On June 26, 2026, the Kineshma Diocesan Administration hosted a seminar on "Organization of church assistance to families with children and young adults with disabilities, orphans and foster families." 46 representatives of churches, state and non-profit organizations from Ivanovo, Vladimir, Moscow, Kursk regions and Moscow took part in it. The event was organized by the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service in cooperation with the Diocese of Kineshma.
The seminar opened with the Divine Liturgy at the Trinity Assumption Cathedral in Kineshma. The divine service was performed by the secretary of the Kineshma diocesan administration, Priest John Dubrovin, and the participants of the seminar in holy orders.
Bishop Hilarion of Kineshma and Palekh led the seminar.
During the seminar, Veronika Leontieva, head of the department of assistance to people with disabilities at the Synodal Department for Charity, spoke about the development of church assistance to families raising children and young adults with disabilities and the support of dioceses in this area.
"Many dioceses have already accumulated significant experience in helping people with disabilities and their families. Our task is to study this experience ourselves, introduce colleagues to it and help establish cooperation between church social projects from different regions," Veronika Leontieva noted. — We are very glad that we were able to introduce church specialists from several dioceses to a unique project for the Church — the Grace metochion for young people with disabilities, as well as to hear at the seminar about other church initiatives of the Kineshma diocese: joint work on the socialization of blind people by the church in honor of Dimitri Solunsky Kineshma and the local organization of the Diocese, assistance to the diocese organization of parents of children with disabilities "MOST". We hope that our seminar will help church and secular professionals to take a fresh look at their projects to help families with children and young people with disabilities and open up new opportunities for their development."
Hieromonk Meliton (Prisada), head of the Kineshma Diocese's social department, spoke about the practice of assisted living and employment of young people with disabilities, presenting the project of the Grace metochion. On the eve of the seminar, the participants visited the Blagodat farmstead, where they got acquainted with the experience of assisted living and employment of young people with disabilities, including orphans, and the organization of their participation in parish life and worship services. The visiting meeting was attended by clergymen from Moscow, Vladimir and the Moscow region, as well as representatives of non-profit organizations from Kursk and Moscow.
"The Blagodat farmstead is a truly unique place where young people with experience of orphanhood and disability find not just a roof over their heads, but a real home, support and a sense of family. Unfortunately, there are few such opportunities for graduates of correctional orphanages and boarding schools in our country, and we really want to see as many such places as possible. Such houses give them the opportunity to live with dignity, be part of the community, develop and feel needed. That is why it is so important to develop similar projects in other dioceses," said Alexandra Arakelova, head of the Center for Family Planning and Church Stewardship at the Synodal Department of Charity.
Archpriest Evgeny Polishchuk, rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Pogrebishchi in the Vladimir Diocese, also shared his experience in helping people with disabilities in the parish with the participants of the seminar. He spoke about the possibilities of organizing employment and leisure activities for people with autism and mental disabilities in the parish.
Presentations were also made by Archpriest John Gerasimovich, head of the social department of the Sergiev Posad Diocese, Priest Vasily Orekhov, cleric of St. Nicholas Church on Three Mountains in Moscow, head of the Nikolskaya Workshop, representatives of public organizations and specialists working with people with disabilities.
At the end of the seminar, Bishop Hilarion thanked the participants for their work and expressed the hope that the presented experience would find application in the social activities of the Kineshma diocese and other regions.
The seminar was held within the framework of the project "Professionals nearby 2.0". The project is being implemented using a grant from the President of the Russian Federation provided by the Presidential Grants Fund.