Moscow, November 29, 2018
Photo: diaconia.ru The Synodal Department for Charity of the Moscow Patriarchate has announced that the Church will soon be opening and expanding nearly 150 projects aimed generally at abortion prevention, reports the departmental website.
The Department recently held an open competition of projects, with 142 projects from 93 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church taking the prize. The winners will share the $571,140 (38 million rubles) collected with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for Children’s Day 2018.
Thanks to the allocated funds, 13 new shelters for mothers and 57 new maternity protection centers will be opened, and another 72 projects will be able to expand their activities aimed at protecting life and preventing abortion in 2019.
There are presently 58 Church-run shelters for women with children in Russia, 57 of which were established over the past 7 years. There are also 166 Church humanitarian aid centers.
“Help for women in crisis situations and the prevention of abortion are the top priorities for the Church’s social activities. That is why His Holiness Patriarch Kirill blessed for the second time to help an all-Russian collection of funds to develop this work. We hope that the new shelters and centers for maternity protection will help to save even more children’s lives,” commented His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo, the Chairman for the Synodal Department for Charity.
The previous such competition was held in 2016, which led to 100 new humanitarian aid centers being opened in 89 regions of Russia.
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