October 6 in the CDB of St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow started a course of hospital assistants of the priests, according Diakoniai. Before the start of classes in the Tikhvin Church, with the hospital, the participants prayed at the divine Liturgy, which was conducted by the President of the Commission on hospital service of the Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon and members of the Commission in the priesthood. After the Liturgy, Bishop Panteleimon told about the aims and objectives of the hospital service, and also answered questions from the audience. Classes the course will be held on Saturdays in the conference room of the hospital of St. Alexius, from October 6 to December 22. With the participants of the course will meet priests, psychologists, doctors, social workers. Upon graduation plans to guide students in medical institutions of Moscow as volunteers.
“If the person is not sick, he must help those who are sick,’ said the Bishop of Orekhovo – Zuevo Panteleimon, opening the course. – Very happy that many of you share this belief and, having the health, strength and knowledge, want to help those in need.”
Bishop Panteleimon said that people who want to help people in hospitals, I can share the joy of their faith. “Christ can compensate for the deficiency of each person. If a person lacks something, he can ask about the Christ. And then Christ Himself will become the thing the man was missing,” said Bishop Panteleimon.
The Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo celebrated the divine Liturgy Tikhvin Church at the hospital of St. Alexis
In the hospital the most appropriate testimony of joy. “When Christ preached, He was offered the opportunity to join the joy. Here is the sermon of joy in hospitals, where a person is faced with suffering, with pain and does not know what lies ahead is more appropriate than a strict, causing tears”, – said the Chairman of the Synodal Department for charity.
Vicar of his Holiness Patriarch added that the first question may ask the assistant hospital chaplain, can relate to the meaning of suffering. “In order to answer this question, you need to understand the meaning of suffering, and not only a specific person, but the sense of suffering allowed by God on earth at all. Does God want suffering? Of course not. Then why do they happen? To know the answer to this question is very important,” said Bishop Panteleimon.
The theme of understanding the meaning of suffering will be for the students of the course one of the key: immediately after induction training of a doctor of divinity, doctor of theology, Dean of the Theological Department of pstgu Archpriest Paul Hondzinsky gave a lecture on “the Orthodox understanding of suffering and disease.”
In the course of hospital assistants to the priests enrolled 114 people
Feature courses assistants the sick priests will be active interaction with psychologists. “This is our first project together which will be taught by psychologists and priests, addressed the participants, the psychologist, the expert of the Synodal Department for charity Elena Lutkovska. For these courses we tried to choose the best of what, in our opinion, is in psychology.”
Among the taught subjects are psychology of the ill person, of the emotional condition of patients, peculiarities of communication with children in hospitals and their parents. Psychologists will talk about how to interact with hospital staff, doctors, nurses and orderlies. With the course participants will meet the author of the book “Separation will not be”, the psychologist, the doctor-reflexologist Frederick de Graaf, who worked for many years in hospices Russia and England. She will talk about the development of empathy and communication skills with seriously ill and dying people.
The course topics related to the faith, raise the priests. In the lectures they tell us how man, far from the Church, to talk about the gospel and about Christ, about the Sacraments. Also, the course will deal particularly the frequently asked patients questions and how to answer them.
Opening remarks of Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon
Among the questions that may ask people can meet claims against the Church. “When we talk about the Holiness of the Church, we are talking about the sanctity of the Sacraments of the Church and saints. We belong to the Church only as we are Holy. And that is not Holy, does not belong to the Church,” said Bishop Panteleimon.
The course will also be practical classes on nursing, in which students will teach how not to harm a sick person.
At the first meeting of their experience of hospital service shared current hospital priests: cleric, hospital Church of St. Prince Dimitry in MCH №1. N. And. Pirogov Archpriest John Emelyanov, cleric of the Church of St. Prince Vladimir in Sochi father Alexander Makarov, a cleric of the Church in honour of the Cathedral of new Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Novokosino priest Victor Jankauskas, cleric of the Church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Golyanovo priest Boris Veklenko. They talked about what assistants upon completion of the course they would like to see in the hospital.
Many people in hospitals, leaving relatives and friends, and words of comfort and love them no one to hear, said the priest Victor Jankauskas. “Your help is needed, he stressed. – For many people the meeting is the last opportunity to turn to God, repent and be reconciled with Him. With this in mind, we need to make their service more tenderly and diligently.”
Archpriest John Yemelyanov, an employee at the hospital for 25 years, will conduct practical training with students. He noted that over the past year in treatment-and-prophylactic institutions of Moscow were treated more than 2 million people, and is a huge number of people sick priests is not enough. “I wish you not only prepared a man to meet with a priest, but in some situations, you did what the priests do not have time to do, because of workload and lack of time. This is a conversation about the meaning of the Sacraments, to have a Confessor and how to find their community,” said Archpriest John Emelyanov.
On the basis of seven interviews for the course were enrolled 114 people. Among them are people with experience in hospices, volunteers of different social agencies, psychologists, doctors.
“I had experience as a volunteer in the hospital, it gave me very great joy. In the work of the assistant hospital chaplain, I heard the call to him personally. And I wanted to meet the people you know and love in absentia, with Bishop Panteleimon and Frederica de Graaf,” – said student Natalia Shakuro courses.
“I’m a psychologist by training, these courses led me to something related: the desire to help people and get new experience”, – said the psychologist Denis Dens.
“I went to medical school, from 2015 began to help in the hospital, then in hospice. I really want to be useful in the palliative ward of the hospital,” – said the doctor Karina Asatryan.
“I’m a second year member of a group of mercy in the boarding house of Veterans of Work, there was work rather technical: to bring, to take, to help get dressed. Here the emphasis is on communicating with ill people, I spiritual development,” shared volunteer Michael Swedes.
The course is organized by the Commission on hospital service, together with the Eastern vigarista on the basis of CDB svyatitelya aleksiya. Lectures the course will be held on Saturdays in the CDB of St. Alexis, until 15 December 2018. Wrap-up and certification will take place December 22, 2018. Upon completion of training the trainees will be distributed in medical institutions of Moscow as volunteers.
The Commission on hospital service of the Diocesan Council of Moscow was founded in 2018 with the blessing of his Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill. It was created to organize the work of the diocese in health care facilities. The Commission is chaired by the Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon.