With hope in my heart. Patriarch Kirill visited places associated with the royal martyrs

On January 7, 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited the homeless assistance center “Hangar of Salvation” of the Orthodox help service “Mercy” in Moscow, located on the territory of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service.

According to tradition, on the days of Christmas and Easter, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visits medical and social institutions. Just as on Easter after his enthronement in 2009, His Holiness visited the homeless again this year.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was accompanied by the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation V.I. Skvortsova, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevsky Panteleimon, leadership of the Synodal Department.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Minister of Health, accompanied by Bishop Panteleimon, inspected mobile units for helping the homeless - a hairdresser, showers, a warehouse for issuing clothes, a document processing point, and a medical aid point.

At the Salvation Hangar, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill shared a festive meal with the homeless. The Primate of the Russian Church wished Merry Christmas to people who found themselves homeless. Communicating with them at the meal, His Holiness said, in particular:

“I am very glad to have the opportunity to visit you on the first day of Christmas. We often say that Christmas is a holiday of hope. Yes, the Lord came into the world, but He did not change the world in an instant. The poor did not become rich, justice did not immediately prevail, the sick did not become healthy. It would seem, what did He do? Many thought that a mighty king, a hero, a miracle worker would come and change the world overnight. But if this happened, then the person would not be a person, but just an automatic machine that was reconfigured, the program was changed, and it started working in a new way. However, God created us free. We can choose our own path in life, and the Lord came so that everyone can find their own path in life.

Human destinies unfold differently. Everything that I see now is very close to me, since my childhood was spent in poverty. By the grace of God, even though five people lived in one room in a communal apartment, there was still a roof over their heads. But they lived very poorly, so at the age of fifteen I was forced to leave home to earn a living. I worked and studied, but the salary was meager, less than a ruble a day. I remember how I wrote down this amount, even less than a ruble, per day - what I could buy, what I couldn’t. All my life I remember this experience of poverty, and, probably, I would not have understood much in life if I had not gone through this experience.

However, I could have remained in the same poverty for the rest of my life if I had given up, if I had said: “What can you do, nothing special can be done.” By the grace of God, this difficult moment in life was overcome. I am telling you about this so that you understand: before you is a man who was not born in the royal chambers and did not live in wealth, who also had experience of getting out of a difficult financial situation. I know that many of you, by coincidence, ended up in this place. But there are two ways from here. One way is to come to terms with what is and say “well, let it be so.” This path will not lead to anything good. But there is another way - to say “no, it shouldn’t be like this, I have to do something to get out of this state.”

Here is the place where you can make that decision. If you say, “I want to get out of this state,” you will give the greatest gift to those who are selflessly working here because of their Christian convictions. Because of this they have no wealth, no glory, no honor. In these difficult circumstances, they are with you, and for them, I know, it would be the greatest joy if those who pass through this “Salvation Hangar” were truly saved.

So I would like to wish you all, my dears, to get out of this place and find yourself in life. And those who work here will help this as much as possible. Most of you, as I know, came to Moscow and are not permanent residents of the city. Therefore, the most correct thing would be to return to places where you are known and where you can get a job. And the Church will help you in everything.

Now work with people deprived of home, shelter, and resources is developing throughout our Church, and not just in the city of Moscow. I'm very happy about this. I call for each parish to have its own social service. There may not be homeless people among the parishioners, but there are often very poor people, and I am deeply convinced that the responsibility of the parish extends to them in order to help them improve their living conditions.

Everything I’m talking about concerns the most intimate thing - human relationships. We know how much attention people pay to the external side of life, to the development of technology and the economy. But all this can help a person, or it can also do harm. First of all, everyone is helped by the loving heart of another person. And if we don’t have hearts of stone, but loving ones, then we won’t have homeless people, and social imbalances will be quickly overcome, and society will be fairer than it is now. And I would once again like to wish you God’s help, strength, and hope. If you really want to get out of the situation you find yourself in, tell those who work here about it. I know their mood - they will be happy to help you.”

Employees of the Synodal Department for Social Ministry told His Holiness about the work of the homeless assistance center.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill handed over icons of the Savior and packages with food sets, hygiene products, and sets of linen to the homeless.

The homeless also prepared a gift for His Holiness - the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, handmade from wood. The image was made by the hands of homeless people - wards of the shelter at the Church of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia in the city of Ozherelye, Moscow region.

Then His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visited the Humanitarian Aid Center for pregnant women in crisis, those in need and large families.

Next, the Primate of the Russian Church inspected the bus of the church charitable foundation “Helper and Patron” - one of 10 church mobile aid stations for the homeless. Since 2008, five times a week, a team of fund employees travels on a specially equipped bus to various districts of Moscow to help homeless people: they are given hot food, sets of seasonal clothing and shoes, and help to find shelters.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visited the building of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service. A meeting between His Holiness and the department staff took place in the conference room. The meeting began with the demonstration of a video about the activities of the department. Then there was a conversation between the Primate and the employees.

The Primate of the Russian Church, in particular, said: “If we talk about our main areas of non-liturgical activity, then social work probably plays the most significant role, because this work involves doing good deeds. The priest preaches in church, he calls on people to do good deeds, and I constantly insist that every parish should be a place for doing good deeds, a kind of laboratory where the skills of good deeds are developed. Because if we only talk about goodness and love, and do nothing ourselves, then we are only ringing brass and clanging cymbal(1 Cor. 13:1), and our religiosity turns into ritual religiosity.”

“I would like to thank all your employees and all our social workers, of whom we now have a whole corps, if we take dioceses, deaneries, large parishes, for everything that is now beginning to happen in our Church. But, I want to say again, we are at the very beginning of the journey. Everything that I see is wonderful, but the scale must be completely different,” noted His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.

“Now, of course, the state is actively engaged in social work. We see that every year this is intensifying, developing, becoming more systemic, but the Church has its own niche, and it will always remain. Therefore, may God help you in your labors,” concluded the Primate.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill donated an icon of the Nativity of Christ to the Synodal Department, and icons of the Nativity of Christ were also distributed to the employees.

In turn, the employees of the department presented His Holiness with sprinkles and a painting by the artist S.N. Andriyaki “Solovki. Zayatsky Island" (2016). IN AND. Skvortsova was presented with a painting by S.N. Andriyaki “Summer River” (2017).

“Hangar of Salvation” is the only low-threshold center for comprehensive assistance to the homeless in Moscow. The main goal of the Rescue Hangar is to return homeless people to society.

On the territory of the “Hangar of Salvation” there are: a heated tent, a mobile shower, a warehouse for receiving and issuing clothes, a first aid station, a free hairdresser, a social worker’s station who helps restore documents and buys tickets home, as well as a free pay phone, through which homeless people can contact their relatives. A social worker provides homeless people with assistance in restoring documents, establishing connections with relatives, finding temporary shelter and work, and purchasing tickets home. In addition, homeless people turn to the Rescue Hangar to stay warm in winter in a heated tent, wash and get a haircut, eat, get pre-hospital medical care and clothing.

Every day up to 100 people come to the Rescue Hangar. Over the 4 years of its existence, the project has helped 40,000 people.

The Mercy service pays special attention to the prevention of homelessness. In the “Salvation Hangar”, social workers of the “Mercy” service purchase tickets home for those people in difficult life situations who have a place to return (first, the employees of the “Mercy” service contact the person’s relatives or friends and make sure that the person will be met and that he has a place to go travel from Moscow). Over almost 4 years, more than 5,500 people who found themselves on the street and turned to the Rescue Hangar for help were able to return home. The geography of shipments is all over Russia and the CIS countries. Some shipments are made not based on a person’s personal request, but on a signal from Moscow train station employees who contact the “Mercy” service and ask to help the person leave. The Mercy service purchases about 1,500 tickets per year.

“Hangar of Salvation” is located on the territory of the Synodal Department for Charity at the address: st. Nikoloyamskaya, in the courtyard of house 55.

In addition to the Rescue Hangar, the Mercy assistance service has been actively working with the homeless in Moscow hospitals since 2003. Employees of Moscow hospitals contact the Mercy service when a person without a fixed place of residence ends up in a hospital bed. While the patient is undergoing treatment in the hospital, Mercy service employees help him restore his documents and contact his relatives. If necessary, he is provided with the necessary hygiene products, crutches, a wheelchair, etc., clothing and shoes. In addition, social workers ensure that after discharge the homeless person is placed in a city social adaptation center, or help him return home. Per month, the Mercy service helps 20-40 homeless people in hospitals - the number of wards largely depends on the season.

Among the new areas of work of the Mercy service is an experimental center for assistance in finding employment for the homeless. It was launched in early 2017. Since the launch of the center, 644 participants have received assistance in finding work in Moscow and regions of Russia.

The Mercy Help Service is the largest, but far from the only church social service that helps the homeless. In total, Russia now has 95 Orthodox shelters for the homeless, 10 church buses of mercy (mobile mobile units), as well as over 400 charity canteens, and in some regions (Tyumen region, St. Petersburg) there are palliative departments for homeless disabled people. In the Khabarovsk diocese, following the example of the Mercy service, there is a program to buy tickets for homeless people and send them home.

Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

On September 10, 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', as part of his visit to the Norilsk Diocese of the Krasnoyarsk Metropolis, visited the village of Khatanga - one of the northernmost settlements of Russia, located in the Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets region of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, reports Patriarchia.ru.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was accompanied by the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Barsanuphius, Metropolitan of Krasnoyarsk and Achinsk Panteleimon, the head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk, Bishop of Norilsk and Turukhansk Agafangel.

At the Khatanga airport, the Holy Bishop was met by the head of the rural settlement of Khatanga A.V. Kuleshov. From the airport, the Patriarch headed to the Epiphany Church, where His Holiness was greeted by the rector, Hieromonk Evfimy (Goncharov) and the residents of Khatanga.

In the church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed a prayer service.

In his welcoming speech, Hieromonk Evfimy noted that in the four centuries of the existence of the temple in Khatanga, it was the first time that the Primate of the Russian Church had visited it. The rector of the temple presented His Holiness with a carved image of a deer hunter and a handmade Orthodox calendar made by Dolgan craftsmen.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed those gathered with the Primate’s word:

“Your Eminence, Your Eminence! Father Evfimy, dear residents of Khatanga!

It is a great joy for me to come to you today and pray with you. Khatanga is the northernmost Christian parish in the world, and not only among Orthodox parishes. And when you think that 400 years ago our pioneers, Orthodox people, came here and founded this temple, you understand what power our people had. 400 years ago, the Time of Troubles had just ended, but even after the turmoil, which so undermined the country’s strength, there was still the strength to go towards the sun - without maps, without roads - and arrive here, in Khatanga. And the first thing our people did was build Orthodox churches. Therefore, Khatanga is not just a northern village, it is a completely special place on the world map and especially on the map of the Russian Orthodox Church.

When they asked me why I was going to Khatanga, I rarely answered this question. But I have now told you why I am here - because this is a special place, associated with a special feat of those who lived here, who built life here and who live here today. I rejoice that you have gathered in such large numbers to pray with me, because prayer reaches heaven, the Lord answers our prayer, and through prayer we become stronger.

And how important it is that the Christian faith does not leave our lives! Probably, here, in a remote place, God’s presence and the need to communicate with God are especially felt. I would like to thank you all so much for all that you do here. You support the village, which is so important for our country, you create families, and I am happy to see so many children and youth here. This means that Khatanga has a future, and the future is certainly good.

But for this to happen, we all have to try very hard. Of course, you need to work hard and develop your village, but all this is only possible if a person has inner strength. First of all, strength in order to overcome one’s own weaknesses, one’s sinful inclinations; the power to make life around you brighter, more beautiful, better.

Now, if there is inner strength, then a person spreads around himself everything that serves goodness and truth. And our inner strength comes from God. A person can have strong muscles or be a good specialist, but if there is no inner strength of spirit, then such a person will be able to do little in his life. Therefore, I would like to wish all of you, my dears, first of all peace and love in your families. So that the next generation, born here and still in childhood, takes on the wonderful traditions of Khatanga from the older generation, so that this generation maintains the faith, so that people do not leave here, but, on the contrary, do everything to make life in the North better. May God grant that by the power of God all kinds of vices will be driven out and we will become stronger, more beautiful, so that life around us will become better.

May the Lord protect each of you - fathers and mothers, grandparents, children and grandchildren. I would like to say once again that I am very glad to see all of you in front of me against the backdrop of this northern landscape, at the walls of the ancient temple, where the candle of Orthodoxy has been glowing for 400 years, and God grant that no winds will ever extinguish it. May God help you in all circumstances of your life."

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill donated an icon of the Savior to the temple; Icons of the Mother of God with the Patriarchal blessing were distributed to the believers. The Primate of the Russian Church thanked the rector of the church, Hieromonk Euthymius (Goncharov), for his efforts and awarded him the right to wear a cross with decorations.

On the evening of September 26, 2018, as part of the Primate's visit to the Kuban Metropolis, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' arrived from Yeisk to Krasnodar, where he visited Kuban State University (KubSU).

Governor of the Krasnodar Territory V.I. also arrived at the university. Kondratyev, manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Barsanuphius, Head of the Kuban Metropolis, Metropolitan of Ekaterinodar and Kuban Isidor, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk, vicar of the Ekaterinodar diocese, Bishop Dionysius of Tuapse.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was met by Rector M.B. Astapov, members of the teaching staff, university students.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed the rite of consecration of the foundation stone of the temple in honor of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. The project for the construction of a temple on the territory of a higher educational institution was developed on the initiative of university staff and students.

At the end of the service, Metropolitan Isidor of Ekaterinodar greeted His Holiness and presented His Holiness with the Patriarchal doll.

Then the rector of the Kuban State University M.B. addressed the Primate of the Russian Church with a welcoming speech. Astapov. He announced the decision of the Academic Council of the university dated August 30 of this year. on conferring on His Holiness Patriarch Kirill the title of honorary professor of Kuban State University and presented him with a diploma and the robe of professor of Kuban State University. The honorary title was awarded to His Holiness in consideration of his merits in the development of religious education in Russia.

The Primate of the Russian Church addressed the participants of the service with the Primate’s word:

“Dear participants of a wonderful historical event - the laying of the foundation stone of a temple in honor of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles at Krasnodar State University!

Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius are people of a very special destiny. First of all, these were enlightened people. Cyril (who bore the name Constantine for most of his life) was one of the most educated people in Byzantium. Knowing many languages, having a perfect knowledge of philosophy, theology and other sciences, which were then very much valued, he chooses the path of serving the Church, and Patriarch Photius sends him here, to the northern shore of the Black Sea, in order to preach the word of Christ in the Black Sea steppes and Crimea.

Kirill addressed the people who lived in these places, and his word was very convincing. He won disputes and amazed even highly educated people with his encyclopedic knowledge. Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius subsequently traveled a lot throughout Eastern Europe, but their first missionary journey was a trip to our lands, to the northern coast of the Black Sea and to the Crimea.

Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius laid the foundation of our grammar, created a written language for our ancestors and translated the Holy Scriptures into it. Just think about it: all our writing is from the Word of God; this is the first book that our distant ancestors read. And the historical result of that mission was obvious. The sermon about the crucified and risen Christ was so deeply assimilated by our pious ancestors that our country went down in history as Holy Rus'. Our culture, our science, our writing, our education developed on this spiritual foundation.

It’s wonderful that in the 21st century we are returning to our roots, and how good it is that here in Kuban, at the university, there will be a temple dedicated to two people who laid the foundations of all knowledge in our people, bringing us the alphabet, grammar, writing, but, most importantly, the Word of God.

The time of learning is a difficult time in a person’s life; in a sense, it is probably the most difficult, because the student requires enormous attention, one might say, complete dedication to mastering knowledge. And this time usually falls in youth, which in a special way is reflected in the psychology of people, their behavior, their emotions, which sometimes creates not the most favorable atmosphere for comprehending science.

To penetrate the secrets of science, you need enormous effort of will, strength, intelligence, perseverance - in other words, you need a feat. But a young man wants to relax, and take a walk, and have fun - and not because he is bad, but because the very nature of a young man is like that. Therefore, a special spiritual feat is required from students called to a task of special importance. You need to limit yourself in some way, concentrate on the most important thing, devote yourself to studying science - this is truly a feat.

When we talk about feat, we mean something intangible. The feat is immaterial - it is a spiritual concept, a spiritual phenomenon. And for a person to be able to accomplish a feat, big or small, he must be strong in spirit. And the spirit is from God, and in order for the spirit to be strong in a person, we must be able to close our chain with God, we must feel the presence of God in our lives. And this happens only when we pray and turn in faith to the Lord. Then, in response to our faith and our prayer, the Lord gives us what we ask for.

I am glad that there will be a temple here, and I really hope that many students, professors, teachers will gain here the experience of prayer, the experience of real contact with God, the experience of real experience of the presence of God in their lives. And I am convinced that then you will have a strong spirit, the ability to impose certain self-restraints on yourself related to the need to study successfully. I am convinced that your whole life will be successful, peaceful and prosperous.

So in order for all this to come true, we are laying the foundation of a temple here today. And I believe that thanks to him, each of you will at least someday feel God’s presence in your life and, inspired by this feeling, will successfully solve the problems that arise throughout your life.”

His Holiness thanked the rector, members of the Academic Council and the teaching corporation “for awarding the title of honorary professor, but most importantly, for the decision that you made, relying, among other things, I think, on the support of the student body, regarding In this place a temple was erected in honor of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.” “With their prayers may the Lord protect Kuban State University,” added His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, donating an icon of the Mother of God to the community of the university church under construction, and a collection of his works for the university library.

Then His Holiness Patriarch Kirill inspected the exhibition of icons, which presented the works of students of the icon painting workshop of the KubSU Faculty of Art and Graphics. Students and teachers of the workshop today carry out icon painting work not only for churches in Kuban, but also for churches located far beyond its borders. Among the largest of these works is the iconostasis of the Church of the Nativity of Christ (Krasnodar), wall paintings of the Church of St. George (Krasnodar region, Lenin farm), paintings of the Orthodox Greek monastery “Life-Giving Spring” in California (USA).

The rector of the university presented His Holiness with an icon of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, made by a graduate of the Faculty of Art and Graphics.

In memory of the consecration of the foundation stone, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill planted a tree on the territory of the university.

Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Photo: Andrey Samorodov, press service of the Ekaterinodar diocese

On September 10, 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the Talnakh district of Norilsk.

The temple was built in 2005-2006. The church operates a Sunday school for children and adults.

His Holiness was accompanied by the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Barsanuphius, Metropolitan of Krasnoyarsk and Achinsk Panteleimon, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate Archbishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk, Bishop of Norilsk and Turukhansk Agafangel, as well as the President and Chairman of the Board of PJSC MMC Norilsk nickel" V. ABOUT. Potanin.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed those gathered in the church with the words:

“Your Eminences! Your Eminence, Bishop Agathangel! Dear Vladimir Olegovich! Dear fathers, brothers and sisters!

I am very glad to visit Talnakh, to visit this holy temple, to meet with you. You live in the very north, but the more difficult the climatic conditions, the stronger a person must be. Weak people cannot live in such places, they simply cannot live here. And for a person to be strong, he must first of all be strong in spirit, because even if the muscles are strong and the spirit is weak, it will be difficult to live in such conditions.

That’s when we turn to God, when we attract Him to our lives, when we ask Him to participate in our lives with His grace, His strength, when we want to be strong, the Lord gives us this strength. And that is why it is so important that in such places there are temples like this wonderful temple of prayer. We have now founded a temple in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, and these churches should become the spiritual centers of life in Talnakh. I hope that this will be the case, that the Orthodox faith will not become scarce in our hearts. And life shows that this is so. We were told at one time that the Church would not survive the times of atheism and persecution - we did. Then the pessimists told us: “Now the people will live richly, prosperously and calmly, and there will be no reason to pray and believe in God.” They were wrong again, because until the end of time people will believe in God, pray to Him and pin their hopes on Him.

I would like to wish you all strong faith and purity of prayer. Blessings to your homes, your relatives, friends, because it is very important that there are strong families here, so that the rear of the workers who work in the most difficult conditions is strong. Therefore, the role of wives and mothers is very great - just like, of course, the role of husbands and sons. May God's blessing be upon you all."

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church donated a copy of the Don Icon of the Mother of God to the temple. Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Patriarchal blessing were distributed to the believers.

Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

EKATERINBURG, July 13 – RIA Novosti. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on Friday, together with the descendants of the Romanovs, visited the Church-monument on the Blood in the name of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, which was built on the site of the execution of the family of Nicholas II.

For the festival of Orthodox culture "Royal Days" in the Church on the Blood, work on the decoration of the "Royal Room" has been completed, in particular, the altar of the chapel in honor of the holy royal martyrs, erected at the site of the execution of the royal family, has been decorated. Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia accepted martyrdom 100 years ago, on the night of July 16-17, 1918 in the basement of the Ipatiev House. In the early 2000s, a temple was built in this room.

“There was a time when the topic of the martyrdom of the Emperor and his family was taboo. I remember well how in the 70s the book “Twenty-three steps down” appeared. How people snapped up the entire edition, how they literally read it to the core! "the interest of people who did not even know that the death of the king and his family was martyrdom. But today we can say with joy that the absolute majority has the correct interpretation of those events, which is why the veneration of the holy royal passion-bearers took root so quickly in our people," - said the primate of the Russian Church, addressing the believers.

A descendant of the last Russian emperor, Pavel Eduardovich Kulikovsky-Romanov, and his family attended the brief service in the church.