Specialists of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Archpriest Sergiy Klyaev, Head of Hospital Care, and Natalia Shakuro, Head of hospital ministry, visited Stavropol and Krasnodar. They held seminars on hospital and hospital ministries. The participants of the meetings discussed the structure of the care of priests and sisters of mercy in hospitals and hospitals.
In Stavropol, the meeting was held with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk. About 80 people took part in it — the head of the social department of the Stavropol diocese, Priest Alexy Sheludko, priests responsible for hospital and hospital services in deaneries, sisters of mercy, volunteers of the Stavropol Archdiocese.
At the meeting, Archpriest Sergiy Klyaev spoke about the specifics of hospital ministry, the pastoral aspects of serving in hospitals, as well as the visits of priests to the conflict zone. Since July 2023, priests from different dioceses of Russia have been regularly traveling to hospitals in the conflict zone to provide spiritual assistance to the wounded. During this time, about 600 priests from 76 dioceses and 15 monasteries visited.
Natalia Shakuro also reminded the participants of the meeting about the order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 628n dated November 19, 2024 "On approval of general requirements for the organization of visits to patients by clergy of centralized religious organizations and religious organizations within their structure for the purpose of performing divine services, other religious rites and ceremonies in a medical organization, including in its structural units designed for intensive care and intensive care measures, when providing medical care to a patient in an inpatient setting." The order outlines the requirements that provide for priests to visit patients. The requirements are mandatory for all medical institutions. The order came into force on March 1, 2025.
Representatives of the Synodal Department for Charity also spoke about the spiritual foundations of the ministry of the sisters of mercy, the algorithm for creating a sisterhood and its features, as well as the organization of volunteer and nursing services in a medical institution.
In Krasnodar, a two-day seminar on hospital ministry was held in the church assembly hall of the Catherine Cathedral and was organized by the social department of the Yekaterinodar Diocese. The clergy and sisters of mercy of the Kuban Archdiocese took part in it.
During the seminar, the participants discussed issues of patient care, interaction with medical institutions, organization of nursing and practical pastoral ministry in hospitals and hospitals in the region and the conflict zone. The priests of the Kuban Archdiocese shared their experience of helping the wounded in the conflict zone. Since the winter of 2026, the clergy of the archdiocese have been traveling to several hospitals in Lugansk for pastoral care of the wounded.
Also at the meeting, the sisters of mercy spoke about their ministry and shared their experiences. Today there are 36 sisterhoods in the Kuban Archdiocese.