On November 3, 2024, in the Patriarchal Hall of the Refectory Chambers of the Cathedral Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with participants of the «Time of Heroes» program.
The meeting was attended by: Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) A.G. Komissarov; Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media V.R. Legoyda.
Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was present at the meeting.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the audience with a word, in which, in particular, he noted:
«To the fullest extent we all, non-military people, realize the importance of what you are doing, especially now, in these challenging times. So I was very keen to meet with you and share my thoughts.
In general, the idea to gather the heroes of the special military operation and give them the opportunity to take part in an important program to train state management personnel is, in my opinion, a very good idea, a very timely initiative. It shows concern for the future of our
People say: courage takes a city. Determination and courage, together with professional experience, public positions and especially coupled with statesmanship, can bear great good fruit. Courage takes the city and wisdom builds the state.
For each of you the war has become a serious life frontier. The experience you gained in combat operations can be called invaluable without any exaggeration. Of course, we know that for this experience someone gave the most valuable thing a man has, — his life. Under bullets, artillery fire, it is impossible to pretend. You can chicken out, you can run away, you can close your eyes, but it is impossible to pretend. A man reveals himself as he is and as he may not always be able to reveal himself in peacetime. It is a difficult moral test of courage, loyalty, steadfastness, humanity, and once you pass it, you cannot remain the same.
Rector of RANEPA A.G. Komissarov thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the meeting:
«Your Holiness, we are sincerely grateful to you for finding the opportunity and time to meet with the participants of the program "Time of Heroes" on this bright day, the day of the memory of Rev. Hilarion the Great. And tomorrow we all celebrate our other great holiday, People's Unity Day. And it reminds us that the power and development of our country, the prosperity of our country depends largely on spiritual unity, on how we are ready to defend our traditional values, which you mentioned, our culture.
Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich said that the participants of the "Time of Heroes" program — are the real elite and the future elite. And we are sure that in order to fulfill such a duty, and this is a very responsible task, we need not only knowledge, not only professional skills, but also, of course, spiritual strength to make our country stronger, to serve the country, to serve the people.
And when we were preparing this program, we were guided, among other things, by your orders, your words. I am very grateful to you, you gave me two books at our previous meeting, and I read them with pleasure. "Freedom and Responsibility" and the book that contains your thoughts, statements and judgments. There was such a quote that without a consistent and structured transmission of moral values it is impossible to have a full-fledged education. And that is why today's meeting with you is so important for all of us. Our heroes have a great desire, they would like to ask you for your wise advice in answering the questions that are troubling them today. I am confident that your guidance, your wisdom will help our heroes in making decisions for the good of our country and our people. Thank you very much once again!
Holy Patriarch Kirill then answered questions from those present.
At the end of the meeting His Holiness thanked all those present and presented each of the guests with his book «For Holy Russia. Patriotism and Faith» and an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra with Patriarchal blessing.
Holy Vladyka thanked all those present and presented each guest with his book «For Holy Russia.
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In order to implement the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly from March 30, 2024 № Pr-616 (p. 28), the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration is holding a special training program «Time of Heroes».
The aim of the program — training of managers from among the participants of the special military operation for subsequent work in state and municipal authorities, as well as state-owned companies.
.Participants of the program — servicemen and veterans of special military operation with higher education and managerial experience.
To participate in the program «Time of Heroes» more than 44 thousand applications were submitted. The first stream of the program includes 83 participants of the selection, 79 of them are men and 4 women. For 83 participants there are 274 state combat awards (including those in the process of registration). Of these, — 20 Gold Stars of the Hero of Russia.
To date, 10 participants have already received new appointments to responsible positions. Among them, by the decree of the head of state, the Hero of the DNR Artem Zhoga was appointed plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Urals Federal District, the Hero of Russia Artur Orlov was appointed head of the «Movement of the First» Alexei Kondratyev became a senator of the Russian Federation.
Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
