In Shakhtersk (DPR), the St. Alexy's Hospital Training Center, with the support of the Gorlovka Diocese, conducted professional training in the care of seriously ill patients. 8 future nurses completed the courses. The graduates have chosen an older sister, under whose guidance they will begin serving in the palliative care unit of the Shakhter Central City Hospital.
"The courses in Shakhtersk have become an important stage for the development of nursing and palliative care in the Gorlovka diocese. We are laying the foundation for a unified, clear system of volunteer and patronage work. The kind cooperation of the sisters of mercy from different cities will help us to share experiences, pool resources and help the seriously ill more effectively," said Archimandrite Agafodor (Polyakov), the confessor of the Gorlovka Sisterhood in the Name of the Holy Martyr Eugene the Physician, responsible for hospital ministry in the Gorlovka diocese.
On June 6, at the opening ceremony of the courses, the dean of the Shakhtersky district, Archpriest Bogdan Ilchuk, Archimandrite Agafodor (Polyakov), responsible for the hospital ministry of the Gorlovka diocese, and the hospital priest, Archpriest Evgeny Levchenko, performed a prayer service for the beginning of a good deed.
A teacher from the St. Alexy's Hospital Training Center came from Moscow to conduct practical classes. The training was conducted on the territory of the Mining Hospital directly next to the palliative care unit. This gave the students the opportunity to plunge into the atmosphere in which they understood the importance of nursing service already at the stage of preparation.
In the near future, graduates from Shakhtersk are scheduled to undergo internships in hospital institutions in Gorlovka together with the sisters of Mercy of the Gorlovka Sisterhood in the name of the Holy Martyr Eugene the doctor. "This will help us adopt the good tradition of nursing service that was established in the Gorlovka Diocese and has been developing for four years thanks to the friendly and unanimous cooperation between the Gorlovka Diocese and St. Alexy's Hospital," Archimandrite Agafodor (Polyakov) shared.
Since 2022, the St. Alexy's Hospital Training Center has been conducting professional courses in the care of the seriously ill and wounded in Gorlovka. This marked the beginning of the establishment in July 2022 of the sisterhood of Mercy in the name of the Holy Martyr Eugene the Physician at the Epiphany Cathedral.
In April 2026, the Training Center conducted a similar course for future sisters of mercy from Yenakiyevo.
St. Alexy's Central Clinical Hospital is a medical institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, a multidisciplinary medical facility with 300 beds. People from all regions of Russia are treated here, regardless of religion. The hospital is located in Moscow. Branches have been opened in Shuya, Ivanovo Region, Zhukovsky, Moscow Region, and Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Region. A Prosthetics and Medical Adaptation Center has been set up in Gorlovka (DPR). There is a licensed Training Center for the training of junior nurses in patient care.