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.
"The topic of alcohol and drug addiction remains relevant. Not only the dependent person himself suffers from this problem, but also his relatives and friends. Therefore, it is highly desirable to create support groups for relatives of dependent people at churches," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said at the opening of the Congress.
His Holiness emphasized that this could be a completely solvable task even at the parish level. "One person with a psychological education who is ready to hold regular meetings with families of addicts is enough. Long—term practice shows that if a relative understands the specifics of his loved one's illness, he can change the situation in the family for the better," said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Today, there are more than 600 church projects in Russia to help alcohol addicts and their relatives. These include sobriety societies and fraternities, outpatient and counseling programs, and rehabilitation centers. There is a hotline 8-800-775-36-26, a website has been created protrezvenie.ru .
There are also 269 divisions of the church's system of free assistance to drug addicts in Russia. Among them are 46 rehabilitation centers, 76 counseling centers, 106 support groups. On average, 3,500 people apply to Orthodox care centers per year, and up to 600 people undergo rehabilitation at one time. To support drug addicts and their relatives, there is a single federal telephone number for church assistance to drug addicts 8-800-600-16-93, where you can get advice, find a suitable center for overcoming addiction or a rehabilitation program.
On November 9, the 12th General Church Congress on Social Service opened in Moscow with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. It began with the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and a plenary session. The largest charity forum of the Russian Orthodox Church brought together heads of social departments of dioceses, senior sisters of the sisterhoods of mercy, heads of charitable organizations, social workers, and representatives of government authorities. More than 1,000 people from 222 dioceses are taking part in the congress. The plenary session was chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.