SPbCU at XXI International Ecumenical Conference of Orthodox Churches

On Sept 3-7 2013, SPbCU International Program Manager Alexei Belov attended the XXI International Ecumenical Conference of Orthodox Churches held at Monastero di Bose, Italy. This is the wonderful location between Milan and Torino, from which one can see Alpes. The event was held in the ecumenical spirit - in addition to Orthodox representatives, the conference was also attended by Catholics, Anglicans, and believers from other traditional Christian denominations.

http://www.monasterodibose.it/content/view/5044/90/lang,en/

The Group of Students Coming from LeTourneau University

With joy in our hearts we are happy to announce that the group of 20 students from LeTourneau University, TX, is coming to SPbCU on May 7 for two weeks. Within this short-term educational program, they will get acquainted with Russian culture, Russian Christianity, and, of course, the life at SPbCU. We also plan to have a wonderful trip to Moscow and visit local suburbs and sightseeings.

http://www.letu.edu/_Academics/StudyAbroad/St.PetersburgChristianUniversity.html

Novgorod and Moscow

Greetings!
As one of the Briercrest students living and studying abroad at SPbCU, I have been granted the opportunity to write a guest post and would like to write about some of the excursions outside of St. Petersburg that we had the opportunity to take.

At the end of October the whole student body piled into a bus and we headed off to Novgorod.This is one of the oldest, most historic cities in all of Russia. In fact Novgorod was made the first capital by Russia's very first ruler, Riurik.
In Novgorod we had the opportunity to visit a monastery and the Novgorod Kremlin where we visited one of the oldest cathedrals in Russia, the St. Sophia Cathedral. We also had the chance to see a wooden village and the monument to the Millennium of Russia.
Here are some pictures (courtesy of Roman Evglevsky):

In addition to visiting Novgorod, we also received the opportunity to visit Moscow, Russia's current capital. While St. Petersburg has a population of about 4.8 million, Moscow has a population of around10 million! Needless to say Moscow was quite different than St. Petersburg, and it was amazing to be able to experience both cities. Although we spent only three days in Moscow, we sought to make the most of it. We visited the Kremlin and Lenin's tomb, and we stopped at many important buildings along the way. We also visited a variety of museums and viewed some of the art at the Tretyakov Gallery.
Once again, here are some pictures:

Pepperdine Group in Russia Pictures

Jordan Kahler (on the left) after a visit to Vladimirsky Cathedral - the last domestic temple of Dostoevsky.

Dr Paul Contino (on the right) before an excursion to Russian Museum in the Mikhailovsky Palace - one of the biggest museums of Russian Fine Arts in the world.

Millenium of Russia Monument in Novgorod - for more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_of_Russia

Pepperdine Students at SPbCU in May 2011

In May 2011, the group of 10 students from Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) visited SpbCU within the International Program.

The students studied Russian as a Foreign Language and Dostoevsky's “Brothers Karamazov.” The group also visited Moscow, Novgorod, Staraya Russa, and the suburbs of Petersburg, including Peterhof, and Vyborg.

The course on the Karamazovs was taught by Professor Paul Contino — a Dostoevsky scholar. The students were also accompanied by Professor Sharyl Corrado who is known in Russian Christian community as the author of the book "The Philosophy of Ministry of Col. Vasiliy Pashkov". Sharyl spent much time in Russia, gathering the material on Slavic Evangelical movement in XIX-XX.

For Paul, teaching Dostoevsky’s final, great novel -- with its profound Christian vision -- was a wonderful opportunity. He especially valued travelling with his students to visit Dostoevsky’s homes in St. Petersburg and Staraya Russa, and reading the novel’s final chapter, “The Speech at the Stone,” at Dostoevsky’s grave in Alexander Nevsky Cemetery. For Sharyl, Russia studies is an opportunity to explore how we understand the world and one another, how the Americans see Russia, who Russian believers were and are, and their traditions, practices, and identities.

See also http://spbcu.ru/en/pr/posts/810 and http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/internationalprograms/programs/russia/about.htm

SPbCU Joins UNITWIN Networks and Enters into Cooperation with Handong Global University, South Korea

For more, see http://www.spbcu.ru/en/pr/conferences/posts/761

New Group of Students From Briercrest College

On Aug 24, a new group of students arrived to St Petersburg Christian University for the Fall Semester 2011.
We are happy to see the desire of Brian, Amy, Courtney, and David to explore Russia through our school.
Amy is the sister of John and Joanna that studied at SPbCU within the Fall Semester 2009.