They have paws

The priest under the Moscow City Crimean arranged a prayer at his temple about homeless cats and dogs and sprinkled with holy water pets

Sima

Sime is 14 years old. He was born somewhere near Lugansk-in any case, it was there that the new owners found him in half-dead even before the war. After he was taken to Moscow, in Nekrasovka-and he became, along with a new family, a refugee cat. He was ill with oncology, survived. And now he ended up in the Ilyinsky church in the village of Lemeshovo, Moscow Region, where a prayer for cats is about to begin.

“I hope he will live for another ten years, delight me and not get sick,” the hostess kisses the hem in the neck. Here she hopes to consolidate the mental health of the cat. Sima, despite all the troubles, looks healthy, obediently sits in his arms, but, biting his tongue, restlessly twists his face. Not that from bad nerves and spiritual health - this is simply rarely when you see.

Shelter cats in the hands of parishioners photo: Dmitry Sidorov

Such a prayer service in the Ilyinsky temple takes place for the first time. Several owners arrived with their pets, local residents hold cats in their arms from the shelter at the temple (there are 57 cats and 55 dogs in the shelter), other cats simply run around the temple.

Unite for the love of animals

A small crowd gathered around the priest - he explains the meaning of why there are so many cats and what is happening at all. Archpriest Peter Dzinnikov - elderly, mobile, with a short haircut, a beard with a wedge and intelligent round glasses, his cassock is all in feline wool. There is almost always some kind of cat on his hands, a minute ago there was a gray-brown Assa, now no one, but for a short time, a thick red sherbet runs somewhere nearby.

“They are called homemade animals,” a wide gesture implies not only those cats who sit in the arms of the owners, but also those who live in a shelter in the neighborhood. - If they are, why are they in a homeless position, suffer hunger and suffering, bullying of flayers? " Through attitude to animals, Father Peter is sure, the state of society, all its inferiority and flaws are best reflected. In a normal society, stray animals do not exist, the priest, Slovenia, Norway and Germany cut off - a striking example of this.

Cat Sherbet during a prayer prayer photo: Dmitry Sidorov

The fact that the call to change the situation comes from the priest is no matter, he believes. “All people must unite this task, leave the ranges and omissions for the sake of these creatures. They should not understand our problems and are devoted to our discretion. Let everyone-both those who go to church, and those who do not-will unite around love for animals, they have no difference, they want people of love, affection and devotion, which they possess themselves, ”explains Father Peter.

Moleben

Just at this moment, the bell ringing announces the beginning of the service. The improvised sermon goes into a full -fledged, behind anal, under the accompaniment of meowing all the cats arriving and arriving at the temple.

“The Lord, having created these creatures, was very happy about this. Today's prayer is a reminder of this. I want to tell you that the word “prayer” has the meaning “heart -rending, repeated scream” many times, multiple session about mercy. From the part of these creatures, who have lively, empathy, loving soul, this scream is going on today. They cannot express it with words, but we must understand them with our hearts. After all, we have a conscience and human dignity, and we will turn our love not only to people, but also to them. ”

Guest of the Temple with a cat's cat photo: Dmitry Sidorov

Father Peter timed the sermon and prayer to the day of homeless animals, celebrated on the third Saturday of August. Prayer begins - according to the rank of preservation of the creation of God. “Have mercy on us, God, have mercy on us, every answer is permanently, this prayer, like the Lord, sinning, we have mercy, have mercy on us,” the parishioners sing slimly. They echo a loud meow - Assa breaks off the boy’s hands and runs out of the church to the territory. “Assa is old and sick,” the priest interrupts the prayer and escorts the cat with his gaze. “He does not like to sit on the handles.” The rest of the cats are sitting quietly, even the Sima trampled up and does not turn his head. Only when everyone is baptized - but this is because the hostess has to raise his hand.

Unperturbed, without interrupting prayers, Father Peter picks up a fat red Sherbet, strokes him and puts him directly on anal next to the New Testament. The cat, looking lazily, comfortably curls with a kalachik and falls asleep under chants. The priest reads the rest of the prayer literally in his wool.

Having completed the prayer, Father Peter scoops up the holy water with Kropil and passes through the church, paying special attention to cats. And, of course, Sherbeta - a particularly weighty stream flies into it. Yawning and not even opening his eyes, he turns onto the other side and sleeps on. “My liturgical cat,” the father laughs and gently pulls him by the tail.

Shelter

Leaving the futile attempts to wake Sherbet, the father arranges a tour of his “factory of love for our smaller brothers”, that is, according to the shelter. It is divided into two parts strictly isolated from each other - cat and dog. And the entrance to each begins with a special dressing room - in a which is plastic, in a dog - from iron rods. In this case is easy to catch a fugitive. It’s not that it was about some Auschwitz for cats-healthy people are being released, there are simply pets are corrupted, one-eyed and with missing paws-for such “publication” is equivalent to quick death.

Already inside each part there are isolated teips. One feline tap got a luxurious coniferous mini-cutting with a huge wooden cross in the middle and an icon on the wall. Another is not such a luxurious nature, but a large room. So far without proper repairs, but with the charms of civilization in the form of trays.

All animals are sterilized. “This is the smaller of two evils. Of course, speaking from a biblical point of view, the Lord said: be fruitful and multiply. But obviously, it was about the nature in which he commanded to do this. Then she was perfect. Now we have driven these animals into such conditions when they multiply only to trouble and unequivocal destruction. So why doom them to death when there is painless sterilization? " - the priest argues.

Dog half of the shelter of the Ilyinsky temple photo: Dmitry Sidorov

According to the church charter, no hospices and animal shelters are provided, says the priest, so his extra -budget work has no special status. He believes that someone from the outside of the church could come and arrange a shelter legally. “These are not necessarily people who go to church, it can be just people who have love and caring for these animals,” Father Peter supplements, scratching the next running pet. Neither state nor diocesan money in the work of the shelter, he says, all his own savings and donations of parishioners.

Anyone can come and take a cat or dog from this shelter. And it will be met with joy - many animals cannot get used to the relatives of relatives and suffer. As, for example, a completely courtyard species, but quite a homely mania. For several weeks, she has been afraid, to trembling, to leave the limits of the “apartment” room for cats - she did not seem to see that never other cats, or even really grass and bushes. “Of course, problem animals are thrown away: old, sick, crippled. Not every person, having played enough, is able to go to the end with this animal, ”the priest sighs, straightening his glasses.

Father Peter is definitely ready to go with each of them to the end. “They are now not quite in a normal position, because they should find their personal owner, but still they are not in suffering. They are warm and without hunger, ”he says and ends the tour.