The article touches upon the transformation of the media system of Russia in the XXI century, its features and disadvantages; much attention is paid to social networks and their capabilities; the development of catechesis is traced; in particular, new methods of catechesis are considered, examples of the use of these methods from the professional activities of clergymen and theologians are reflected; This view will be of interest to novice specialists in the field of theological research

Key-words: catechesis, social media, blog, publicizing through social media, instruction in faith

Our age can rightfully be considered an information age. Many things have changed recently; for example, social networks have appeared. Now people learn news more often from electronic resources than from print newspapers or television. Many scientists in their scientific works emphasize that modern man lives at a «fast» pace, does not have time and does not know how to filter the information coming into him, which has become more accessible than before. Now bloggers of food, travel, and fitness content are fighting for human attention, and the Internet is also full of entertaining and empty information. The level of human attention and concentration on important things has decreased significantly. According to the German digital technology association Bitkom, an adult spends about 2.5 hours a day on their smartphone. Young people spend more time on their phones.

A logical conclusion follows from this: to educate a person from a «consumer» society, a different approach and other tools will have to be used. If earlier the catechist in the ancient Christian Church had the opportunity to pronounce a person for 3 years, «to test his strength», now we do not have this precious time. The process of preparing for the sacrament of Baptism has changed a lot; not to mention the fact that many baptized people do not know some basic, fundamental things about their faith.

The very concept of the word «catechesis» means «instruction» in Greek, which can and should take place both before and after the sacrament of Baptism. In this scientific article, I would like to show examples of the use of social networks as one of the tools for publicizing. These online resources are full-fledged platforms with a lot of possibilities. Here you can provide information not only in text content, but also upload photos, videos, and audio materials. Many well-known platforms support the possibility of online broadcasts and direct communication. No one is saying that social media is a substitute for life within the Church; it is an opportunity to find a new approach to modern man, a common language with him, to engage and attract young people for whom the Internet space is the main leisure destination. In his address at the Council of Bishops, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia noted: «The mission in social networks requires special attention... It cannot be said that even at the level of synodal institutions, the mission in social networks has already been fully understood and mastered. But social media is as much a reality of our time as television or radio. It would be a mistake to neglect this reality» [1]. Confirming what has been said, we can add that many lay people and church leaders have started blogging, periodically or regularly posting religious content there. In this way, they make people aware and carry out preaching activities. A blog is a website whose content is various textual, graphic, or audiovisual information sent to the masses and regularly updated. How useful it will be depends solely on the person providing it.

In his scientific work, Alexander Amzin, a lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University, writes: «The Internet has provided a new level of access to the knowledge accumulated by man throughout history… Any user of the social network can now produce and instantly broadcast their materials to a wide audience» [2, pp. 6–7]. Many atheists and non-church people accidentally or intentionally end up on blogs with religious content. It's good if there are Christian materials, but organizations of a destructive nature can also provide their information to the public. For some, the answer to a vital question on a social network through a live broadcast or in the process of text communication becomes the starting point for reflecting on their lives and the subsequent emergence of interest in the Church and its teachings.

Well-known church figures such as His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Archpriest Pavel Ostrovsky, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Doctor of Theology Alexei Ilyich Osipov, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) and others actively use Internet resources as tools for teaching in the faith. In his scientific article, Hieromonk Tikhon (Vasiliev) points out: «Every Orthodox page is a missionary a priori, to a greater or lesser extent, regardless of whether it is the official page of the diocese or the blog of an ordinary layman» [3, p. 244]. I would like to focus in more detail on the activities in the Internet space of one of the above-mentioned representatives of the Church. Many non-believers often recognize Father Pavel Ostrovsky. He began his journey on social media by wanting to bring back his parishioner, who had decided to convert to Islam, to the path of truth. He was the only Orthodox priest on the airwaves of this Internet resource, so he attracted the attention of an audience of another religion. On his channel, Father Pavel posts videos that deal with current issues, the Bible, and provide answers to people's questions. He also posts his sermons and launches online broadcasts that last up to an hour and a half, thereby covering a wide range of topics. Of course, Father Pavel is not the only church leader who competently announces people on the social network. Many others also educate people using various functions of Internet resources: they post the lives of the holy fathers and their writings, audio materials with prayer readings, excerpts and interpretations of the New and Old Testaments, give informative lectures on popular topics, and launch live broadcasts from divine services. Each of these methods attracts the attention of the audience in its own way.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said: «The Church's mission can and should be widely disseminated on the Internet. Blogs, social networks — all this provides new opportunities for Christian witness. Not being there means signing up for your own helplessness and neglect to save your fellow human beings» [4]. Drawing a conclusion from the above, I would like to note that Internet resources are an existing reality, a tool with which they influence society, which we cannot abandon, but we can use it competently for good purposes.

References:

1. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. The social media mission has not yet been fully mastered / His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. — Text: electronic // The official website of the Moscow Patriarchate: [website]. — URL: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5073058.html (date of access: 20.11.2024).
2. Amzin, A. A. How new media changed journalism / A. A. Amzin, A. N. Galustyan, V. V. Gatov [et al.]. — Yekaterinburg: University of the Humanities, 2016. — 304 p. — Text: direct.
3. Tikhon, (Vasiliev), Hieromonk. Features of the Orthodox Mission in the Information space / (Vasiliev) Tikhon, Hieromonk. — Text: direct // Bulletin of the Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy. — 2017. — № 4. — Pp. 241–249.
4. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Report of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church / His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. — Text: electronic // The official website of the Moscow Patriarchate: [website]. — URL: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/2770923.html (date of access: 20.11.2024).