Remember the prisoners...

At the end of last week, a conference of the Synodal Department of Prison Ministry took place “Interaction of church parishes and public organizations with Orthodox communities in places of deprivation of liberty. Real experience, problems and prospects.” This is the first independent conference of the department, which was only recently separated from the church-wide Department for interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Institutions and became an independent structure with Bishop Irinarch of Krasnogorsk at its head.

The conference brought together people who participate in rehabilitation programs for prisoners and chemically dependent people, conduct missionary work in prisons, and simply help prisoners - they all wanted to start by just getting to know each other, so as to know who does what, what methods they use, share which programs are effective and which are not, and discuss new proposals. For example, Irina Mamontova from the St. Andrew’s Monastery, who has been helping prisoners for 12 years (1,300 wards from different zones, her group in the monastery collects and sends up to 30 parcels a month - “we are simply suffocating, there are not enough hands”), believes that it is necessary start publishing the magazine “Help to Prisoners.” What should we do after release? - a question that worries almost everyone sitting. The magazine could discuss issues of concern to prisoners, providing detailed and clear information on what to do in a variety of cases. An artist by training, Irina Mamontova made a rough layout of the magazine.

The Christian public charitable foundation "Old World" (chairman of the board Evgeniy Protsenko ), operating since 1992 (rehabilitation programs for chemically dependent people), is ready to organize seminars for the exchange of experience.

Olga Yakovleva spoke about the new Moscow project “Reconciliation: Assistance to Children and Families of Prisoners,” which is trying to restore connections between children and imprisoned parents. Grandmothers who remain as guardians often think with fear about the return of their grandchildren to the family from the imprisonment of their fathers and mothers. The project provides psychological assistance, conducts classes with children, teaching them Orthodox culture, and takes them to museums and theaters.

Natalya Ponomareva , head of the Center for Spiritual Support of Orthodox Communities in Prison in the Name of St. Ephraim Sirina, an employee of the Synodal Department of Prison Ministry, spoke about missionary work in pre-trial detention centers, in particular in Butyrka, where the “Reading the Holy Scripture” group was organized.

The head of the Faith, Hope, Love Prison Relief Society, Natalia Vysotskaya, proposed creating a long-term, no less than 5-year, prison ministry program. She believes that all students of theological schools should undergo prison ministry practice, and that it is necessary to create something like a fund that will accumulate funds used to help prisoners. The idea of ​​​​creating an institute of prison chaplains (like the military), which is being discussed in church circles, has caused sharp criticism - prison chaplains should be completely independent.

The proposals of all conference participants were recorded, the newly created department intends to carefully study them and draw up a program of action.