school) has been operating since 1990. According to the director of the Center, Father Bohdan — among similar institutions today, — this is a rather large community: 11 teachers with theological and pedagogical education and about 500 students. There are also branches at churches, orphanages and secondary schools of the city of Lutsk. In addition to the upbringing and teaching of children in the fundamentals of the Orthodox faith, Christian piety and patriotism, the goal of the institution is also methodological work on the organization and functioning of Sunday schools. Various departments operate in the Center. The most important — the Law of God, where biblical history, the fundamentals of the Orthodox faith and rituals, the lives of the saints, and the history of the Church are studied. The choir of the Center — a well-known children's creative ensemble in Volyn, which numbers over 120 singers. Four groups cover ages from 4 to 18. The repertoire includes over 100 works of Ukrainian and world sacred music, patriotic and folk-ritual songs of the Christmas and Easter periods, works in honor of Saint Nicholas and Andrew the First-Called, Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka, and so on. Recently opened: a theater studio, a choreographic group, a music studio and a children's and youth library. These departments are associated with the future successes of the Center, in which children should have the opportunity not only to study or sing, but also to spend time interestingly on excursions, trips, pilgrimages, summer camps, which makes the educational process practical and interesting. The topic of the press conference rather interested Volyn journalists and the priests answered numerous questions.