Moscow, June 19, 2020
Archpriest Andrei Posternak, who works with the hotline. Photo: diaconia.ru
Over the course of two months, 32 Moscow clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church have responded to more than 1,900 calls for spiritual assistance within the framework of the All-Russian #WeAreTogether hotline. And many calls continue to come in despite the easing of quarantine measures.
Calls have been coming in around the clock since April 18, and are forwarded to one of the priests on duty if the caller requests, reports the Russian Church’s Synodal Department for Charity and Social Services.
On average, 40-50 calls are received during the day shift and 10-15 during the night shift.
“Requests come in from different parts of the country. People mostly ask for serious spiritual advice and want to discuss problems with their family and internal life,” noted Archpriest Andrei Posternak, who is on duty during the night shift with the hotline.
During the night shift, calls mostly come the central regions and the far east of Russia. People are already used to the quarantine but there is still a demand for the hotline, especially with people who are far from the Church and do not want to talk to the local priest, explains Fr. Stakhy Kolotvin.
During the quarantine period, the Church opened 96 hotlines and more than 100 Orthodox volunteer services are working with nearly 7,000 Church volunteers taking part.
Due to the pandemic, more than 100,000 people are in need of urgent food aid in Russia and other countries. Dioceses have seen a significant increase in the number of people requesting such assistance.
