RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY IN DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF MODERN RUSSIAN SOCIETY

The Covid-19 pandemic has become a serious threat to the health of people in all countries, but it has also affected all spheres of life in the world community. The use of distance learning is not any new, but the pandemic has intensified the process. Especially it has affected the sphere of religious education, which in Russia had always been very conservative. The traditional education method aimed only at obtaining knowledge is outdated. The educational paradigm itself requires transformation and change of the existing teaching approaches and methods. Religious education is also forced to actively use the distance-learning format for the implementation of its educational programs in the context of the current rapid digitalization of the educational environment in Russia and in the whole world community. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) found itself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, the state's recognition of theological education made it possible to restore the historical connection between secular and spiritual education. On the other hand, the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to the academic discipline Theology do not take into account the specifics of spiritual education. This is especially true for distance education. It is extremely important to develop new educational trajectories accounting for the relevance of distance education forms that open up learning possibilities to everyone from anywhere in Russia, as well as the availability of the ROC training courses to all members of the world Eastern Orthodox community. At the same time, it is important not to lose the main component of spiritual education - communion with God.