On January 27, 2025, a presentation of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission "Results of three years of Church assistance to injured civilians in Donbas and other regions of the conflict zone" took place in the Red Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Development prospects".
More than 100 people took part in the event.
"It is especially important now to help in the conflict zone," said Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, head of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service. — The task of our Church and believers is not to forget about those who are in a difficult situation. We can help in any way we can—with prayer, kind words, and acts of mercy."
The participants of the presentation got acquainted with the current structure of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, its directions and regional centers, discussed the specifics of the centers' work, assistance to volunteers and nurses in the conflict zone, including in hospitals and hospitals.
"Today we met to share with each other what the Church has done to help injured civilians in Donbas and other regions, and to think together about the prospects for the development of this work in the coming year," said Deacon Igor Kulikov, coordinator of assistance to civilians in the conflict zone at the Synodal Department for Charity. He spoke about the main stages of the Church's assistance in the conflict zone over the past 11 years.
The Synodal Charity Department began helping refugees in 2014. The first refugee assistance center was opened in the Rostov diocese. In 2022, refugee assistance centers were opened in Moscow and Belgorod. During this time, the Moscow headquarters received over 67,000 appeals from injured civilians, and over 83,000 in Belgorod.
During the military conflict, the Church collected, purchased and transferred more than 3,900 tons of humanitarian aid to refugees and injured civilians, of which more than 2,610 tons were sent to the Berdyansk, Gorlovka, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Lugansk, Novokakhovskaya, Severodonetsk, Kherson dioceses.
Since 2022, the Special Humanitarian Center of the Crimean Metropolis has also been helping civilians in the conflict zone by collecting and independently delivering humanitarian aid to settlements near the line of contact in Donbas. The center's staff made 162 trips and delivered more than 980 tons to Kherson, Zaporizhia regions and Donbas. The Rostov Diocese, the Crimean Metropolia, the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, as well as the Synodal Department for Charity are involved in collecting humanitarian aid.
In August 2023, by the decision of the Holy Synod, the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission was established for the overall coordination and development of assistance to injured civilians, internally displaced persons, and the wounded in the conflict zone. The mission was entrusted to the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity. Since December 2024, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission has been registered as an autonomous non-profit charitable organization.
In 2023-2024, Russian Orthodox Church assistance centers were opened in Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kursk, Goloi Pier, Skadovsk and other cities. Hundreds of refugees and injured civilians make daily targeted requests to the church's help hotline at 8-800-70-70-222. During the operation of the centers, they received more than 290,000 requests.
At the presentation of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, Deacon Igor Kulikov and Head of the Development Department of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission Natalia Kulyeva spoke about the work of the Mission's website to help.Russian Federation. It contains information on the directions of assistance to injured civilians in the conflict zone and provides questionnaires for volunteers who want to join this assistance.
Today, more than 2,800 volunteers of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission traveled to the conflict zone to care for hospital patients and provide social assistance to victims. They are helping in Mariupol, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Makeyevka, Severodonetsk, Volnovakha, Berdyansk and other cities of Donbass, as well as in Kursk and Belgorod.
Since 2023, the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission has been organizing visits by volunteers who repair private homes of people in need in the conflict zone. Church volunteers help to rebuild homes for lonely elderly people, people with disabilities, women with children — those who cannot repair their own homes. Most of the volunteers work in Mariupol, but they also help in other cities of Donbass. Volunteers are engaged in repairing roofs, restoring communications, replacing doors and windows, plastering walls, ceilings and slopes of residential buildings. During this time, the volunteers repaired 362 houses. 1,404 repair volunteers traveled to the conflict zone to help those in need.