On December 15, 2021, a theoretical seminar "Will the church become a digital app?" was held at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Speaker: Igor Olegovich Knyazev, Lutheran bishop, candidate of political sciences, formerly a professional political strategist.
Summary:
The digital world is rapidly conquering the church space. For a long time, no one has been surprised by online services, robots reading prayers in churches, donation terminals accepting bitcoins. The Church is not an isolated island in the space of human life; it is experiencing the same innovations and changes as society as a whole. But its uniqueness lies in its simultaneous existence in two dimensions: material and spiritual. That is, the church exists both as an earthly institution and as the mystical Body of Christ. These two states or dimensions of church life, are not only closely related but are two parts of a whole that exists inseparably. The central question of this existence, to which we are constantly looking for an answer, sounds like this: by changing the church in its earthly dimension, rebuilding it to fit the realities of today's world, do we thereby change its second, mystical part? Are we jeopardizing our understanding of God and the relationship of man with God by changing the traditional ways, habits, norms of life and rituals of the church? Discussions in the search for answers to this question are being conducted with particular acuteness today around the "digitalization" of church life. The church has never experienced such a rapid, large-scale technical invasion of its life in its entire history. Where will this invasion lead? How will it end for Christianity?