Activists of public organizations and volunteer groups working with parish communities, as well as their spiritual mentors, took part in the forum dedicated to supporting war veterans and their families.
The organizers set out to introduce the volunteers in order to allow them to provide mutual spiritual support to each other and share the best practices accumulated by the Church.
Opening the congress, Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessia noted that volunteerism is the image of Christian communities that gathered for a common cause. Believers first gathered in order to help someone and do something together, and this common cause always continued with joint prayer and reading of the Holy Word of God.
He stressed that the church is actively involved in everything that happens in the life of society: from humanitarian aid to soldiers at the front to feeding military personnel, caring for the wounded in hospitals and supporting civilians from affected regions.
At the forum, the head of the assistance service for participants of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest Evgeny Lishchenyuk, spoke about his experience in pastoral support for soldiers.