On November 10, 2025, at the XII Ecclesiastical Congress on Social Service, a session "Affirming sobriety and helping alcohol addicts and their relatives in the diocese" was held. It was attended by Valery Doronkin, head of the Coordination Center for the Promotion of Sobriety and Combating Alcoholism at the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Abbot Jonah (Zaimovsky), head of the Metanoia program for Addicts at the Danilov Stavropol Monastery in Moscow, and Deacon John, head of the Coordination Center for Combating Alcoholism and Drug Addiction in the Moscow (City) Diocese. Klimenko. The participants of the session shared their experience in creating sobriety societies, and also discussed issues of spiritual support for alcohol-dependent people in dioceses.
During the session, Valery Doronkin spoke about the need for closer cooperation between specialists and heads of temperance societies. He noted that creating friendly contacts can improve the quality of work and prevent professional burnout.
Abbot Jonah (Zaimovsky) spoke about the help provided to addicts at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. Deacon John Klimenko shared examples of assistance and the results of working with dependent and codependent people.
The session also discussed preventive projects to promote sobriety in schools and provide assistance to dependent people in rural parishes.
Today, there are more than 600 church projects in Russia to help alcohol addicts and their relatives. These include sobriety societies and fraternities, outpatient and counseling programs, and rehabilitation centers. There is a hotline 8-800-775-36-26, a website has been created protrezvenie.ru .