On November 25, 2024, a working meeting was held between Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, acting chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, acting head of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, and Archbishop Varsonofiy of Novoazovsk, vicar of the Donetsk Diocese. The meeting was also attended by the Mother Superior of the Marfa-Marina Monastery of Mercy in Moscow Higumeness Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova), staff members of the Synodal Department for Charity — Deacon Igor Kulikov, head of the sector for interaction with dioceses, coordinator of social assistance in the conflict zone, Natalia Kulieva, coordinator of the regional headquarters for assistance to refugees, and Dmitry Tagil, coordinator of volunteer repairers. On November 20, Metropolitan Vladimir of Donetsk and Mariupol appointed Archbishop Varsonofiy of Novoazovsk as head of the social department of the Donetsk diocese.
In the course of the meeting, Father Mikhail spoke about the work of the Synodal Department for Charity and the Patriarchal humanitarian mission in the zone
The participants of the meeting discussed social projects to help the affected civilians. One of them — the help of volunteer repairers in Avdiivka and Mariupol. Volunteers of the Synodal Department for Charity since March 8, 2023 have been rebuilding private homes of needy residents of Donbass — women with children, the elderly, people with disabilities. During this time, 1155 people have participated in the project. They have restored 320 houses. Volunteers are engaged in repairing roofs, restoring communications, replacing doors and windows, plastering walls, ceilings and slopes of residential houses. You can join the volunteer repairers by filling out an application form on the helpvbede.rf website or by calling 8 (800) 70-70-222.
they can help.
The meeting also discussed the work of church humanitarian aid centers in Donetsk and Mariupol. The church aid center in Mariupol opened on July 10 this year. The staff and volunteers of the center provide targeted assistance to those in need. The staff of the center helps Mariupol residents with registration of social payments, provides legal support. Severely ill people in need of hospitalization are assisted in receiving medical care, including church Saint Alexis Hospital in Moscow. Volunteer repairmen help those in need to repair their homes. The center also gives out basic necessities: bedding, dishes, medicines, food packages, clothes, and baby food. The center works in cooperation with the Donetsk diocese.
In Mariupol, church aid to civilians has been deployed since 2022. Employees of the Synodal Department for Charity together with the Church Hospital of St. Alexis in December 2022 organized a tent camp in one of the most affected areas of Mariupol, on Azovstal Street. Here people in need could wash clothes, take showers, receive clothing, household items and food. At the mobile hospital of St. Alexis Hospital, local residents could get a doctor's consultation.
Mobile hospital.
The Mariupol center has received more than 30,000 calls since its opening.
The participants of the meeting also discussed the work of social volunteers in Donetsk hospitals. Currently, 183 volunteers of the Synodal Department for Charity have already traveled to Donetsk to the Kalinin Hospital and the V.K. Gusak Institute of Emergency and Reconstructive Surgery. Volunteers help care for the sick: feeding them, performing hygienic tasks They take patients for walks, help doctors with procedures and transportation of patients. You can join the help of social volunteers by filling out an application form at helpvbede.rf or by calling 8 (800) 70-70-222.
News and stories about the Church's social ministry are published in the Telegram channel «Church Affairs» and in the groups of the Synodal Department for Charity in VK, OK, on the Youtube channel.
.You can help refugees and affected civilians at helpvbede.rf. You can support church social projects on the online platform of the Synodal Department for Charity «Let's help».
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