Mission

What is the Russian Orthodox Diakonia in Europe?

We are an orthodox Christian initiative, based in Europe, focused on helping those who are in need. Our attention is focused on sick children, who come from the countries of the former Soviet Union to Europe for treatment. We also have many other projects, aiming to make our life and the life of other people happy and purposeful and the world around us nicer and better. Join us!

Mission

We combine efficient modern technologies of benevolence with the Christian love for our neighbour.

Aim — saving severely ill children and adults, connecting those in need and those who can help, multiplying love and happiness in every single person and in the human society as a whole.

Background

Russian patients in Europe   Show more

Annually, there are 5 to 15 thousand people coming from Russia and the Former Soviet Union for treatment to Germany alone. Most of them are severely ill people, that can’t be treated in their motherland. Several thousands of them are children. Usually the family arrives with the child, most commonly the mother. Sometimes, in more severe cases, when the parents are afraid that the child may leave this world any minute, the father and other relatives arrive as well. So we have an ill child and a number of people, who are in a difficult life situation. And even if the child is looked after by the doctors, the parents are left by themselves and don’t receive any help.

These families are in need of support of different kinds, ranging from organisational to psychological and spiritual.

Russian Orthodox Church in Europe  Show more

Despite the long presence of Orthodox Church in Europe, it is hardly known to common Europeans who do not see obvious signs of this presence. Our Church needs an activity that is obviously important to everybody, that shows us as Christians and establishes links in the society.

Parish life  Show more

Mercy and benevolence – those are the essential parts of a Christian life. Real compassion in the fate of people, who are in need, gives the community members a chance to prove themselves as a Christian. This is especially important for the youth.

Pretty much every big orthodox community has some people who help those who are in need so some social welfare work is already carried out.

Thanks to a shared information pool, combined efforts and coordination of other deaconry groups in different cities our work is effective, helps to involve other people and gives simple European citizens an insight in the orthodox presence in the contemporary society and it’s connection to him or her.

Main objectives:

  • Providing spiritual, psychological, materialistic and organisational support for children and adults, as well as their families from Russia and the FSU, who are in need of a treatment abroad or who are going through a treatment or rehabilitation in Europe.
  • Coordination of help for children and adults, coming from Russia and the FSU for treatment to European clinics, organisation of an inter-communal church-wide network.
  • Help in sorting out formalities associated with the treatment abroad.
  • Organisation of experience exchanges and volunteers’ and helpers’ training as well as interreligious experience exchange, realisation of training seminars, conferences and meetings, including internet-conferences, internet-seminars and forums.
  • Organisation of an effective cooperation with government institutions of all levels and medical institutions, as well as with social organisations and entrepreneurial structures.
  • Promotion of the idea of the necessity of personal empathy in mercy, drawing attention towards the needs of other people and including as many people and organisations as possible in the field of charity work.
  • Contribution to the development of the deaconry work amongst the youth, the creation of a church-wide, large scale volunteering movement of mercy.
  • Contribution to the work of volunteer groups, connection with European foundations, development of technologies to simplify the process of fundraising for the treatment of children in different countries.
  • Development and realisation of the idea of free treatment for severely ill children with no regard for their nationality.

How this works

  • The deaconry groups in the communities take the nearest clinics, which are treating children from Russia, under their wing.
  • The information about the children comes from the clinic or from the central coordinator of the deaconry work, which has been approached directly by his/her volunteers or the parents of the child. Groups, working at fixed places, continuously update the records and exchange information via reports to the coordinator.
  • The deaconry cooperates with groups of volunteers, with funds and welfare organisations. Together we cover the fees for and organise the treatment and support at place.

Everyone reading these lines has the chance to help a person who is suffering. Read here how to do that.

Hurry to do good!