Sergey Pronin, Docdocdoc, School of Modern Photography, Russian Federation

Theologians

This series was shot during the summer camp of the Theological faculty of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University in July 2021. The subjects are professors and undergraduates taking part in various activities at the camp, which is situated near the monastery of St. John the Theologian in the Ryazan region of Russia.

In the Orthodox tradition, only three people have been awarded the title of ‘Theologian’: the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, Gregory the Theologian and Symeon the New Theologian. Therefore, I am taking artistic license when calling all the camp’s professors, let alone the ordinary students, the ‘Theologians’. In this project it is the romantic spirit of youth that matters; the desire to delve into the ancient texts and the audacity to speak on the most important and mysterious of topics: God and the divine world order.