The bishop gave the children computers, icons and calendars from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Among the children visited by the bishop was Ivan Voronov, 8, whose both feet and one hand were torn off by a shell that exploded near his home in Shakhtyorsk. Ivan’s younger brother and stepfather were killed, the press service for the Synodal Department reported.
Ivan Voronov. http://www.miloserdie.ru/
“You were very brave. We all saw you refuse anesthetics on television. I think you are a real man. You will be fine,” Bishop Panteleimon told Ivan.
The press service said Patriarch Kirill personally directs Church assistance to refugees from Ukraine and gets quarterly reports on this work from the Synodal Charity Department, which is in chare of church assistance to refugees.
Photo: http://www.miloserdie.ru/
A church headquarters for assistance to refugees was set up in Moscow in summer 2014. A comprehensive center for assistance to refugees opened in a church in Novokosino and a free hotline for refugees was created. The Church opened dozens of humanitarian centers nationwide and accommodated thousands of refugees in its shelters, monasteries and parish houses.
By early February 2015, the Church had raised over 58 million rubles for assistance to refugees. Most of the money has now been used up. In Moscow alone, over 14,000 refugees turned to the church headquarters for assistance.
