On February 23, 2024, the 115th anniversary of the founding of the Marfo-Mariyinsky Monastery of Mercy in Moscow and the Day of Defender of the Fatherland, the abbess of the monastery, Hegumeness Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova), donated an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to the Elizavetinsky branch of the Central Clinical Hospital of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, Patriarchy.ru reports. It was with this image that Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna blessed the opening of a factory in Moscow for the manufacture of prostheses needed during the First World War.
"A few years ago, a great friend of the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy came to us and brought us an amazing icon of St. Nicholas. It was given as a gift for the opening of the prosthetic shop where they made prostheses for the wounded. Thanks to this icon we learned that there was a prosthetic shop in the monastery. This image immediately became the property of the House-Museum of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna. The icon is precious precisely because it testifies to the active participation of the Grand Duchess in the lives of the wounded. Today we came face to face with a similar situation. When I learned that a prosthetic workshop was opened in the Elizabeth branch of St. Alexis Hospital, I thought that by right this icon should belong to you," said Hegumeness Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova).
During the First World War, Russia faced with a problem that is still relevant today, when there was a great need for quality prosthetics. Until 1914, this industry did not develop; in 1916, under the leadership of the Grand Duchess, a Committee for the supply of artificial limbs and other prostheses and mechanical devices for maimed soldiers and indigent people was established, under which the first Russian factory for the manufacture of prostheses was opened; by decision of the Committee, another factory was opened in Moscow.
"Our branch in Zhukovsky bears the name of St. Great Martyr Elizabeth Fyodorovna, and the arrival to us of the Abbess of the Marfo-Mariana Monastery of Mercy we were especially looking forward to. We believe that the icon handed over by Abbess Elizabeth is a blessing to the Elizabeth branch from the great Russian saint," shared Alexei Zarov, the chief physician of St. Alexis Hospital. - The Grand Duchess had special care for people who had undergone amputations. When last year we opened a prosthetics center and a prosthetics workshop in the branch, we did not yet know how important a contribution the heavenly patroness of our branch had made to the development of prosthetics in Russia and help for the wounded. Today many of us have felt the joy of the presence and participation of the Great Martyr Elizabeth in our lives".
At the Center for Prosthetics and Medical Adaptation of St. Alexis Hospital provide medical and social assistance to victims of amputations. At the moment, 11 patients from Donbas are being treated here, 55 people have already completed prosthetics and have been discharged. Palliative patients also receive care at the branch.
During her visit to the Elizavetinsky branch of the hospital Abbess Elisaveta visited and congratulated on the Defender of the Fatherland Day the wounded being treated in the Prosthetics Center. She also visited the study-museum of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna.
The Elizabeth branch also organized a festive concert in the Transfiguration Church of the Zhukovsky district. The choir of the Novospassky Stavropigial Monastery in Moscow and opera singer Yana Melikayeva performed for patients and employees of the branch, parishioners and residents of the city.
The Marfo-Mariinsky monastery of love and mercy was founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna in 1909. At present it is a stavropegial nunnery, where the work of mercy of the Venerable Martyr continues. Eight social projects are implemented at the monastery: the monastery helps children with disabilities, orphans and children left without parental care, lonely elderly people, large families and people in difficult life circumstances.
Central Clinical Hospital St. Alexis Metropolitan of Moscow is a medical institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, a 280-bed multidisciplinary medical institution founded in 1903. The hospital treats people from all regions of Russia, regardless of religion, and has branches in Shuya, Ivanovo Region, Zhukovsky, Moscow Region, and Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Region. A licensed Training Center for the training of nursing assistants is in operation. Since March 2022, St. Alexis Hospital has been providing comprehensive medical and social assistance to refugees and victims in the conflict zone. During this time, about 18500 wounded and injured people have received medical care. The Zhukovsky branch opened a Center for Prosthetics and Social Adaptation.
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