The XII General Church Congress on Social Service was held in Moscow from November 9 to 11, 2025. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed the audience.
"It is important that every church employee knows the phone number of the church's hotline for all social issues, which is listed on the official website of the Synodal Department. I ask those responsible to inform all the rectors and staff of the churches about her work," the Primate of the Orthodox Russian Church emphasized.
"First of all, people with grief come to the temple. If he is greeted with kind words, offering to pray, then this is very good and correct. But it should also be said: "We have other ways to help you in some way; there are special church institutions." Giving a person a phone number and helping them get in touch with our institutions may open up an opportunity for many to solve emerging problems," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said.
The Church's social assistance hotline 8 800 70 70 222 was established by the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in 2021.
By phone, you can ask for any help: spiritual support, invite a priest to perform the sacraments, ask for food or other assistance. The operators will also provide information on what kind of help can be obtained in church social projects: shelters for women, rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, homeless shelters, almshouses — centers for round-the-clock nursing care for the elderly.
Every year, the church hotline of the Synodal Department for Charity receives more than 6,000 calls with various requests.