The IX All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church and the penal system of the Russian Federation took place at the Academy of the Federal Penal Correction Service of Russia.
The event was held as part of the International Scientific and Practical Conference on the problems of execution of criminal sentences, timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the Academy of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, and was devoted to the introduction of the probation system in Russia and the formation of the institute of assistants of pre-trial detention centers to work with believers.
The conference was attended by Sergey Gurov, head of the group of organization of work with believers of the Department for the organization of work with believers, assistant chiefs of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the organization of work with believers, assistant chiefs of pre-trial detention facilities for work with believers, clergymen of religious associations traditional for Russia, faculty of the Academy of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, representatives of public organizations that provide assistance to prisoners, as well as persons released from prison.
The forum was headed by Acting Chairman of the Synodal Department for Prison Ministry, Priest Kirill Markovsky.
The forum was organized by Priest Kirill Markovsky.
The first section of the conference was devoted to the consideration of issues related to the introduction of a system of prison probation in Russia from January 1, 2024, and from January 1, 2024, the introduction of a prison probation system in Russia. January 2025 — post-penitentiary probation.
Before the presentations of the conference participants, Priest Kirill Markovsky presented awards of the Synodal Department for Prison Ministry to the executive secretary of the board of prison ministry departments of the Don Metropolis, head of the shelter of mercy «Spas» Priest Andrei Mnatsaganov, chairman of the prison ministry department Saran diocese, Archpriest Vladimir Menchoykin, assistant head of SIZO-1 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Republic of Mordovia for work with believers, and Emelyan Sosinski, chairman of the board of the public organization «House of Labor Life "Noi"» for many years of work to help prisoners and people released from prison.
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Opening the conference, Priest Kirill Markovsky emphasized its importance and practical significance, pointing out that the main purpose of cooperation between the Church and the penal system — to really help a person who is in prison or has just been released from prison, to survive a difficult period of trials, to find the meaning of life, extending into eternity, to find strength for a new life in society, not only according to human laws, but also according to the laws of God; to help the staff of the penitentiary system — to help people who are in prison or have just been released from prison, to survive the difficult period of trials, to find the meaning of life, extending into eternity, to find strength for a new life in society not only according to human laws, but also according to the laws of God
According to Priest Cyril Markovsky, by adopting the law on probation, the state has undoubtedly extended its hand to a person in a difficult life situation.
According to Priest Kirill Markovsky, with the adoption of the law on probation, the state has certainly extended its hand to a person in a difficult life situation. However, it is important to remember that it is impossible to integrate a person into society if he or she is convinced that it is possible to achieve well-being in life by committing illegal acts, or if he or she does not have the spiritual strength to resist those sinful aspirations that have taken root in him or her because of a past criminal life. «Consequently, first of all, our efforts should be directed towards achieving those positive changes in the mind and soul of the convict, which will be the basis of his law-abiding behavior after his release. And this work, which is the foundation of probation, should start from the detention center, where a person who has committed unlawful acts gets to. If we do not succeed in this work, then all our other efforts may be fruitless, — — emphasized the head of the synodal department.
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Priest Kirill Markovsky noted that the Church, which has thousands of years of experience in healing the human soul, is now doing a very big job in the places of of compulsory detention. The penitentiary system has created all the conditions for this, the positions of assistant heads of territorial bodies of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for work with believers, assistant heads of pre-trial detention centers for work with believers, which are replaced by clergymen. For the most part, the administration of institutions tries to meet the needs of prison clergy. But the clergy themselves are not always active enough.
«Yes, we have many wonderful shepherds, zealous workers in the field of Christ, who bring worthy fruit to God, bring many to Christ, and bring many desperate people back to life. We express our sincere gratitude to such ministers. But not all shepherds fully realize in their prison ministry the gift given to them with the laying on of hands of the priesthood (1 Tim.4:14). Prison ministry department chairpersons need to carefully observe how a clergyman carries out his pastoral work in a pre-trial detention center or correctional facility. To give advice to young priests, to explain the importance of serving as a shepherd of the Church in places of human grief, which are and will be places of detention» — noted the priest.
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The head of the synodal department emphasized that the work of a priest in a correctional facility in the institution should not be limited only to the celebration of the Liturgy. It is necessary to hold meetings and conversations with the general mass of inmates, to actively cooperate with the psychologists of the institution to identify persons in crisis, to more actively involve lay specialists in the field of church ministry, to conduct spiritual-educational work with the staff of the penitentiary system.
Assistant Head of the GUFSIN of Russia in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region on the organization of work with believers, Professor of the Department of Church-practical disciplines St. Petersburg.html">St. Petersburg Theological Academy Archpriest Oleg Skomorokh spoke about the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the implementation of the Federal Law «On Probation in the Russian Federation», noting that with the adoption of this law, the activities for re-socialization and social adaptation of probationers finally became systematic. In addition, opportunities are opening up for the Church to participate with non-profit organizations in the activities of probation centers.
The head of the Joint Commission for Prison Ministry shared his experience of prison and social ministry, assistance to former convicts, including work on rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts. href="http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3487094.html">Voronezh Metropolis Archpriest Evgeny Lischenyuk.
Priest Andrey Mnatsaganov spoke about the activities of the shelter of mercy «Spas» or «halfway house» created and headed by him, where those who want to start a law-abiding life at liberty or have no fixed place of residence can come immediately after release from the colony.
The work of Russia's largest network of shelters for the homeless «House of Labor "Noi"», located in the Moscow region and including labor and social homes, where more than 1200 people live, reported the creator and chairman of the board of this public organization Emelyan Sosinsky. «Noi» has become a social elevator» for a huge number of people. Now many of those who used to be at the very bottom and doomed to perdition have found jobs, families and meaning in life.
The second section of the conference was devoted to the formation and development of the institute of assistant heads of pre-trial detention centers for work with believers. Positions of full-time prison clergy in pre-trial detention facilities were introduced on January 1, 2024 and are now almost all staffed.
According to Priest Kirill Markovsky, all the priests who have been appointed to the positions of assistant chiefs of pre-trial detention centers for the work of the faithful They are the pioneers of the SIZO. As both clergy and officials, they perform, without exaggeration, a sacrificial ministry with a wide range of responsibilities. In addition, pastoral work with suspects and defendants has its own peculiarities in comparison with the spiritual care of convicts in a correctional facility. And if in a penal colony serve sentences convicts who have committed crimes of approximately the same degree of severity, then in the detention center priest is faced with suspects and accused in a variety of crimes — from crimes of minor gravity to especially serious. He must be able to provide spiritual help to both men and women, and minors. In this regard, special attention should be paid to the training of priests for this ministry.
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Assistant chiefs of pre-trial detention facilities for work with believers are currently trained at the Academy of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, but there is no pastoral block for priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in the curriculum. Inclusion in the training program of meetings with experienced prison priests who have been feeding pretrial detention facilities for many years is extremely necessary. All the more so because in some pre-trial detention facilities, priests appointed as assistant wardens for work with the faithful do not
The participants of the conference were told by Sergey Gurov, head of the group of organization of work with believers of the Department of the Department of the Interior of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation.
Sergey Gurov, head of the group of organization of work with believers of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, told the conference participants about legislative norms and specifics of work of prison chaplains in pre-trial detention facilities.
The multifaceted activity of priests in Russia's largest pre-trial detention center № 1 «Kresty» in St. Petersburg was reported by Archpriest Oleg Skomorokh, assistant to the head of the GUFSIN of Russia for St. Petersburg and Leningrad region on the organization of work with believers.
Assistant Head of SIZO-3 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Imam-Khatib Insaf-Khazrat Iskandarov, spoke about the spiritual care of persons professing Islam and the prevention of extremist and terrorist ideology in places of detention.
The conference became a discussion platform, allowing to get acquainted with the best practices in providing spiritual and social assistance to prisoners and persons released from prison, to see the problematic issues arising in the process of prison ministry, to focus the efforts of various social institutions to address one of the most important tasks — decriminalization of society.
Synodal Department for Prison Service ministry/Patriarchy.ru
