Romania and Moldova, August 10, 2021
basilica.ro
In addition to spiritual care, the Church is also called upon to provide social care for the sick and suffering, the poor and needy. New social ministries are constantly being developed by Local Churches, dioceses, and parishes around the world. Several recent reports highlight new ministries in Romania and Moldova.
In Iași, the Church teamed up with the local Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology to open a new maternity ward for mothers who choose to bring their children into the world naturally.
The new ward, named for St. Emmelia, the mother of Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Macrina the Younger, and Peter of Sebaste, was blessed yesterday by His Eminence Metropoiltan Teofan of Boldavia and Bukovina, reports Doxologia.
The Archdiocese of Iași assumed the cost of the renovation of the unused space according to European medical standards. In particular, the $21,500 (90,000 lei) was provided by the diocese’s pro-life department and several local deaneries.
doxologia.ro
The Archdiocese and hospital have previously united to provide nitrous oxide for natural births, to organize a counseling office for mothers, and a space for fathers who are waiting to see their children for the first time.
And in Bucharest, the Church is working on the future St. Meletie Center for people with hearing and speech impairments, reports the Basilica News Agency.
The center is close to opening, commented Fr. Mirel Ilie, who works with the deaf community in the Archdiocese of Bucharest. It “the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in the service of the deaf community,” he exclaimed.
At the recommendation of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, the employees of the center will also be recruited from among the deaf community.
The center will provide free meals for those without material possibilities, speech therapy and psychological assistance, and after-school assistance for those preparing to go to college.
And of course, there will be a chapel for the community to pray.
In Moldova, the young “Fr. Sofian Boghiu” volunteers from the “Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God” social missionary center in Chișinău offered material support for dozens of children from struggling families, as well as elderly shut-ins facing financial and health problems, reports the Orthodox Church of Moldova.
The beneficiaries received packages with food and hygiene products, clothes, shoes, baby food, medicine, and other products necessary for the growth and development of their children, and expressed gratitude to the Church and the donors of the social-missionary center.
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