Students and teachers of St. Tikhon’s University after the divine Liturgy in the Church of Prince Dimitri
November 21, in the Church of Tsarevich Dimitry at the First City hospital the Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon served the divine Liturgy, which was attended by students and teachers of the faculty of social Sciences Department of social and youth work, religious issues. At the end of the Liturgy Bishop Panteleimon, who is the curator of the Department, met with students and answered their questions, according to Diakonia.
“Social service who multiplies in your heart love, – said the Chairman of the Synodal Department for charity Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon. Social worker that love should warm the hearts of people who come to the temple.”
According to Bishop Panteleimon, the Church really needs people who help the priest with love and care to understand the situation of a person in need and provide assistance. Social workers must know the laws, understand psychology, be able to sympathize with man.
“You must first learn to love and compassion for people then you can become professional Church social workers. No matter what post the employee held, it must be internally ready to help people, to sacrifice themselves. Love is an essential quality criterion of professionalism for social workers of the Church,” said Bishop Panteleimon.
Vicar of his Holiness Patriarch stressed that love to incorporate participation in the Liturgy and service to the neighbor.
During the meeting, the Chairman of the Synodal Department for charity, who is also the curator of the Department of social and youth work faculty of social Sciences of St. Tikhon’s University, answered students ‘ questions about spiritual life, about how to avoid a formal approach to Church life.
The main goal of the Department of social and youth work of St. Tikhon’s University is to prepare professionals to work in Church structures, parishes, Orthodox socially-oriented non-profit organizations, state establishments of social sphere. At the University for 8 years now, preparing specialists for work in the parishes, socially oriented NGOs, public institutions of social protection.
“The training program, in addition to the theory of social work, included a large number of practice – students attend all social projects of the Synodal Department for charity and public institutions, – said the member of the Board of the Synodal Department for charity, head of Department of Irina Soloviev. – With all the workload of the students, separately, secretly from us, participate in many projects as a volunteer. For us it is a sign that they grasp the essence of the Church’s social Ministry.”
Bishop Panteleimon in Golitsin’s office of the Church of Prince Dimitri
Head of the Department of social work Tatiana Salzman noted that the students are real members of the Church of modern life, the people, the priests, performing social work in the dioceses or the parish can rely on. “The Church’s social mission extends to the level of institutionalization, we are preparing for the Church qualified personnel with special training, she said. In our training program, there is no gap between theory and practice, social service, professional and spiritual skills must exist in unity.”
“We have in program many different types of practices. There is a practice of care in the family: we help families with many children and poor families to babysit, take a walk, to help make lessons, to play, to mothers can do household chores, – said the second-year student of the Department of social and youth work Elena Babakova. – We also do practical training in non-profit charities and foundations. There is a social-missional practice, in which we visited social institutions and churches in remote small towns”.
At the divine Liturgy on November 21 the choir of the Department of social and youth work for the first time sang the hierarchal service. Students of the Department every two weeks on Wednesdays, going to a divine Liturgy, after which a students and teachers share news of social service, tell us about your involvement in charity projects. To these meetings are invited the heads of the leading social projects, product managers, IBS. These meetings, teachers consider very important because social work, in their opinion, is the work of creative communication.