A prayer service for the health of employees of the penitentiary system (Penal correction system) was held in the church in honor of the heavenly patron saint of penitentiary workers, St. Pimen Ugreshsky, located on the territory of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Stavropol monastery. The service is timed to coincide with a professional holiday, the Day of UIS Employees, which was celebrated on March 12, 2025.
The divine service was led by the vicar of the Nikolo-Ugresh monastery, Bishop Methodius of Yegoryevsky. His Grace was co-served by Acting Chairman of the Synodal Department for Prison Ministry, Priest Kirill Markovsky, and Acting Rector of the Nikolo-Ugresh Theological Seminary, Hieromonk Luke (Pronsky).
The prayer service was attended by Vadim Balanin, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation, Arkady Gostev, Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, Deputy Directors of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, heads of territorial bodies of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, veterans of the Penitentiary Service, philanthropists, and icon painters whose murals adorn the walls of the church of St. Pimen Ugreshsky.
At the end of the prayer service, Bishop Methodius addressed the audience with words of spiritual guidance. He congratulated everyone on their professional holiday and thanked them for their joint prayer. Vladyka Methodius said that in the church of St. Pimen of Ugresha, as well as in the Transfiguration and Assumption cathedrals of the monastery, the brethren of the monastery and students of the Nikolo-Ugresha Seminary regularly offer prayers for employees of the penal system. The bishop called on the staff of the penitentiary service to also pray locally, noting that even a brief appeal to God is of great importance in a person's life. At the same time, Vladyka Methodius emphasized that the joint prayer of the clergy, monastics, employees and laity replenishes each other according to the principle of communicating vessels, helps to establish and renew a spiritual connection between them.
Arkady Gostev thanked the vicar of the monastery and all those who are connected with the penal system in one way or another in their activities for their cooperation. He also presented departmental awards to the temple's beautifiers, organizers and performers of wall painting. The Pimen Ugreshsky Temple is of particular importance for the penitentiary system. Its construction, repair, wall painting and landscaping of the surrounding area were carried out with donations from prison staff in memory of colleagues who died in the line of duty.
Then Priest Kirill Markovsky addressed the audience: "It is very gratifying that the leadership of the Federal Penitentiary Service, together with the leadership of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, and the heads of the territorial bodies of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, celebrate their professional holiday, including by praying in the temple. This shows that by God's Providence, everything is returning to normal, and we are now seeing that wonderful symphony in the relationship between the state and the Church, which His Holiness, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, often speaks about."
Father Kirill also reminded that it is not by chance that each employee holds a particular position, but the Lord has entrusted him with a certain service, through which a person realizes his life vocation.
"We are now talking a lot about the need to raise salaries for prison staff, and, of course, this is the right thing to do," the priest added. — It is necessary to take care of this, efforts should be made for this. But still, one should not forget that human happiness does not depend on material well-being, although sometimes it is passed off as an axiom. No! A person finds happiness only by following God's calling in his life, working according to his conscience, observing the Divine commandments. And if there is a sacrifice in a person's ministry, then such a person is blessed — he will not be ashamed to appear before the Lord later. Knowing the penal enforcement system from the inside, I can say that many prison officers serve without sparing themselves, often working hard, even risking their lives. I would like to wish you all God's help, the help of the heavenly patron saint of the UIS, St. Pimen Ugreshsky, and also to remind you that everything given in the service of God, the Fatherland, and people will not be lost, but will go down with us into eternity!"
The Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, one of the oldest and most beautiful monasteries in the Moscow region, is a special spiritual center for the Federal Penitentiary Service, and not only prison staff and veterans come here, but also relatives of the service's heroically deceased employees. In memory of the courageous people who gave their lives to serve the Fatherland, not only a memorial temple was erected on the territory of the monastery, but also numerous trees were planted on the Alley of Memory.