Is church charity the work of a professional or a way of life for a Christian?
Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevsky, made a report at the conference “Between Faith and Reason: The Social Doctrine of the Church and Its Universal Significance,” which is taking place these days in Milan (Italy).
In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of two main commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). The first commandment is related to serving God, the second, similar to it, involves serving one’s neighbor. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” says the Lord (Matthew 22:40). The love for one's neighbor that the Lord speaks about is explained to us in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).
We know that many Christians follow this example in their lives from time to time, showing active compassion for relatives, acquaintances or even people they meet by chance, while others organize professional service to the poor, sick and oppressed, make it their profession and sometimes achieve success in this service great efficiency and heights of professionalism.
Today, the Russian Orthodox Church operates more than 2,900 social projects and initiatives in Russia alone, including more than 40 almshouses (shelters for the elderly), 62 rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, 18 shelters for pregnant women and women with children in difficult life situations, 90 orphanages for orphans and children left without parental care, 61 church shelters for the homeless. About 2,600 sisters of mercy carry out their service - women who, as a rule, care for sick, lonely people in hospitals and at home. There are more than 300 Orthodox sisterhoods of mercy operating in the CIS (All these projects have arisen over the past 20 years, when persecution of the Church by the authorities stopped, and it must be said that the state in Russia still does not actually provide systematic assistance to church social projects).
At the same time, in our world that has lost its integrity, personal charity and professional activity in this area are also separated. Perhaps if all of us Christians were good disciples of Christ in our private, personal lives, then there would be no need for charitable organizations in the world that are trying to fill the deficit of our love, sacrifice and care for each other with some special efforts.
And here a problem arises: the problem of the relationship between a person’s personal achievement and his participation in organized forms of merciful service. Are all caritage workers merciful? On the other hand, are all ordinary Christians required to participate in organized forms of charity? Where are the boundaries of everyone's personal responsibilities in these matters?
I would like to dwell a little on each of these problems.
It is clear that professionalism in any business is good. To treat bedsores or correctly turn a bedridden patient, you must first learn how to do this, otherwise your zeal can only cause harm. Social workers, nurses, volunteer coordinators, project managers must receive appropriate education, undergo practical training, and gain certain experience.
But I have seen many times how a person who came to work in a church social project to serve his neighbor and was full of enthusiasm, becoming a professional, along with his skills acquires cynicism, rigidity, and coldness of heart.
We have a church project in Moscow - the “Mercy” bus, which saves homeless people on the city streets in cold weather. This project has been running for many years. I once asked his employees - well, have you become more merciful over the years? “We have become more professional,” they answered evasively.
As another of our employees said, “It seemed to me that experience comes with it. In fact, love was leaving."
Efficiency is very important. But is it always necessary to make a choice in favor of efficiency? When, in a state of lack of resources and overload, a charitable organization (including a church one) tries to achieve some spectacular results - for example, organize a large-scale event, a big charity holiday, it happens that on the facade there are smiles and flowers - but inside there are mutual resentments, breakdowns, reluctance help each other in little things. It turns out that in the pursuit of efficiency it is easy to forget that our colleagues are also our neighbors, and we are called to endure and help them in the same way, according to the commandment of the Apostle: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.”
It also happens that for the sake of working in a charitable organization, especially a church one, people left their high positions in secular firms, in banks and went to take care of the needy on a small salary. But five, ten, twenty years of work pass, and the person burns out and loses the meaning of service. Such people often cannot leave the social sphere back to secular work because of pride. “How will I come down from my cross?” - they say. They cannot admit that this path was beyond their strength. And internal discontent grows and begins to manifest itself in everyday activities.
Surely many of you have encountered such situations. How can we ensure that the love that led a person to choose just such a profession does not go away, but multiplies in social work professionals?
We need, I think, to remember this danger all the time, we need to realize that our goal is not super-efficiency, not to overtake the state in its social concerns and reorganize all life on Earth, but precisely to in our hearts - both ourselves and our students’ love increased. We must constantly weed out these weeds of formalism, coldness, bitterness, and lust for power, which are inevitable for our fallen nature. In our projects in Moscow, we remind all our employees of these main things again and again. And managers of social projects should especially think about and care about this.
You need to live not in order to do a lot of things, to create an almshouse, a homeless service, a hospital, to feed all the hungry, but in order to save your soul. And the soul is saved by fulfilling two main commandments: love for God and love for neighbor. Moreover, love for God is tested precisely by love for one’s neighbor, compassion for him, which begins with simple attention. And the boss, if he is a Christian, must be a father more than a boss, and understand that the state of the subordinate’s soul is more important than the state of the case.
But things must be done calmly, with reasoning and trust in God. In any Christian endeavor, the soul is more important than the deed.
Therefore, every professional in all his affairs should always remember the first commandment - the love of God. If this commandment is forgotten, our good impulses will be doomed to “burnout” - loss of desire, interest, joy from the activity that recently caused delight and brought satisfaction.
Only one means allows one to harmoniously combine professionalism and Christian deed - the genuine inclusion of a person in the sacramental life of the Church. Participation in church sacraments, prayer and life according to the Gospel is the guarantee that we can rise to the height of professional service to our neighbors as a way of life for a Christian.
Every Christian is called to perform deeds of love and mercy. To do this, it is not necessary to participate in social church projects, sign up as volunteers, or regularly go to a hospital or orphanage. From church history we know saints who performed works of mercy alone, in secret. Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker secretly did charity; there are known saints who secretly took the sick and lepers into their homes. In secret from her family, the Russian saint Juliana of Murom, nicknamed the Merciful, did charity. In this secret charity, everyone has their own measure of achievement, which only the person himself and his confessor know about.
A very important and feasible form of participation in good deeds for many modern people is volunteering, which provides a person with great freedom in realizing his desire for good deeds, and also gives him a circle of like-minded people and associates. It is the combination of volunteers and professionals working for money that is the best way for charitable social projects. A strong core of professionals provides thoroughness and high standards of assistance, and the participation of volunteer volunteers brings a special atmosphere of love and cordiality. (Although many sisters of mercy and parish social workers in Russia today can be equated to the category of volunteers who in the West do not receive payment for their work, but receive cash benefits for travel and food. In our country, unfortunately, the salaries of sisters of mercy are often so small that they have just enough for food and travel to their place of work, so these professionals are real devotees).
Helping in a church almshouse or a church orphanage, where people of the same spirit work next to you, is easier and calmer, but in addition to entirely church projects in Russia there is a huge field of activity - helping the wards and patients of state health care and social security institutions, where there is a need for the participation of volunteers, including church ones, is very large.
In this report I am not talking about financial assistance, although this very simple form of participation in good deeds - even with a small sacrifice - also, it seems to me, a natural part of the life of a Christian. In Russia, the understanding that small but regular donations to charity is completely natural and accessible to everyone is just beginning to take shape.
The church and parish communities encourage their members to take part in various forms of social service. Which ones to participate in and in what form - everyone decides for themselves. Choosing a specific path of doing good is the secret of the human heart. But it is obvious that everyone needs to take this path.
Of course, it is very important to remind people that even a little help is needed. They need it, first of all, themselves. And for the Church, the ministry of mercy is the most effective form of preaching - because it demonstrates Christian love in our world.
“Do not instruct otherwise than by living your life,
Or, by attracting, you will only repel.
Fewer words are needed if you do what is right,
The artist explains his creations"
(St. Gregory the Theologian)
Charity is an invisible side of the church’s work for many
When we talk about church, we first of all mean the buildings of temples, where we come, some less often, some more often, where the faces of saints look at us from the icons, where the lights of candles flicker, where people think about something in silence... And also - where in During the hours of solemn services, the shepherd's sermon sounds heartfelt, and the inspired voices of the singers excite the ear and soul.
Igor Podositnikov
All this is true. However, there is much in the life of the church itself that an outsider does not see. Except that sometimes he hears something either from knowledgeable people or from the media. On Christmas Eve, we asked the head of the department for church charity and social service of the Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk diocese, Archpriest Igor Podositnikov, to talk about one of these areas of difficult church work. He is well known by the Orthodox residents of Stavropol as a tireless builder and creator, as a wise mentor of youth, despite the fact that Father Igor himself is also quite young, although for many years in addition to his pastoral ministry he has been running the newspaper “Stavropol Blagovest”. People should learn from his energy, tirelessness and kind openness. Probably, it is precisely these qualities that allow him to cope with such a volume of worries that would be enough for several people.
– Father Igor, to be honest, the average person in the street can think about the department you lead like this: here is the temple, here is the priest, he conducts services, performs sacraments, rituals, but why does the church need charity? After all, there are all kinds of charitable foundations and public organizations. So let everyone mind their own business...
– You know, a person thinks like this until some unpleasant story happens in his life. For example, you urgently need treatment, but there are no funds. Or financial problems arose because he was laid off at work, and he has debts, a family... There are different situations. As the chairman of the department, I literally deal with this every day; in fact, my day begins precisely with the reception of petitioners.
– That is, people know something about this side of church life if they come to you...
- Certainly. True, petitioners are different. There are “professionals” who come to everyone - deputies, the mayor of the city, businessmen... And to us. But we do not provide assistance to everyone, since the church does not have such funds, does not have financial capabilities, and in no case is it going to replace the social functions of the state. We examine each case, see if the person really needs it. At a recent congress of church social workers, Patriarch Kirill once again reminded us all that this is one of the most important responsibilities of the church. One of the priests asked: where to get the money for all this? And the patriarch wisely answered: you don’t need money for this, you just need a desire to help, and the Lord will help.
– You have full-time department employees, don’t you?
– But there are very few of them, mostly volunteers, as we call them, people with a sacrificial heart, do charity work. Moreover, among them there are workers, pensioners, and students. Everyone devotes part of their free time to ministry matters. For example, sisters of mercy come to hospitals: there a person needs not only treatment of the body, but also simply a kind word to be consoled, strengthened, and prayerfully supported. And our sisters bring Orthodox literature, holy water, prosphora to the hospital wards, asking what requests a person has, whether he wants to confess, take communion, and receive unction. Believe me, such contacts are very necessary! For example, a resident of a distant village ended up in a regional or regional hospital, he doesn’t know anyone there, he’s scared, confused, he’s on a drip, etc. And the sisters pass on his requests to the priest, who comes and carries out his pastoral work, promoting spiritual healing .
Let’s take nursing homes, as they are popularly called. Today the state provides them financially very well, but even there the old people want to be heard. And they often tell volunteers their life stories... Sometimes someone needs to take the spiritual path: a person strives for this, but does not know how... We also try to pay attention to those who are released after serving a prison sentence, and such people are not always welcome at home. Or there are no documents, and the person also does not know where to turn. So they go to the nearest temple, asking for some kind of work or a roof over their heads, or help getting home. People left without housing, without means of subsistence, in difficult life situations - everyone comes to us.
– Many people have heard of a recent example, when a church shelter helped a single young mother with a child get an apartment and a job. But in fact, they simply saved two lives!
– It’s a very big deal that there are such shelters. We encounter similar situations all the time. Just the other day, kind people brought to the doorstep of the temple an old woman with no fixed place of residence and no documents. Somewhere we saw her freezing at a bus stop... What should we do? First of all, we need transport to take her to the nearest shelter, in this case the Svistukhinsky center, we have good relations with its leadership, our priests and sisters of mercy visit it periodically. And then someone needs to be there with her, to make sure that she is taken into care. All this falls on the shoulders of volunteers who were free at that time, who have a car...
– How and where do you find your volunteers? After all, not everyone is able to devote even half a day to be with the same old man...
– In fact, there are a lot of people with a sacrificial heart, but not everyone knows how to apply their desire to serve their neighbor. We see such people in churches. As a rule, their contribution is several hours of selfless work. Let’s say a person is a plumber; he cannot help with money or hold a conversation, but he can come and repair a leaking faucet for a lonely old lady. Another is a hairdresser who can give free haircuts to children from a large family...
I never tire of being amazed at what a kind heart our people have! Sometimes it is impossible to reach a person who holds an important position or has considerable opportunities, who owns a business. Meanwhile, anyone, no matter how busy or poor they are, is quite capable of helping in some way. New Year's gifts and promotions are, of course, good. But a person always wants to eat. And you can get medicine not only when someone needs to promote themselves on the eve of some elections.
It is all the more surprising that among ordinary people, who themselves sometimes live from paycheck to paycheck, struggle to pay utility bills, and take out loans and mortgages, there is so much willingness to work for the good of their neighbor. But then they tell me what miracles happen to them: “Father, yesterday I was driving a man in my car, I thought to myself: why am I wasting time, I have so much undone, family worries? But I come home, and suddenly the problem that seemed insoluble has been resolved!” Another says that he donated his last fifty rubles, and someone immediately returned a long-standing debt to him... The Lord, in an amazing way, repays everyone a hundredfold. For when we help our neighbor, we are not even helping a person, we are showing mercy to God, and will the Lord remain in our debt?!
– In Russian history, these traditions have survived all sorts of times, but, despite everything, they have been preserved.
- Certainly! Read in the Tale of Bygone Years how Saint Prince Vladimir changed internally after Baptism and became a pious man. And one of the amazing qualities appeared in this former pagan - to do good. He sent carts to collect the poor and wretched and bring them to his courtyard, where he arranged feasts for them and loaded the carts with food for widows and orphans. The example of Prince Vladimir goes back a thousand years and testifies that this was the case throughout the existence of the Russian church and state. Many of our country's leaders were pious people and did a lot of charity work.
“In some ways it was easier for them, because they had all the wealth and levers of power in their hands...
– What prevents the current ones, who own Russian mineral resources and other opportunities, from following this path? Alas, more often we see how they buy yet another yacht and sports clubs, invest in a foreign country, and their compatriots suffer. You can not do it this way. This is a great sin. After all, the Lord gave man the opportunity to dispose of this property, but how much does one person need? Over the years of priestly service, I have never seen anyone being buried, for example, in Versace boots or a sable fur coat... But even if this was done, he doesn’t need any of this!.. I come to the hospital to a dying man to bid him the saints of Christ secrets, I know that he once decided destinies with the stroke of a pen, and now he lies in intensive care, covered with one sheet, and he needs nothing but the mercy of God... Neither millions, nor billions. A person with power and means must especially understand the importance of charity.
– Father Igor, where did your personal experience of charity and service to others begin?
– Probably since I read the Holy Scriptures for the first time as a schoolboy. When I recognized Christ, who, in fact, constantly performed charity! Look, Christ is coming to preach the Word of God, thousands of people are gathering. They want to hear a word of consolation from him, but there are many who suffer from illnesses, who have many problems and worries, and the Lord gives everyone the necessary help.
- So Lord! What about an ordinary person?
“What the Lord did, we are supposed to do as well.” In our lives we must compare ourselves with him: what would Christ have done, what would he have done and what would he have said? And so that all this is not just in words, when we beat ourselves on the chest and say how Orthodox and Godly we are. This must be confirmed by action. I think it’s in the blood of every Russian: not to pass by someone in need, to show sympathy. I remember my parents - ordinary Soviet, unchurched, not at all rich: in our house the door never closed, all the neighbors came either to borrow money or for some other help. And I don’t remember that they ever refused anyone... I think this has been living in Rus' since the time of Vladimir the Baptist. This is the fundamental difference between our mentality and Western religious philosophy and practice, according to which a poor person is a sinner punished by God, he himself is to blame for what happened to him.
– In recent decades, many new churches have been built and destroyed churches have been restored, largely on the basis of charity.
– I can say from my own experience, since more than one temple was built with my participation: yes, we then walked with an outstretched hand, received help, and even refusal or even curses... But the temples were built! And now churches are giving back what was invested in them. Where does a person go with his troubles today? After knocking on different doors, he will come to the temple, and here they have no right to refuse him. It is in government agencies that there are standards and rules that can show him the door. But in the temple - no. Nowadays our winter is warm, but we know that God has a lot of everything and frost can break out. And in cold weather, all churches are obliged to accept those who find themselves on the street, so that no one freezes, to warm them up, accommodate them, and feed them. People bring clothes, things, and food to churches because they trust that the church can distribute everything fairly. The owner of the temple is not the priest or businessman who built it, but first of all the people of God who pray there, and the Lord. And the Lord will receive everyone, warm them and feed them, as we read in the Gospel.
– Surely in your work there were many such everyday stories that were especially memorable.
“Several years ago, in the children’s department of the Mikhailovskaya Hospital, they asked to give Holy Communion to a boy who had been on a respirator for two years. His parents were already falling off their feet from fatigue and grief. It would be nice to keep it at home, but you need the device at home, and it cost more than a million rubles. When I heard the amount, I admit, I thought: it’s impossible to collect that much. But still, with the blessing of Bishop, we announced a fundraiser, contacted various organizations, held charity fairs, and attracted our parishioners. And here's a miracle - they assembled it literally in a month! Thanks to this, the child, although incurable, was able to live for quite a long time at home, among his loved ones... After he left, they brought this device to the same hospital, to help other children.
– Does it happen that you can’t provide the help you need?
- Happens. But we have volunteers who know the law well, they help a person apply for the benefits he is entitled to, get a quota for treatment, and solve an everyday problem. The other day, a mother of five children contacted me; she is raising them alone in difficult living conditions. Moreover, there is no citizenship, that is, no rights. They started helping her with the restoration of her citizenship. Then we will think about maternity capital and other issues.
– A person sometimes thinks: who needs me with my problems?!
– But in fact, it turns out that you can often help in an official way. Our state, despite all the economic difficulties, is still socially oriented, there are many programs in place, we just need to use them correctly.
– What would you like to do that is very important, in your opinion, in the future?
– I have a dream – to build a House of Mercy. Where anyone who finds themselves in a difficult life situation could get help. This is a homeless person, and a mother who was kicked out of home with her child, and a girl who came to study at a university, but does not have money to rent housing, and old people who found themselves without care... In this house, people with a sacrificial heart could realize their potential. This is an old dream... To some it will seem utopian. And then one day I decided: stop waiting, stop dreaming, I need to start at least with a project. I contacted a friend who runs a construction company. He began to ask what kind of undertaking this was. And in the end he says: “Okay, we’ll do the project. And then, probably, we’ll build it ourselves...” I was simply stunned by this, I only asked for a project. And the man realized that it was the right thing to do. What am I asking for, not for my personal garage... And we have quite a few who help and don’t even want to talk about it out loud...
– You have your own system for training volunteers.
– Yes, the courses for parish specialists train assistant rectors for social service. They need knowledge of legislation, psychology, and the foundations of Orthodox culture. Arriving at the same hospital, you need to know what and how to talk to people. You need to know the history of charity in Russia and understand how to work with an applicant.
In general, the scope of charity is inexhaustible! Sometimes you get tired, sometimes you give up, there are insults, something doesn’t work out, or they deceive you, or they try to deceive you. Sometimes you are surprised: a person has given up and is waiting for a silver platter... And who will give it to him? Our sisters of mercy, receiving a pittance pension, burdened with their illnesses and worries? But they go and do it, in the hope that later the person they helped will also help someone else. I see: as much as we give, the Lord then returns a hundredfold. Not so that we can put it in our pockets, but so that we can do even more! And from a priest people do not expect some lofty words, but, above all, consolation and help. It is not without reason that it often happens that people who themselves have not previously participated in any good deeds, having received our help, are confirmed in the faith.
Today there is a myth about the incredible wealth of the church and “priests in Mercedes.” Maybe somewhere this exists, but in our Stavropol diocese there are mainly rural parishes, not at all rich, there are many in need even among the priests, it is no coincidence that we created our own trustee commission to help the families of church ministers and parish employees. For example, the widow of a deceased priest had her house renovated. Everyone should know that the church will not abandon us. And in our work it is important to see who is standing next to you in church in prayer...
– It’s not for nothing that priests are considered psychologists. Father Igor, you probably already know which of your assistants should be sent where exactly, what is closer to him, what is within his capabilities.
- Certainly. The priest’s task is to reveal the talents of his parishioners. Someone who cooks well means he can feed people at a common holiday or charity meal. We are currently planning a big charity Christmas dinner to bring joy to people, especially those who are not so generously blessed by life. May their hearts also be illuminated with the festive light of Christmas, and may they be warmed by the warmth of people with a sacrificial heart!
Natalia BYKOVA
With a sacrificial heart / Newspaper “Stavropolskaya Pravda” / January 5, 2018
Tina Kandelaki, Sergei Prokhanov, Lyubov Sliska, Olga Sviblova, Maxim Shevchenko and other famous people answer the question in the “Money and Charity” issue.
Sergei Popov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations
Sergey Popov. Photo from the site www.patriarchia.ru
In fact, this is a very broad concept, because religious charity has several components. Firstly, this is charity in favor of religious organizations, that is, donations for the construction and decoration of churches, for the creation of all kinds of conditions to help organize Sunday schools, and the like. Secondly, this is charity, which is carried out by religious organizations themselves, for example, providing free food to the poor, creating orphanages and shelters for those who do not have housing at their own expense, and generally carrying out a lot of similar social projects.
As for the spread of faith, this is a completely different direction, which is called missionary work. Accordingly, this has nothing to do with charity, and combining them means replacing one concept with a completely different one. Each denomination independently approaches the issue of missionary activity and independently engages in it.
I can say with confidence that the social programs of the Russian Orthodox Church and other faiths are very, very effective. It is no coincidence that about a year ago a meeting of the Council under the President of Russia was specially devoted to this problem, at which representatives of all faiths spoke in great detail about the forms, methods, and examples of such work. For example, it is the church that is best and most effective in combating drug addiction and alcoholism.
Generally speaking, each denomination has a special social program. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church has such a powerful document. Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, and Buddhists have the same programs. Generally speaking, among all types of activities of any church, the social direction is in third place. The first is, of course, spreading the faith and, in fact, working with believers. Secondly, this is a personnel issue. As for social service, this is also a very important and serious area. As an example, I can say the following. In the Moscow region there is the famous patriarchal monastery of Optina Pustyn. So, in the summer, more than a thousand people are fed there daily and free of charge! We all must understand how important and serious the role of religious charity is and the enormous work that is carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church and other faiths. But some of the facts of such work are simply amazing! For example, a few years ago in Perm, donations were used to build a special shelter for the homeless and drug addicts. Moreover, the results of treating such patients are very high. By the way, such acts are typical for all Christian churches. Naturally, Muslims also have social programs. This denomination also works very hard, say, in terms of helping children and large families. In general, you just have to go to the Moscow region and just ask how this or that temple lives. And you can learn a lot of interesting things, for example, that on all major religious holidays, gifts are always given to low-income families. All kinds of concerts and special events for children are also held, including in preparation for the new school year. That is, multi-faceted and multi-vector work is constantly underway, and it is growing every year throughout the country both in volume and scale. When we discussed the law on socially oriented non-profit organizations, we adopted an amendment that religious organizations should also fall under the scope of this law.
Mikhail Ardov, archpriest
Mikhail Ardov. Photo from the site www.expert.ru
True religious charity presupposes certain spiritual impulses. For example, before the revolution in the cities of Russia, not church hierarchs, not priests and not Orthodox entrepreneurs, but completely ordinary people visited prisons on the first day of Easter and brought some kind of treat to the prisoners so that they too would feel and see this holiday. And this was very characteristic of the Orthodox Russian people. Anna Akhmatova said that in Russia they feel sorry for prisoners and drunkards, but in the West there is not even a shadow of this. I think that she meant old Russia, because for Soviet people this was no longer characteristic, and they ran away from prisoners like the plague. Apparently, the Soviet people were afraid that if they communicated with prisoners, they might also be arrested. And now in Russia, unfortunately, there are comparable numbers of both prisoners and Orthodox Christians. And yet, there are people (and I even know them) who, as they say, are really touched by the grief of others and want to help. I'm afraid that in our time all this is mostly connected with so-called PR and certain advertising campaigns. This now permeates our entire society and all church structures.
Maxim Shevchenko, TV presenter, head of the Center for Strategic Studies of Religion and Politics of the Modern World
Maxim Shevchenko. Photo from the website www.archipelag.ru
The very nature of the Christian church is to do good. Therefore, it seems simply wild to me when some special events are separated from what is natural to the church itself. The natural task of the church is organically precisely what is not obligatory for others, say, for the authorities and businessmen. If financing an orphanage or taking care of the sick and poor is an act of charity for a business representative, then for a church it is a common and natural act that does not need to be particularly highlighted and promoted. I know many people who, apparently based on their understanding of the Orthodox faith, take care of orphanages, help sick people, and so on. But something else looks wild and strange: when the church does not do this, say, does not care for the sick, does not provide custody of psychiatric hospitals and orphanages, and so on. That's when you need to talk about it! And when the church does this, then it should be so. What else should she do if not this?.. However, the church is, first of all, people. This is not a business organization or a political party, and it does not have the same unity of command that exists in these structures. And, of course, such work must be carried out on a systematic basis: the church, at least in the Christian regions of our country, may have the right to take guardianship over such institutions, which were previously called charitable trusteeship institutions. This seems absolutely correct to me. At one time, Peter I obliged the monasteries to care for the disabled, war veterans and sick people, including the insane.
Answering your question about what is more important in charity - actually, helping the orphans and the poor or spreading your faith, I can say the following. The very concept of “charity” in relation to the church sounds simply wild! The church itself is supposed to be an act of charity. And who said that we must do good and help people, gritting our teeth and not talking to them?.. Why, strictly speaking, cannot a person preach Christ or another faith? In my opinion, it is very natural that Christians, when providing help, talk about Christianity.
Tina Kandelaki, TV presenter, member of the Public Chamber
Tina Kandelaki. Photo from the site www.kinopoisk.ru
In my opinion, it is not us, ordinary lay people, who need to discuss certain charitable actions of the Russian Orthodox Church (say, when its representatives recently went to help the homeless and seriously ill), but those whom the Russian Orthodox Church really helped. But if such an action took place, it once again emphasizes that we are all equal before God. As part of the explanation of what is “good” and what is “bad” and that God remembers everyone, such actions are, of course, correct. And as part of the discussion of what is more important - to help those who are at the very bottom of society, or those who are slightly higher... You know, we can talk about this for a very long time. But, I repeat, not for us, ordinary laymen...
Artem Tarasov, General Director of the Institute of Innovation
Artem Tarasov. Photo from the site www.bankir.ru
As for charitable assistance to the homeless, seriously ill old people, the poor, orphans, and so on, it is not only the church that is involved in this. In my opinion, church charity has always been viewed as an organization of assistance to the parishes themselves, as the development of churches, the construction of temples and the like. At one time I was involved in one very interesting project, which was very successfully implemented; By the way, we came up with this literally from scratch. In London, a Russian convent was opened, and it began with the fact that Mother Theodosia was sent from the Russian Orthodox Church to help the rector of the English Orthodox Church, Father Vasily (an Englishman). It was she who turned to me and decided to open a convent there. I contacted the Union of Orthodox Entrepreneurs, where, it turns out, the former general director of the UPDC worked, and then I contacted the Russian Ambassador to England. At first we decided to open this “branch of the monastery” in the Ambassador’s Reception House - we simply considered it convenient, because this house is located 200 km from London, and the ambassador came there only twice a year. And the territory was impressive - 20 hectares! But then they decided to open it in another place, which, by the way, Prince Charles helped us with. So we opened it, moreover, with money raised by the Russian community of the Orthodox Church of England. In my opinion, this was pure charity! Also, one of Tolstoy’s descendants was involved in charity work in England, organizing the famous annual balls called “War and Peace” and thus collecting money for the Russian Orthodox Church, which, however, was still separated from the Russian Orthodox Church. With this money, a church was built in the Chiswick area of London. By the way, this is one of the most beautiful Orthodox churches in England!
In addition to the fact that in the West, charity is built on the personal activity of citizens, there are also a number of so-called fundraising companies that professionally attract money to charitable projects. Unfortunately, such activities simply do not exist in Russia; in any case, I don’t know about her. These organizations have a huge amount of technology aimed at directing money from rich people to charity. They cooperate with the Red Cross, and carry out individual projects to help children, and simply help in emergency cases, for example, those who suffered from the earthquake in China not so long ago. And, of course, they work for the church too. That is, these companies are professionally engaged in raising money, and, if necessary, sometimes even staging some kind of show to raise funds. Also, within the framework of existing legislation, they use some other special techniques that are required, and then target the collected funds. In fact, this is exactly how charity is carried out in the modern world. At one time, I worked closely with our Russian Orthodox Church, where there was a company that organized various exhibitions, paid for pilgrimage trips of Christians around the world, renovated the premises for the Patriarch, and so on. She also published church books and, of course, was involved in charity work.
Mother Elena was there - a very advanced woman, by the way, and this company was located in the Donskoy Monastery, right in the residence of the Patriarch. Mother Elena put together a team called the “Union of Orthodox Entrepreneurs”, where a lot of people from business came. They were then blessed by Alexy II himself, and, in my opinion, they still work there. Moreover, he later rewarded them for helping the church. By the way, Mother Elena simply dreamed of finding a fundraising company that would find ways - both secular and church - to raise money. And a lot of people made donations for all this then.
Olga Sviblova, director of the Moscow House of Photography museum
Olga Sviblova. Photo from the site www.snob.ru
I know such an event - the Gergiev Easter Festival, and I really like it! I myself do not interact with the church, but I believe that it should pray. So let him pray, but for me the Lord lives in another place. But there are volunteers who work for the benefit of others, and, as they say, God help them.
Lyubov Sliska, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma
Love Sliska. Photo from the site www.l-24.ru
There are a lot of such charities. For example, there are a lot of shelters where lonely people can go and where they will always be accepted. Nursing homes at monasteries are called almshouses, and I know a lot of similar charitable institutions where monks and nuns care for lonely and helpless elderly people. And a lot of people are saved there from such a terrible condition. I also know that there are a lot of shelters for children where they escape from their terrible parents. Now the church really pays very great and serious attention to this. Church and charitable activities are simply inseparable. The Church gives good, and this is natural. The Lord said: “Do good!” - so the church creates it, because good is good. And further. I myself am involved in charity issues and I see that now it comes from many people, even from those who sinned greatly in the “dashing 90s”. Of course, God does not take bribes, but those monasteries and churches for which these guys give money will still remain for people, and perhaps at God’s judgment they will receive some kind of leniency.
Alexander Prokhanov, writer
Alexander Prokhanov. Photo from www.specletter.com
The direct duty of the clergy is to go down into the barracks to the unfortunate, dumb and lepers. This is Christ’s commandment, and Christ always went down to the poor, to those offended by fate, to the terminally ill and lepers and performed his miracle there. Therefore, the clergy, which must repeat Christ’s destiny and Christ’s work, goes into this miasma. But not in order to provide some services and, say, create a more comfortable stay there, but to really save them, give them a hand and lift them out of hopelessness. That is, try to heal them with spiritual word and deed. This is exactly how I understand the task of the church, which goes to the most unfortunate bottom of our poor world.
In my opinion, the church movement towards the disadvantaged has no other goal than spiritual care and spiritual nourishment for forgotten people. For example, it has become almost the norm that monasteries create shelters for orphans, drug addicts, and children from difficult families, but this is not advertised and no PR or money is made from it. That is, it is part of a certain ritual of religious existence and content. And if the monasteries now began to get rich and they had surpluses, then they began to spend them on ... I don’t want to say “charity” - on helping and caring for the disadvantaged of this world. And this is good.
From the history of church charity
It is known that the foundations of church charity were laid in early Christian times. “...Donations were collected and placed on the altar of the church at the time of the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is why church charity, from the point of view of its historical origin, has Eucharistic roots.”
Already during the times of Kievan Rus, the princes assigned the functions of public charity and guardianship to the Church; for these purposes, certain material resources were allocated from the treasury. Princes Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Izyaslav Yaroslavovich, Vsevolod Yaroslavovich, Vladimir Monomakh also pursued a similar policy. “During the period of feudal fragmentation and the Golden Horde yoke, the Church was the only refuge for people in need of help. The church and monasteries in the XII-XIII centuries actually took on a charitable function.”
In the treatise “Rules on Church People” (XIII century), the Church was entrusted with the following charitable deeds: “Feeding the poor and their children; industry for orphans and the poor; widow's allowance; girls needs; offensive intercession; help in adversity; redemption for the captives; feeding in times of need; dying in thinness - covers and coffins.”
The fall of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the centralization of the Russian state, and its subsequent political and economic strengthening gave impetus to the development of church charity. This was facilitated by the policy of the Russian sovereigns Ivan III, Vasily III, Ivan the Terrible, who adopted laws on church charity. Church Councils of the 17th century confirmed the need to expand the charity of monasteries. “Charity was considered by the Russian Orthodox Church as an integral part of its life and activities, the highest church body - the Council - laid the legal basis for this activity with its decrees.”
The liquidation of the Patriarchate under Peter I and the secularization of church property sharply reduced the level of church charity. The functions of charity came under the jurisdiction of the state system of public charity, and the necessary resources were taken away from the Church. “Social activities that could have been carried out with the help of these resources were blocked, and social initiative within the Church was paralyzed.” I note that the deprivation of the Church of effective mechanisms to mitigate the difficult social situation in Russian society was one of the reasons for the political and economic cataclysms of the early twentieth century.
In the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, church charity itself developed, although its share in national expenditures was small. So in 1893, in all parishes and monasteries, there were 480 hospitals and 729 almshouses, which cared for only 9,700 people. In 1903, there were already 18,232 parish cares, 231 monastery or parish hospitals with 2,796 beds, 997 almshouses, where 14,147 people were cared for.
The exceptionally difficult situation in which the Church was placed after 1917 undermined the foundations of church charity. However, even during these years, believers and clergy collected significant funds to help the hungry, more than 140 million rubles. was collected for the needs of the front during the Great Patriotic War, significant amounts were donated (not always voluntarily, but this is not the topic of this article) to the Peace Fund and the Children's Fund in the post-war years.
In the post-perestroika years, church charity began to revive. As Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' noted at the X World Russian People's Council (VRNS): “In Soviet times, the Church was prohibited from engaging in charitable activities. Now we have been given these opportunities, and we must use them widely... The Lord commanded us all to do good deeds, this is our duty and our calling... The Russian Orthodox Church will continue to revive the traditions of charity and mercy.”
How to evaluate the effectiveness of religious charity?
The latest issue of the magazine “Money and Charity” is devoted to the topic of religious charity. We are publishing an article about the charitable community’s view of the effectiveness of religious charity. All texts of the issue can be read here.
The traditions of religious charity originate, perhaps, from the very times when charity appeared as such. In the sacred texts of all religions, works of mercy are given a special place. On the one hand, helping those who need it is a prescription or direct requirement in various religions and religious communities. For example, Judaism even establishes a measure of permanent contributions in favor of the poor and unfortunate - tzedakah, a tenth of income. Muslims have a similar norm; it also existed in many Christian communities. On the other hand, charity and mercy for a believer are a deeply personal action, personal service, which is not limited to regulations and public communal-religious demands.
The healing power of alms Modern religious charitable organizations are actively mastering “secular” technologies: the project approach, systemic reporting, etc. Interaction and cooperation with secular NGOs is gradually developing. They, of course, have a lot in common: first of all, caring for those who need help.
The Russian state recently equalized the rights of religious philanthropists with secular ones: the new law on state support for socially oriented NPOs stipulates that religious charities can, on equal terms with secular ones, apply for state financial, property and consulting support.
Religious charity, however, has significant differences from secular charity. They come from significantly different internal foundations, they have different philosophies, different self-awareness.
This is largely determined by the general differences between secular civilization and religion: civilization is focused on the reconstruction of the world, while religion is focused on the structure of the soul. Religious charity is, first of all, the spiritual development of the benefactor himself, and secular charity is changing the world in accordance with the norms of culture and civilization: improving standards and quality of life, eradicating poverty, protecting the rights of the most vulnerable social groups, etc.
Religious and secular philanthropy may be similar in their specific forms, organizational charts, etc. But the meaning and results of what has been done are experienced and interpreted in different coordinate systems.
A religious person, for example, believes that the needy, the unfortunate, the poor and the outcast need him, the giver and sacrificer, no less than they need him. Famous Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, in his speech “Good People of Ancient Rus',” spoke about the Christian understanding of charity and mercy: “Charity was not so much an auxiliary means of public improvement, but rather a necessary condition for personal moral health: it was more needed by the beggar-lover himself than by the beggar. The healing power of alms rested not so much in wiping away the tears of the suffering person, giving him part of his property, but in looking at his tears and suffering, to suffer with him, to experience that feeling called philanthropy.”
This leitmotif also exists in other religions. Buddhism, for example, also places great emphasis on the personal meaning of charity: “By helping people and other living beings, Buddhists improve their karma.”
And according to Muslim canons, helping someone in trouble is one of the forms of religious service, sacrifice.
Religious philanthropists, more often than secular ones, turn their attention to the most needy and unfortunate, and sometimes, literally, rejected by society. It is religious charities that mainly help the homeless and people who have broken the law.
“These are people whom we can no longer judge. They are at the last stage of need,” says Galina Klishova, the main sister of the Orthodox “Pokrovskaya Community” about her charges (homeless disabled people).
“There is a person inside every homeless person,” echoes Marina Perminova, head of the “Help to the Homeless” program of the Catholic charity organization “Caritas” in Moscow.
“If everything is done correctly, then the Lord will help.” For religious consciousness, mercy obviously comes from God. This He gives through man and for man. Practical, technical and economic issues fade into the background for religious charity - to a certain extent, of course. A truly good deed, a godly deed, must be done and will definitely be done one way or another, will find support, despite any difficulties or obstacles. This is evidenced, for example, by the story of St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, who, without fear of the treasury running out, fed thousands of refugees from the Holy Land: “If everything is done correctly, then the Lord will help.”
It is possible to talk about “evaluating the effectiveness” of religious charity only by keeping in mind this feature of religious consciousness. Therefore, a “secular” assessment from the standpoint of commercial or technical efficiency will be clearly insufficient here. Here is what Archpriest Arkady Shatov says about this: “Our main assessment of success is whether love has increased or not. We are engaged in charitable activities and we want there to be more love in the hearts of those we help.”
It is clear that from the point of view of a secular person, and even one who is primarily focused on “fixing a specific result,” the idea of measuring “how much more love has become” is nonsense. For religious charity, this formulation of the question is quite correct.
The problem of “investment efficiency” in religious philanthropy also takes on a different perspective. It makes no sense for a believer to say, for example, that his help with money to a drunkard or professional beggar is “ineffective” or, even more so, “harmful” - since, they say, it encourages parasitic behavior. One of the commandments of Christ: give to anyone who asks you. God works in mysterious ways…
It is not entirely correct, in our opinion, to use an index of the ratio of administrative expenses and funds allocated for “directly charitable purposes” when assessing the activities of religious charitable organizations. Interestingly, the interpretation of minimizing administrative costs as an indicator of efficiency has recently been seriously questioned in secular charity. The largest US rating companies involved in assessing the work of non-profit organizations - Guidestar, Charity Navigator and three others - have completely abandoned the use of the administrative cost index to determine their effectiveness.
All of the above does not at all negate the fact that within the framework of religious charity there can be a completely practical, economical and well-organized approach to the matter. There are also clear, clear assessments of work: for example, structured rehabilitation programs are prescribed, the success criterion of which is the socialization of the wards, strict and transparent reporting is expected, etc. There is also a “secular” component in religious charity - one should hope for the support of good deeds from above, but also not make mistakes oneself.
Moreover, a lot of experience has been accumulated here, which is highly valued by European secular philanthropists and social workers. For example, the recommendations of the Catholic charitable organization Caritas are taken into account when drawing up social programs of the European Union.
Proselytism or the Word of God? The direct monetary characteristics of assistance are not the most important for a religious benefactor for another reason. For a believer, introducing a person to the Word of God is the most important help. It is much more important than financial assistance. Atheists, reproaching religious benefactors for proselytism, often misunderstand and underestimate the significance of the Word of God for them.
There is a form of religious charity in which the goal of “discovering religion for a person” is the main one. This is missionary. However, other types of religious charitable activity, as a rule, do not link the receipt of help with the obligatory “entry” into the faith. All the religious leaders featured in this issue speak about this.
Russian philanthropy of Islam and Judaism is, perhaps, more focused on the community - religious and ethnic. But help from these religious organizations can also be received by a person of a different faith (or an atheist) and nationality.
For example, lunches organized in mosques are available to everyone. And the Muslim Solidarity Foundation provides medical assistance to seriously ill children, regardless of their religion or nationality.
The Federation of Jewish Communities offers assistance to victims of xenophobic attacks, victims of terrorist attacks and disasters, and also supports orphanages outside of national or religious boundaries.
The experience of supporting the Buddhist charity organization “Ganden Tendar Ling” by the family of an Orthodox priest is interesting. Buddhist philanthropists are generally open to cooperation, organizing joint projects with a variety of people and organizations. For example, in Elista in 2009, a charity music festival “Ocean of Compassion” was held, in which performers of ethnic music from countries and regions where Buddhism spread - Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva, Mongolia and Tibet, as well as the groups “Aquarium” and “Splin” took part.
Christian charities also actively interact with representatives of other faiths and religions and with atheists. People of any worldview and religion can even work in the Catholic organization Caritas - this is written in its charter. The main thing is that their hearts are open to works of mercy.
Orthodox philanthropists adopt the experience of Catholic and Protestant organizations. Archpriest Arkady Shatov positively assessed, for example, the experience of social service of the Order of Malta and spoke about the need for cooperation with it. A friendly dialogue was established between Orthodox volunteers and Mormons while working in a hospital where both of them work. Orthodox philanthropists also have contact with the Crimean Tatar diaspora. It took shape when Crimean Muslims were helped to return to their homeland. Joint good deeds push existing religious differences into the background. When volunteers want to participate in an endeavor, they are not asked for a “baptismal certificate” or other similar document.
Involving volunteers in charity, even if they are agnostics or atheists, for a believer is a completely religious action: these people, even without recognizing any dogmas and not performing traditional rituals, participate in the creation of the Good.
Lidia TIKHONOVICH Andrey SUCHILIN
Russian Orthodox Church
On March 1, 2021, a meeting of the Supreme Church Council was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. One of the issues discussed at the meeting was the topic of church charity. Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevsky Panteleimon, made a report on church social activities in 2021 and spoke about plans for 2021.
One of the results of the 10th anniversary of the Patriarchate of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' was the active development of church social service, which became possible thanks to the active love and mercy of the Primate, his deep conviction that church social work is an integral, organic part of the confession of faith. His Holiness the Patriarch personally oversees social work, striving to make the Church a place where anyone in need could receive help. The example of the High Hierarch inspires bishops, elders and laity to good deeds.
Quantitative results of work in 2018
First, I would like to present the quantitative results of our work in 2021.
In 2021, the Church opened six new shelters for mothers: in the Moscow regional, Oryol, Kaluga, Belgorod, Sarapul and Salavat dioceses. Thus, by the beginning of 2021, there were 59 shelters for women in difficult life situations in Russia, opened with the participation of the Church.
In 2021, 11 new cities in nine dioceses joined the “Save Life” pre-abortion counseling program: Balashov (Arkadak), Vladimir (Kovrov), Vyksa (Kulebaki, Ardatov), Nizhny Novgorod (Dalnee Konstantinovo, Kstovo), Yuzhno-Sakhalin (Korsakov) , St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg), Smolensk (Smolensk), Samara (Samara), Rzhev (Rzhev). In total, today 86 cities participate in the “Save a Life” program, 160 specialists work in 122 medical institutions. Since 2015, this program has saved over 10,000 children from abortion.
In 2021, 35 new church humanitarian aid centers opened. Those in need can receive clothes, strollers, cribs, and food for free. Most of the new centers are located in small towns and villages, where the situation is especially difficult.
There are more than 90 homeless shelters in Russia, but until now there has not been such a full-fledged shelter in Moscow or the immediate Moscow region. Last year, such a “Warm Welcome” shelter for 70 people was opened in Khimki. By the beginning of February, 183 people had passed through the shelter in Khimki. 95 of them were returned to normal life.
In 2021, a church resocialization center opened in Yekaterinburg. New consultation centers for drug addicts began operating in 11 dioceses (in Bratsk, Vladimir, Vyatka, Izhevsk, Klintsovsk, Kostroma, Kuznetsk, Moscow, Sarapul, Serdobsk, Cherepovets dioceses). Also, new rehabilitation centers for drug addicts have appeared in the Kaliningrad, Izhevsk, Voronezh and Rostov dioceses.
In September 2021, in the Leningrad region, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, the II All-Russian meeting of Orthodox rehabilitation centers was held, timed to coincide with the All-Russian Day of Sobriety. The event was organized by the Coordination Center for Combating Drug Addiction of the Synodal Department for Charity, the Charitable Foundation of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt and the Vyborg Diocese. Representatives of 34 dioceses took part in the meeting.
Today the Church is actively developing palliative care. In Moscow there is a palliative department of the church hospital of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, and at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent there is a register and a children's mobile palliative service “Mercy”. There are also palliative care projects in Tver and St. Petersburg. In 2021, the Vyborg diocese, together with the Government of the Leningrad Region, opened a children's hospice in the village of Toksovo, Leningrad Region. The hospice is designed for 30 families with children.
In 2021, five new church communities appeared to provide assistance to the deaf. Today, 71 Orthodox churches in 45 metropolises are working with deaf and hard of hearing people.
Particular attention is paid to creating an accessible environment in churches. In 2018, the Church Philanthropy Department published a guide to creating an accessible environment. Four in-person seminars on this topic were also held in Khabarovsk, Ufa, Novosibirsk and Volgograd, in which 216 people took part.
Last year, PSTGU and the Synodal Department for Charity organized a mobile exhibition on creating an accessible environment and providing situational assistance to people with limited mobility.
As a result of our distance learning course, 268 new social projects appeared. These projects were launched by participants in our six-month distance learning course for parish social workers. Projects are being implemented on the basis of 219 parishes and socially oriented NPOs in the territory of 99 dioceses. Through these projects, the participants involved more than 1,800 volunteers in social activities (more than half of them were young people).
In addition to this main course, the Synodal Department for Charity conducted four specialized distance learning courses: for managers and employees of social departments of dioceses (132 people from 67 dioceses participated), on organizing assisted living for disabled people (256 people from 72 dioceses) and two courses on the basics of assistance children with cerebral palsy, organized jointly with the Orthodox service “Mercy” and the Martha and Mary Convent (339 people from 78 dioceses).
We also held a series of face-to-face courses and conferences in 2021. The main event was the VIII All-Church Congress on Social Ministry, which was led personally by His Holiness the Patriarch. The congress was attended by the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation V.I. Skvortsova, heads and employees of the social departments of the dioceses, senior sisters and confessors of the sisterhoods of mercy, students of PSTGU and RGSU, students of the St. Demetrius School of Sisters of Mercy, Moscow social workers - in total over two thousand people, representatives of 172 dioceses, including 23 dioceses from -abroad. The work of the congress began with a litany for those who died at the college in Kerch. In that tragedy, 21 people died and 67 people were injured. A round-the-clock duty of priests was organized in the morgue and in the hospital. The victims, taken to other cities (Krasnodar, Moscow), were also visited by priests. Until now, three children from Kerch are in the Research Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Traumatology, and our volunteers visit them.
In 2021, our interregional conference for the dioceses of the Volga Federal District took place in Ufa (204 people from 41 dioceses participated). Our training centers in Moscow and Yekaterinburg conducted several shifts of full-time internships. In particular, in Moscow there were 15 shifts of full-time advanced training courses for parish social workers (66 people from 25 dioceses), four shifts of full-time advanced training courses for managers and key employees of social departments of dioceses (53 people from 44 dioceses). At our regional training center in Yekaterinburg, two shifts of advanced training courses were organized (40 people from 24 dioceses). Also in Yekaterinburg, the First Congress of Sisters of Charity of the Ural region took place, which was attended by 190 sisters from 24 sisterhoods (11 dioceses).
Together with the Ministry of Health, we once again held the All-Russian Day of Sobriety. With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, on this day special prayers were offered up in churches for those suffering from the ailments of drunkenness and drug addiction, and special prayer services were held. With the support of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media, information support for the Day of Sobriety was organized. In 2021, 5,825 materials about Sobriety Day appeared in the media.
The number of projects to help alcohol addicts is increasing. Over the past 10 years, their number has increased more than 20 times (in 2009 - about 20 projects, in 2021 - over 500). These are fraternities, societies, groups, temperance communities, counseling centers.
In 2021, Church representatives provided assistance to victims of 13 major emergencies. In connection with the flood in July in the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Synodal Department for Charity sent 146 thousand rubles to the Nerchinsk diocese for operational assistance. These funds were used to purchase food, water, and hygiene products for the victims.
In 2021, we released four manuals: two books were published for the first time (about the ministry of a hospital chaplain and about creating an accessible environment in the church), two were republished (a homeless person’s reference book and “Disabled in the Church”). Since 2010, we have published 41 teaching aids.
New directions and plans
Now I would like to talk about new directions of our work and plans for 2021. First of all, new projects will be opened to prevent abortions.
In 2021, on Children's Day, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, a nationwide fundraiser was held in all churches to prevent abortions and help women in crisis situations. This was the second such church-wide gathering. We managed to collect 38 million rubles.
With these funds, 13 new shelters for mothers will be opened in 2021. One of them has already opened in Kurgan. Thus, there will soon be 72 such shelters operating in Russia. You see them on the map.
There will also be 32 new humanitarian aid centers and 25 other projects to help women in crisis situations (consulting, legal, psychological assistance, helplines, etc.). Also this year, 54 already operating projects to help women will be able to expand their activities.
We have new areas of work in the area of helping the homeless. One of the key problems homeless people face is their difficulty obtaining medical care. Therefore, now, together with the Ministry of Health, we are making a clear reminder that a homeless person should receive all the necessary help, even if he does not have an insurance policy or documents. It is planned to be placed in all emergency departments of Russian hospitals.
We are also currently building a system for the rehabilitation of homeless people. In 2021, our specialists got acquainted with international and best Russian experience, visited successful projects in Europe, went to the largest conference on this topic in Berlin, it was held by the European Federation of National Organizations for Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA).
The Synodal Department and the Orthodox service “Mercy” are not only expanding existing models, but are also working to create new, more effective ones. In addition to the already running homelessness prevention programs based on the Salvation Hangar of the Mercy service, we launched our own experimental projects to help the homeless - Farm, Hostel, Labor Camp. These are the forms of a person’s return to society that we implement through our own experience.
This year, at our request, sociologists from PSTGU will conduct a study among the homeless. 700 people will be surveyed. We plan to draw up a detailed socio-demographic portrait of homeless people and identify the main channels through which a person ends up on the street. As a result, all this should help us understand how to properly build labor integration and rehabilitation of homeless people. Based on the results of our work and analysis of Russian and foreign experience, we will present a document on this topic; it will be devoted to organizing assistance to the homeless in the Church.
A new direction was the development of pastoral hospital ministry. Due to the fact that there are not enough priest assistants, we are recruiting lay catechists and missionaries to help. In Moscow, we conducted the first courses for assistant hospital chaplains (102 people completed it, many of them were graduates of leading universities in Russia). The book "Hospital Priest" was published. Based on the successful experience of Moscow, they began to train representatives of dioceses: the first internship was held in 2021, 11 priests from 11 dioceses participated in it. This year the second such internship took place; 18 people from 18 dioceses took part in it. There are still several training shifts ahead.
A relatively new area of work is the spread of the practice of assisted living for people with disabilities. The Church is actively involved in this. As I already said, last year we conducted a special training course on this topic together with one of the leading organizations for helping people with disabilities - St. Petersburg Perspectives. And together with the St. Petersburg “Perspectives”, in 2021, a new project of assisted living was opened in the village of Razdolye, Vyborg diocese. Seven people with disabilities live in the assisted living house at the temple. A social worker is with them around the clock, but residents try to care for themselves as much as possible. Conditions similar to those at home have been created there.
Another assisted living project should appear in Penza. In 2021, Metropolitan Seraphim of Penza and Nizhnelomovsky consecrated the construction site of the future complex of houses for the disabled “New Shores”. 10 houses will be built here for approximately 80 people. These houses will be used by disabled people for whom the state did not provide apartments after leaving boarding schools. They will be assisted by social workers and specialists.
This is the third project organized by the head of the department for working with disabled people of the Penza diocese, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova. Her projects “Louis Quarter” and “Veronica’s House” are already successfully operating in Penza - all of these projects are an alternative to psychoneurological boarding schools.
Another promising area of work is the development of family arrangements for orphans and the organization of schools for foster parents. We conduct remote and face-to-face seminars on these topics in dioceses. Eight such workshops were organized in 2021. Two-day interactive seminars were held in Khabarovsk, Ufa, Sarapul, Yekaterinburg, Solikamsk, Rostov-on-Don, the villages of Glebovo (Moscow region) and Vorobyevtsevo (Ivanovo region). We are also distributing a methodological manual on organizing the School of Adoptive Parents, published by our Synodal Department. In 2021, more than 1,000 copies were transferred to the dioceses. benefits.
In 2021, the second Orthodox school for foster parents in Russia will open in St. Petersburg, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. It will be focused on preparing church parishioners to accept disabled children into families, because disabled orphans are the least likely to be accepted into families. The work of the school will be based on the experience of the Orthodox family-type shelter “Tenderness”. It is located in Vyritsa (Gatchina diocese). These are several foster families who have taken custody of disabled children. Now four families live under one roof of a large wooden house; they are raising a total of 15 disabled children. The project’s confessors are two brothers—hieromonks Kirill and Methodius (Zinkovsky). This year the project should expand: two more houses have been built nearby for new families who will take care of disabled children. Seven to nine families will live in the new two houses.
Our plans for this year are to open a second palliative department at St. Alexius Hospital. The new department will have 35 beds. Also this year, Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko and the Government of the Moscow Region plan to open a new children's hospice in Domodedovo. It will be designed for 10 families with children.
Until now, there have been very few church projects to help drug addicts in Moscow - for example, there is still not a single church rehabilitation center in Moscow. This year we plan to open the first church day hospital in the city - an outpatient rehabilitation program at the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Kozhevniki. This center will accommodate 15 people. Drug addicts will come there for classes six days a week. Classes will be taught by priests, psychologists, consultants and social workers.
We also have plans to open our own country rehabilitation center with 24-hour accommodation in 2021. As a result, in Moscow we will create a full-fledged system of church assistance for drug addicts.
This year we are counting on the signing of an agreement between the Church and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia. Under this agreement, it is planned to create a permanent Commission. We met with representatives of the ministry, they are committed to active interaction with us.
In 2021, our new regional training center will open in Rostov-on-Don - it will be organized on the basis of the social department of the Rostov diocese. Representatives of the dioceses of the North Caucasus and Southern federal districts will be able to undergo training there.
In 2021, we will finalize and distribute throughout the diocese a document on the basic principles of organizing social service at the diocesan level. The appendix to the document contains advice and specific recommendations to the chairman of the diocesan social department.
Our on-site intensive training seminars have become a qualitatively new form of work with dioceses. In 2021, we held six such in-depth seminars: several key specialists from the Synodal Department traveled to dioceses and worked intensively with employees and volunteers who are responsible for social service in the diocese. We conducted these seminars in Velikoluksk, Sarapul, Khabarovsk, Abakan, Irkutsk and Birobidzhan dioceses. These workshops lasted from one to three days. According to reviews from the regions, this is one of the most effective training models: leading experts from Moscow dive into the problems and local conditions of a particular region and give practical advice based on what they see. It brings good results and motivates people. Immediately the diocese became enthusiastic and ideas for new projects appeared.
We plan to develop work abroad. We work closely with the head of the Office for Foreign Institutions, Archbishop Anthony of Vienna and Budapest. Thanks to his support and participation, a few days ago the first conference on social ministry among European dioceses was held in Lithuania - so far it was not very representative - 52 people took part in it, but we hope that this work will continue. At the congress, the creation of a Coordination Center for Church Social Ministry in Europe was discussed. It will be created under our Synodal Department.
Last year, thanks to Metropolitan Sergius of Singapore and Southeast Asia, social ministry began to actively develop in the Philippines. The Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia organized feeding of poor people in the Southern Philippines. 11 parishes are provided with all the necessary equipment for feeding, and now twice a week about 500 children, the elderly, pregnant and lactating women receive food fortified with vitamins and minerals. Our parishes distribute medicine, clothing, shoes, and school supplies.
In 2021, we launched a targeted assistance program for our compatriots in Tajikistan - this is the poorest country in the post-Soviet space. Due to extreme poverty and misery in this country, our Synodal Department has taken special control of social work in this diocese. Our employee went there three times during the year, we launched a fundraiser in Russia, and sent journalists there. They opened a charity canteen and a humanitarian aid center in the diocese. Today, every week 100 people receive a full meal at the charity canteen. Also, 180 people regularly receive food packages; they are taken to hard-to-reach areas for those people who cannot get to the temple themselves. Using the money collected, the diocese specifically helps families. We will continue to work in Tajikistan this year.
Presentation for the report
Diakonia.ru/Patriarchia.ru _
Church social and charitable activities in 2021
On March 26, 2021, a meeting of the Supreme Church Council was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. One of the issues discussed at the meeting was the topic of church charity. Particular attention was paid to helping the Church during the pandemic. The chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevsky, made a report on the key areas of social service of the Church in 2021.
The past year has been especially difficult for all of us, but at this time many people showed their best qualities, united to help others, and began to care more about those who are ill.
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, rules for performing the Sacraments when visiting people with coronavirus were drawn up in April. The administration sent them to all dioceses. We organized training, a series of webinars for priests on how to perform the Sacraments in the red zone, compiled a standard required kit and a set of protective equipment for each priest, and arranged for free shipping of these kits to dioceses. 116 dioceses have already received them.
The meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the President was of great importance, when the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church spoke about the ministry of priests during the pandemic. This meeting opened the doors to the red zones for the priests. Before this, it was very difficult to get to hospitals with coronavirus. Not only priests, but also bishops now come to Covid hospitals. Among them are His Eminences Georgy Nizhny Novgorod, Varnava Vyksa, Anthony Akhtubinsky and others.
Since April, in Moscow, we have organized a 24-hour phone call for a priest to call someone sick with coronavirus. In the Moscow region alone, priests made more than 1,700 trips. About 70% of them go to the dying in intensive care. On average, priests make 9 visits to the sick every day. They often travel with assistants.
We also organize remote communication between priests and elderly people in nursing homes and boarding schools.
Thanks to the support of His Holiness the Patriarch, the main church hospital, St. Alexius, carried out enormous work. Even before Covid, the hospital was well equipped and had a staff of experienced employees. In 2021, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the hospital received from benefactors new diagnostic equipment, four additional ventilators, a computed tomograph, and a new ambulance.
We organized a diagnostic room and a CT outpatient center. If mild to moderate severity of the disease is detected, outpatient treatment is prescribed. In more severe conditions, patients with the support of the hospital are hospitalized in COVID hospitals in Moscow. Thanks to the new device, the hospital was one of the first in Moscow to begin testing for antibodies to COVID. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the hospital has been conducting daily on-site COVID testing of clergy, monasteries, and seminary students.
Not only our hospital, but also students of the St. Demetrius School of Sisters of Mercy took part in the fight against coronavirus. They worked in the red zones of various Moscow hospitals.
In Kyrgyzstan, the diocese deployed an entire Covid hospital - it received 40 people a day. The Synodal Department donated funds for the purchase of equipment and the salary of a paramedic. Most of the staff - doctors, hospital nurses - worked as volunteers. Of course, the Church not only provided medical care itself, but also helped doctors. Many dioceses donated medical equipment to hospitals. These are mainly oxygen concentrators and ventilators. Bishops often personally participated in the program.
In the Novgorod region, through the Borovichi diocese, we donated oxygen concentrators to two regional hospitals. In Pskov, the diocese, at the height of the pandemic, in 2021, raised 33 million rubles to purchase protective equipment for Pskov doctors. Also, in January 2021, Metropolitan Tikhon donated 15 thousand rapid tests for Covid to social and medical institutions in Pskov and the region. Orthodox volunteers brought hot meals to the doctors. And in some cities they themselves transported clinics to doctors’ calls.
A few words need to be said about help in Moscow. Since spring, we have launched a hotline to receive people's requests. Amid the crisis, more and more people were asking for help, mostly asking for food. Since March 30, about 39.8 thousand calls to the hotline have been received, and more than 8 thousand calls to the volunteer service have been recorded.
Every day our volunteers bring food and medicine to elderly and isolated people. There have been more requests for help from the Moscow patronage service. If a person is lonely and cannot even get out of bed or eat without help, it is very difficult for him, especially during a pandemic. In 2021, the number of applications increased by 60% compared to 2021.
Homeless calls have tripled. Since March 30, more than 103 thousand homeless people have turned to the Rescue Hangar. Now on weekdays more than 350 people a day come to the Salvation Hangar. Since March 30, more than 1,700 people have received pre-medical care in Angara.
Of course, the Church helped not only in Moscow. To support those most in need, we organized a fundraiser for food. Since June 2020, the Synodal Department for Charity has collected more than 23 million. The money received was sent to 65 dioceses. More than 22 thousand food packages were donated to those in need in six countries: Russia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Kazakhstan and even East Timor. Often the Right Reverends personally participated in the transfer of products: Theophylact of Pyatigorsk, Isidore of Smolensk, Victorin of Izhevsky and others.
In recent years, we have managed to create a whole system of social centers - 77 shelters for mothers and 211 humanitarian aid centers. These projects became very popular during the epidemic, they focused on issuing products.
With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, in 2021, 56 centers from 48 dioceses received 43 million from benefactors. This assistance was allocated to pay employees, utility costs, and purchase food and hygiene kits. With the support of our Department, the Rus Foundation, through dioceses, from March 1 to December 2021 donated 990 tons of food to those in need.
The Ukrainian Church organized large-scale assistance: hundreds of tons of food, things, and equipment for doctors were donated. At the end of 2021, the social and humanitarian department of the Ukrainian Church, together with the dioceses, provided financial and material assistance to medical institutions and the population in the amount of over 2.5 million hryvnia (6.7 million rubles), 413 tons of food and 62 tons of things were donated to those in need. His Beatitude Onuphry donated a ventilator and protective equipment to the Alexander Hospital in Kyiv. In different dioceses they delivered aid to those in need. The Odessa diocese donated two ambulances to doctors.
Our Synodal Department continues to help with the products of the diocese in Tajikistan. 284 food packages are provided monthly to those most in need. With the participation of the Vesna Foundation, the Synodal Department sends 2.45 million to the diocese per year.
With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, on February 1, we launched a single telephone line for church social assistance. The line has already received over 6.2 thousand calls. Most of the requests are a request to talk to a priest, requests for food assistance, volunteer help, requests for help from a nurse or nursing sister. Requests are received from people without a roof over their heads, and those who cannot return home, from people with disabilities.
Church projects for the homeless in dioceses have taken on a greater burden during the pandemic. We have more than 90 homeless shelters. Many of them went into quarantine during the pandemic: both employees and wards had to live together for weeks. In Ufa, hospitals were asked to take homeless people into a church shelter in order to free up beds for coronavirus patients. Also, with our support, a tourist bus was converted in Ufa and a “Mercy Bus” was launched for the homeless. In Yekaterinburg, the Orthodox “Bus of Mercy” remained the only place in the city where the homeless continued to receive food; all other organizations were closed. Last year, a mercy bus opened in Tomsk and Magnitogorsk, a residential module for the homeless in Vyatka (Kirov), and a heating center in Astrakhan. In the near future it is planned to launch a mercy bus in Omsk. The church is also participating in the discussion of reform of the homeless assistance system - on behalf of the president, a working group was created, which includes our representative.
Last year, St. Alexius Hospital opened its first palliative care branch for adults in Shuya. The plans include branches in Pereslavl, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Kamchatka. Father Alexander Tkachenko also opened a children's hospice in the Belgorod region. It was called the "Emerald City". There are plans for another children's hospice in the Kursk region. By presidential decree, Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko, the founder of Russia’s first children’s hospice, headed the Circle of Good Foundation. This fund was created to provide assistance to children with serious diseases, including rare ones. The fund will purchase medicines and medical products (including those not registered in Russia) for such children.
Over the year, new church shelters for mothers have appeared: in Magadan, Magnitogorsk, Arkhangelsk, and a new shelter building in Kaluga.
Also last year, for the first time, we launched distance courses on pre-abortion counseling at a leading medical university in Russia. 209 specialists took part in the training - 68 obstetricians-gynecologists and 141 psychologists from all over the country - from 48 regions of Russia, as well as from Ukraine and Belarus. The courses were organized with the support of the Russian Ministry of Health. We hope that such courses will be regular.
The church is involved in the development of assisted living for people with disabilities. This is an alternative to huge boarding schools with 300-400 places, which were inherited from the Soviet system. Assisted living is small houses or apartments where people with disabilities live in small groups. The conditions there are close to home. One of these projects was organized by the wife of a priest from Penza, Maria Lvova-Belova. In 2021, she opened the third house of the estate for people with disabilities, “New Shores”. An assisted living project appeared at a church in the Tyumen region. A care center for seriously ill patients was opened in Samara.
For the first time in Moscow in September, we held an all-Russian forum of Orthodox deaf communities.
For troubled teenagers in St. Petersburg, the St. Basil the Great Center has opened a new crime prevention project. It is located on Repin Street on Vasilyevsky Island (that’s why it’s called “Turnip”). Teenagers come to the center, there is leisure time, a cozy space, and you can also get psychological advice or advice from a social worker. This project is an attempt to take off the streets those young guys who have not yet committed anything criminal, but are already hanging out in bad companies, and to offer them an alternative. The project pays special attention to anonymity.
Despite the pandemic, we certified centers for addicts: in Georgievsky, Saperny, and Yekaterinburg.
On September 11, despite the cancellation of public events, the All-Russian Day of Sobriety was held with the support of the Ministry of Health. Together with the Synodal Department for Relations of the Church with Society and the Media, we held an online press conference at TASS, and the federal media made special reports for Sobriety Day. In total, there were 4,044 messages in the media on the topic of Sobriety Day.
A specialist from our Synodal Department is directly involved in writing grant applications for church social projects in dioceses. Of the 23 applications submitted in 2021, which our specialist helped compile, 20 won the competition: 16.2 million received social projects in 15 dioceses.
Despite the pandemic, we held a conference on social ministry for the Far Eastern dioceses: first in absentia, and then in full-time format - in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. We also held a conference in Kamchatka. There, our sisters of mercy organized nursing courses. Even before the pandemic, at the beginning of the year, our second conference on social service for European dioceses took place in Vilnius.
Our specialists conducted on-site seminars in 11 dioceses: Murmansk, Severomorsk, Kaliningrad, Borovichi, Gatchina, Tikhvin, Rybinsk, Pyatigorsk, Ekaterinodar, Sochi, Novorossiysk.
The Sisterhood Association has traveled extensively this year teaching nursing to the regions. Our sisters conducted classes for representatives of local sisterhoods and government agencies in eight cities: Kaliningrad (two trips), Anapa, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Nakhodka and Khabarovsk, Pskov, Tyumen.
In Kaliningrad, with our support, the training of sisters of mercy has now begun on the basis of the Baltic University. They are already working in Kaliningrad hospitals.
In Moscow, at St. Alexis Hospital, we held a thematic conference on care. It was attended by representatives of the Church, palliative care specialists, leaders of charitable foundations and representatives of sisterhoods of mercy from different regions. The conference was held with the support of the Timchenko Foundation and the Moscow Department of Social Protection.
We held a conference remotely for southern dioceses and for the first time organized online excursions about the best social projects. Our course for managers in social departments of dioceses took place over the course of a month. 52 dioceses participated in the course.
The winners of the “Leaders of Russia” competition began to come to our church social projects. This is a management competition; more than 230 thousand people submitted applications to participate last year; following the results of several qualifying stages and tests, 106 people became winners of the competition. Another competition was organized for the first time in 2020 - this is “Leaders of Russia. Policy". It received 34 thousand applications and 49 people won. This year, a personnel reserve, the so-called School of Governors, also began to come to our social projects. And the winners of the competition “Leaders of Russia”, “Leaders of Russia. Politics” and the personnel reserve undergo volunteer practice during their training: they come for three hours to social projects and become volunteers - they do something with their hands, help people in need, and immerse themselves in social problems.
Since last year, modules of such social practice have been taking place mainly in our church social projects. We have already accepted four groups of “Leaders of Russia” and a personnel reserve group. There are a lot of people on the stream, so each time we divide the participants into small groups, from 10 to 35 people, so they have already managed to visit quite a lot of church social institutions.
At the Rescue Hangar, guests had to communicate with homeless people - conduct an in-depth interview for an hour, find out the person’s problems, think about how they can be helped and suggest a route for further action. At the St. Sophia Social House it was necessary to play and do creative work with children who have severe developmental disabilities. At the St. Alexis Hospital, guests helped care for patients in the palliative departments, fed them, and talked with them. In the “House of the Deaf-Blind” in Puchkovo, participants got acquainted with the life of deaf-blind people, played board games with them, and communicated with them. At the “Resurrection” drug rehabilitation center in the Ramensky district, guests took part in rehabilitation classes, baked bread and made candles together with the students. At the Elizabethan orphanage, “Leaders of Russia” prepared fish dumplings together with children with Down syndrome and made a picture together using special equipment. In the “House for Mom”, “Leaders of Russia”, together with mothers who found themselves in a crisis situation, made handmade chocolate. In the St. Spyridonievskaya almshouse, in addition to communication and assistance with feeding, guests took part in master classes on care - our sisters of mercy showed how to care for a seriously ill person.
Immediately after such practice, we offer to discuss what they saw, share their impressions, and discuss with the guests the problems and prospects for the development of the specific area in which they are immersed throughout the country - what reforms are necessary to help this or that category of people with whom they have met. This practice is very beneficial for the participants. Some people offered their help to both our projects and specific wards right on the spot. We plan to continue such visits to our projects.
This year we have published a number of new manuals. “Homeless Person's Handbook 2020”, “Overcoming the passion of drug addiction”, “Psychologist helps mothers”, “Alcoholic in the family: how can loved ones help?” have been published? (reprint), "Hospital Priest" (reprint).
Together with the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media, we organize information support for church social services and try to attract more people to it.
In particular, this year a Russia Today report was published about the first Orthodox rehabilitation center in Russia for dependent mothers. Since August, Channel One has been airing commercials about church social services. Sergei Shargunov released several programs about church social service on Rossiya 24. Well-known journalist Marina Akhmedova prepared an essay about serving as a sister of mercy in Kyrgyzstan during the pandemic. A large report about the service of volunteers was published on Lenta.ru.
Thank you for your attention!
***
Presentation for the report of the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity, Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevsky Panteleimon
More news and stories about church social ministry can be found in the Telegram channel “Church Affairs”, in the Synodal Department group on Facebook, in the Youtube channel and the Department’s Instagram account.
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