It is no less important that the Russian reader should have access to the works of modern Western specialists in the field of biblical translation, biblical criticism and textual criticism. Some of these works are already appearing on bookshelves, but this is still only a drop in the ocean.

Finally, it is necessary to prepare a commented Bible that would reflect the entire path traveled by biblical scholarship since the appearance of A. Lopukhin's "Explanatory Bible." A new explanatory Bible should include several levels of commentary: textual (based on the achievements of modern biblical criticism), historical-archaeological (taking into account the data of modern biblical archaeology), exegetical (containing a theological interpretation of the text based on the internal characteristics of the text itself), and ecclesiastical-theological (based on patristic exegesis and taking into account both literal and allegorical interpretations of the Fathers of the East and West). Such a grandiose project is beyond the power of one or several scientists. For its implementation, as well as for the development of other similar projects, an institute of biblical studies or, at least, a center for the study of the Bible at one of the theological academies is needed.

4. Patristic heritage

It is necessary to raise the study of the patristic heritage to a qualitatively new level. The teaching of the Fathers is the foundation on which the Church must be built. Without a firm patristic foundation, the revival of Russian theology is unthinkable, for, in the words of Archpriest George Florovsky,

... patristic writing is not only the inviolable treasury of Tradition... The works of the Fathers are for us a source of creative inspiration, an example of Christian courage and wisdom. This is a school of Christian thought, of Christian wisdom... the eternal world of ageless experience and speculation... Only in and out of it is the right and true path to the new Christian synthesis that the modern age yearns for and seeks. The time has come to churchify one's mind and to resurrect for oneself the sacred and grace-filled principles of ecclesiastical thought.447

In order for the study of the heritage of the Fathers to rise to a new level, it is necessary first of all to introduce critical editions of the works of the Holy Fathers into scientific circulation. To work with these publications, in turn, people are needed who would know ancient languages (first of all, Greek and Latin, but also Syriac, Ethiopian, Coptic, etc.). Russian theologians at the turn of the millennium found themselves in a happy situation, when all the painstaking "rough" work on the preparation of patristic texts was done in the West, multi-volume collections of the works of the Fathers were created (such as Sources Christiennes, Griechische Christliche Schriftsteller, Corpus Christianorum, etc.). All we have to do is take advantage of this wealth and put it to work.

It is necessary to resume systematic work on translating the works of the Holy Fathers into Russian. Individual translations of patristic writings are already appearing, but only a few people are involved in the translation work, whose powers are very limited and who, as a rule, do not coordinate their efforts with each other. Before the revolution, all four theological academies were involved in translation activities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Kiev. It was thanks to the work of professors and students of these academies that multi-volume collections of the works of the Fathers and teachers of the Church appeared in the Russian language. The old translations, the quality of which is not the same (the ponderous translation of the works of St. Gregory of Nyssa is incomparable in quality with the excellent translations of the Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian), are in need of a very substantial revision. One cannot limit oneself to reprinting pre-revolutionary translations of the works of the Fathers, for the language of these translations is incomprehensible to the modern reader.

In addition to the revision of old translations, it is necessary to translate those patristic works that have never been translated into Russian before. Among the authors who did not have time to translate before the revolution are such key figures as St. Maximus the Confessor and St. Gregory Palamas. Syriac patrology is almost absent in the Russian translation; There are almost no translations from Coptic and other Eastern languages. Even Latin patristics are far from being fully represented. All this opens up a wide field for work, which, again, is beyond the power of individual researchers. Obviously, it is necessary to create a center or even centers for patristic studies, independent or subordinate to some higher theological educational institution. We need a school of Orthodox patrologists, which will not appear overnight: it is necessary to work systematically on its creation.

There is a need for monographs on the Fathers of the Church, articles devoted to certain aspects of their teaching. This auxiliary literature, which exists in abundance in the West but is almost absent in our country, should help the reader to understand that the Fathers of the Church are men who, many centuries before us, followed the same path that we are trying to follow today, and that their works are relevant to our contemporaries. This literature should build a bridge between the ancient Fathers and modern Christians, help the latter to orient themselves in the sea of patristic writings and, most importantly, to perceive today's reality in the light of patristic experience.

5. Orthodox worship

As is known, one of the questions raised in the course of preparation for the Local Council of 1917-18 was the question of the liturgical language: the problem of the incomprehensibility of the divine services was already very acute at that time. Archbishop Tikhon of the Aleutians and North America (later Patriarch of All Russia) wrote in 1906: "It is important for the Russian Church to have a new Slavonic translation of the liturgical books (the present one is outdated and incorrect in many places), which will be able to forestall the demands of others to serve in the Russian everyday language."448 Another hierarch, Bishop Seraphim of Polotsk, spoke of the need to improve the Slavonic translation of the divine services:

In polemics with Catholicism, Orthodox theologians always point to their divine services as one of the advantages of the Orthodox Church in view of its special edification. However, in practice, it is far from achieving the goal for which it was created by the grace-filled bearers of Orthodoxy. The reason for this lies primarily in its incomprehensibility for the majority of believers. In view of this, it is necessary first of all to improve the language of the divine service, to make it clearer and more comprehensible in individual words and constructions.449