HSE and Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute Launch First Master’s Programme in Religious Diplomacy

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On May 28, 2026, an open day will be held for the Master’s programme ‘Religious Diplomacy in a Multipolar World,’ for which enrolment will open for the first time during the forthcoming admissions campaign. The programme will be delivered on-site by the HSE Higher School of Law and Administration in partnership with the Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies. The programme offers 15 state-funded openings, five fee-paying positions, and two tuition-fee slots for international students.

Cooperation between HSE University and the Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies began in 2012, when the two institutions signed an agreement. Two joint Master’s programmes are already being delivered— 'State–Confessional Relations: Legal Regulation of the Operations of Religious Organisations’ and ‘Religion and Society’—while the decision to launch a third programme was announced at an assembly of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies in October last year.

The new programme will become Russia’s first Master’s degree in the field of international relations specialising in religious diplomacy. It comprises several thematic blocks bringing together seminars, courses, and practical training in the relevant areas.

The programme’s core foundation is training in international relations and diplomatic practice. This block provides students with an in-depth understanding of the contemporary system of international relations, as well as the norms and mechanisms governing interaction between states and non-state actors. It includes the mentor’s seminar ‘Current Issues in Contemporary Diplomacy,’ ‘Theory of International Relations,’ ‘Intercultural Communication,’ and other subjects.

The second block focuses on the programme’s specialisation—religious diplomacy. It provides both theoretical and practical training and equips students with the key communicative, analytical, and expert competencies required for work in the field of interreligious interaction. Students will study, among other subjects, ‘Methodology of Expert and Analytical Work in Religious Diplomacy,’ ‘Strategic Communications in the Religious Sphere,’ and complete the practical course ‘Religious Diplomacy: Media Sphere and Artificial Intelligence.’ Particular emphasis will be placed on language training.

A specialist in religious diplomacy must possess knowledge of churches and traditional religious communities, understand their institutional structure, and appreciate their role in international processes. A separate block of seminars and courses is devoted to this objective, including the research seminar ‘Religion and Politics,’ ‘Political Theology,’ ‘Comparative Law in the Field of Religion’ (taught in English), ‘Historical and Canonical Foundations of the Contemporary System of Orthodox Churches,’ and other courses.

The Academic Supervisor of the Master’s programme is Professor Aleksandr Torshin, who previously served as Acting Chair and First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council, and later as State Secretary and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia. The programme’s director is Professor Sergey Krylov, formerly Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva, and Russian Ambassador to Germany.

Among the programme’s lecturers are Alexey Koshel, Vice Rector of HSE University, who is also responsible for its academic content; Dmitrii Kuznetsov, Director of the HSE Higher School of Law and Administration; Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archpriest Sergiy Zvonaryov, Secretary for Affairs of the Far Abroad, together with other representatives of this synodal institution; Irina Mersiyanova, Director of the HSE Centre for Studies of Civil Society and Nonprofit Sector; and Andrey Selskiy, Director of the Future Skills and Talent Centre and Professor at HSE University.

Graduates of the programme will be equipped to ensure effective interaction between religious institutions, the international community, and government bodies. They are expected to work as international relations specialists within religious organisations, including their representative offices outside Russia, as state and municipal officials specialising in international cooperation and state–religion relations, as well as diplomats, experts, analysts, lecturers, and researchers.

The entrance examination consists of two stages: assessment of the documents submitted by applicants as part of their portfolio, and an interview in English on the topic ‘State–Religion Relations.’ The requirements for the portfolio, as well as the list of questions for interview preparation, are available in the entrance examination guidelines (in Russian).

Dmitrii Kuznetsov

‘The combined efforts of HSE University and the Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies, two of the country’s leading centres of expertise in international relations and theology, will make it possible to train unique world-class specialists capable of combining the roles of diplomat, expert, analyst, and scholar in the field of interreligious relations. This is especially important at the present stage of humanity’s development, when a multipolar world is emerging, based not only on the digital economy and artificial intelligence, but above all on the profound historical, religious, and philosophical traditions of different civilisations,’ noted Dmitrii Kuznetsov, Director of HSE Higher School of Law and Administration.

Register here for the open day of the Master’s programme ‘Religious Diplomacy in a Multipolar World,’ which will take place online on May 28, 2026, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm (in Russian).