Moscow, December 20, 2021
Photo: moseparh.ru
Every year on the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, December 6/19, churches in Moscow take up a charitable collection for the needs of prison chapels and to provide gifts for prisoners.
On this day “Day of Mercy and Compassion for All Those in Prison,” special prayers are offered for prisoners during the Liturgy, and a special address from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is read out.
“On the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycea … we offer special prayers for those who are in prison,” the Russian primate notes in his address.
Many who are imprisoned, deprived of normal communications with family and friends, began to reevaluate themselves and their lives and may even come to repentance and their first religious experience, Pat. Kirill continues.
They realize that “only God is always there, He is the only one you can always talk with at any moment about anything, and only He is able to help when it would seem no one could help,” he writes.
The labors of both pastors and lay volunteers “are of particular importance for the correction of a man and the transformation of his soul.” Such prison ministry “helps them change for the better and find the joy of living with Christ,” His Holiness emphasizes.
“Needless to say how significant a word of consolation is for a man who has been imprisoned for a long time, how important it is to show compassion and love towards him. I urge you to offer your heartfelt prayers for those in prison bonds and to take all possible part in supporting the mission of prison ministry,” the Patriarch concludes.
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