On the 115th anniversary of the founding of the Martha and Mary Monastery of Mercy in Moscow and Defender of the Fatherland Day, February 23, 2024, Abbess of the monastery Abbess Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova) donated an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to the Elizabethan branch of the Central Clinical Hospital of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow. It was in this way that Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna blessed the opening of a prosthetic manufacturing plant in Moscow, which was necessary during the First World War.
"A few years ago, a great friend of the Martha and Mary Monastery of Mercy came to us and brought an amazing icon of St. Nicholas. It was donated for the opening of a prosthetic workshop where prostheses were made for the wounded. Thanks to this icon, we learned that there was a prosthetic workshop in the monastery. This image immediately became the property of the House-Museum of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The icon is dear precisely because it testifies to the active participation of the Grand Duchess in the lives of the wounded. Today we are faced with a similar situation face to face. When I found out that a prosthetic workshop had opened in the Elizabethan branch of St. Alexy's Hospital, I thought that by right this icon should belong to you," said Abbess Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova).
During the First World War, Russia faced an urgent problem at the present time, when there was a great need for high-quality prosthetics. Until 1914, this industry did not develop; in 1916, under the leadership of the Grand Duchess, a Committee was established to supply artificial limbs and other prostheses and mechanical devices to crippled soldiers and poor people, at which the first prosthetic manufacturing plant in Russia was opened, by decision of the Committee, another plant was opened in Moscow.
"Our branch in Zhukovsky is named after the Holy Great Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, and we were especially looking forward to the arrival of the abbess of the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy. We believe that the icon handed over by Abbess Elizabeth is a blessing to the Elizabethan branch from the great Russian saint," said Alexey Zarov, chief physician of St. Alexy's Hospital. — The Grand Duchess had special care for people who had undergone amputations. When we opened a Prosthetics Center and prosthetic workshop in the branch last year, we still did not know how important a contribution the heavenly patroness of our branch made to the development of prosthetics in Russia and assistance to the wounded. Today, many of us have felt the joy of the presence and participation of the Great Martyr Elizabeth in our lives."
The Center for Prosthetics and Medical Adaptation of St. Alexy's Hospital provides medical and social assistance to amputees. At the moment, 11 patients from Donbass are being treated here, 55 people have already completed prosthetics and been discharged. Palliative patients are also receiving care in the branch.
During a visit to the Elizabethan branch of the hospital, Abbess Elisaveta visited and congratulated the wounded undergoing treatment at the Prosthetics Center on Defender of the Fatherland Day. She also visited the cabinet-museum of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
The Elizabethan branch also organized a festive concert at the Transfiguration Church of the Zhukovsky Deanery. The choir of the Novospassky Stavropol Monastery in Moscow and opera singer Yana Melikaeva performed for patients and employees of the branch, parishioners and residents of the city.
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The Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Love and Mercy was founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna in 1909. Currently, it is a Stavropol convent, in which the work of mercy of the Holy Martyr continues. Eight social projects are being implemented at the monastery: the monastery helps children with disabilities, orphans and children left without parental care, lonely elderly people, large families and people who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.
The Central Clinical Hospital of St. Alexis Metropolitan of Moscow is a medical institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, a multidisciplinary medical institution with 280 beds, founded in 1903. The hospital treats people from all regions of Russia, regardless of religion, and has branches in Shuya, Ivanovo region, Zhukovsky, Moscow Region, and Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Region. There is a licensed Training Center for the training of junior nurses in patient care. Since March 2022, St. Alexy's Hospital has been providing comprehensive medical and social assistance to refugees and victims in the conflict zone. During this time, about 18,500 wounded and injured people received medical assistance. A Prosthetics and Social Adaptation Center has been opened in the Zhukovsky branch.