Moscow, October 13, 2026
Photo: patriarchia.ru
Deaf Orthodox believers from across Russia filled Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on Sunday, when His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy with interpretation into Russian sign language.
The service marked the 100th anniversary of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf and the 35th anniversary of the revival of the Church’s pastoral care for people with hearing impairments. More than 300 people came from 27 dioceses and 35 Orthodox communities of the deaf, including clergy who know sign language and minister to deaf parishioners, as well as members of the Society of the Deaf from various regions, reports Patriarchia.ru.
Two bishops concelebrated with the Patriarch, along with a number of priests and clergy from dioceses that care for deaf communities.
Deacons who know sign language and volunteer interpreters from the Church translated the service. Priests heard confessions from deaf believers in sign language, and Deacon Artemy Ovcharenko offered the Little Litany in sign language.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
Alexander Bochkov, president of the Society of the Deaf, thanked the Patriarch through an interpreter and presented him with a painting by deaf artist G.F. Fadin. It shows Empress Maria Feodorovna with a deaf boy, recalling that in 1806 she opened the first school for the deaf in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg. The image has become the logo of the Society’s centennial celebrations.
In his homily, Patriarch Kirill said hearing and voice matter in human communication, but that the most important thing for everyone, including those with hearing loss, is a connection with God. “If this communication is broken, a person can’t be happy,” he said.
He pointed to Russia’s own history as proof. “We achieved heights in science, technology and many other fields, but then suddenly, overnight, the country fell apart,” the Patriarch said, adding that human achievements become truly useful only when they don’t break communion with God.
“A person communicates with God not with words, but with his soul, thoughts, experiences and feelings,” he said. Prayer, he added, can be offered without any words, and what matters is faith in the heart.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
The Patriarch asked the Church to treat people with disabilities with kindness, help them on the parish and diocesan level, and support them in finding work. “In the Church there can’t be those limitations and divisions that sometimes exist in public, and especially in political life,” Patriarch Kirill said. “We’re all brothers and sisters.”
Afterward, all the deaf community representatives received icons of the Healing of the Deaf Man, blessed by the Patriarch, and a festive meal was held in the cathedral’s White Hall.
The All-Russian Society of the Deaf was founded in 1926 and today unites more than 74,000 people, with 86 regional and 716 local branches across Russia. In 2014, with Patriarch Kirill’s blessing, the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service created a Coordination Center for work with the deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing. Today, the Church and the Society jointly run social, educational and outreach programs in 68 church communities.
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