On September 16, 2026, the first training webinar was held for the operators of the social assistance hotline of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service +7 (800) 70-70-222. The webinar was conducted by specialists from the Moscow 112 Service Center. During the training meeting, 112 Service specialists shared their experience on how to communicate with different applicants and respond to difficult requests.
"Employees of the church's hotline face a variety of situations every day: difficult calls, unusual questions, human pain and confusion. Webinars provide an opportunity to share best practices, sort out difficult cases, and hear how colleagues solve similar problems. This affects not only the quality of care, but also the psychological stability of the staff themselves," said Anna Donicheva, coordinator of the call center of the Synodal Department of Charity.
The webinar was held as part of the "Petitioner Came to the Temple" project, implemented with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund. Similar webinars will also be held on September 23 and 30.
Earlier, on September 9, Deacon Igor Kulikov, Director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission and Head of the Social Ministry Department of the Synodal Department for Charity, and employees of the church's social assistance hotline visited the 112 Moscow Service Center. They got acquainted with the work of 112's main call center, where calls are received, and saw how mentoring is organized: experienced operators help younger colleagues and get involved in solving non-standard issues.
The 24-hour social assistance hotline of the Russian Orthodox Church was established by the Synodal Department for Charity with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in 2021. During this time, its operators have received more than 400,000 calls from all regions of the country. Every request for help was checked on the spot with the support of the diocesan social departments and the nearest churches.