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The best and certainly most  promising result of a genuine church revival in the Post-Soviet space is the flourishing of Christian art in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Since 2013, our  close colleague, Sergei Chapnin, has been promoting contemporary Christian art – he gives lectures, hold conferences, and for seven years he has been publishing the almanac of contemporary Christian culture “Дары” (The Gifts).

The Gifts Almanac, 2016. Сover imige: a fragment of the icon of St. Paul the Apostle by the Serbian iconographer Todor Mitrovic.

Evidence of beauty that transcends political, cultural, and social boundaries has become an important part of the Artos Fellowship’s work, which has received recognition both in Russia and abroad. Dozens of exhibitions in Russia, Belarus, Italy, France, and Finland are proof of this.

The Gifts Almanac, 2019. Icon painter Irina Zaron. Icons of Feasts.

The Artos Fellowship, where Sergei Chapnin is the chairman, brings together artists, musicians, writers, designers, art historians, theologians, and philosophers. It sets as its principal goal not only the preservation but also the living, creative expression of contemporary Christian culture. The Fellowship was founded in the fall of 2013 during the preparation of the First Christmas Festival of “The Gifts” and conducts exhibition activities, organizes conferences, and publishes the eponymous almanac.

The Gifts Almanac, 2020. Сover imige: a fragment of the artwork of Ukrainian artist Yury Hymich (+ 2003).

In 2023 RBR Inc. plans to support publishing of this almanac of contemporary Christian culture in English. As a result of conversations with many people, we feel confident that the English-speaking audience would be no less interested in  this almanac than the Russian-speaking audience. In our opinion, “The Gifts” is a remarkable idea that is needed today like no other. In a time of great conflict and confusion, this publication creates capacity to share and respect others’ cultures and to build a common language through which this occurs. We view “The Gifts” project as instrumental to its success.

The Gifts Almanac, 2015. Alexander Filonenko. The essay “Beauty and the Recapture of Reality.”