A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 38 - Tuesday, September 21st, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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Religious groups respond to victims of massacreMOSCOW ORTHODOX DIOCESE ORGANIZES VISITATION OF VICTIMS FROM BESLAN IN MOSCOW HOSPITALS Portal-credo.ru, 15 September 2004 - With the blessing of Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus, the diocesan Commission for Church Social Activity of the city of Moscow arranged visitations of hospitals to which victims from Beslan had been sent. "Blagovest-info" reports, citing the "Miloserdia.ru" web site, that the overwhelming majority of victims are Orthodox Christians. In talking with priests, many of the wounded and their relatives expressed a desire to make confession and receive communion. Not only spiritual consolation but also material aid has been provided the victims in the name of the Orthodox church. Priests and laity have drawn up lists of necessary items for each person in order to alleviate their situation as much as possible. On 13 September financial aid was given to victims in accordance with their condition, ten thousand rubles per person, and everyday items were purchased. The total amount of material and financial aid exceeds one million rubles.
In particular, priests visited the Russian Children's Clinic, where eight persons, including five children, received the sacrament of baptism. Spiritual and material help was also given to the wounded who are in the Semashko Central Clinic, the Hematology Center, the Institute of Pediatrics and Children's Surgery, the Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery, and the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery. A monastic priest from the Valaam annex visited the Speransky State Children's Clinic, who was requested by the victims themselves. A priest of the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Tushino visited the wounded located in State Clinic No. 67.
Five children are in the Morozov Children's Hospital, two of whom are in resuscitation. They were visited by an Orthodox priest who is of Ossetian nationality and by priests of the St. Dimitry Nursing School. One girl was baptized and two received communion.
The commission continues to follow the fate of the victims and is trying to help all who have needs. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 September 2004)
RUSSIAN
MORMONS PROVIDE MATERIAL AID TO VICTIMS IN BESLAN Portal-credo.ru, 15 September 2004 - Twenty-five thousand US dollars [three-quarters of a million rubles] donated by members of congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Russia were sent to provide aid to victims of the terrorist act in Beslan. "These monies were used to obtain respiration equipment for intensive therapy for the Beslan city hospital," "Blagovest-info" was told by an adviser for the East European representation of this religious movement, Andrei Filimonov.
The president of the Religious Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia, Vladimir Nechiporov, made a statement on this matter, noting in particular that "this is a gesture of love and support, as well as a sign of the rejection of violence in any of its forms."
Previously the Mormon church has often provided aid for the population in areas of natural disasters and other emergency situations. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 September 2004)
ROCOR
PARTICIPATES IN AID TO VICTIMS OF TERROR Mir religii, 14 September 2004 - Medical equipment valued at 200,000 Euros was sent by plane from Germany to the Republican Children's Clinic in Vladikavkaz where physicians are fighting for the lives of more than 100 Beslan children. This is the first step in a project of aid to victims of the terrorist act in Northern Ossetia that is being conducted by the German "Foundation for Children's Aid" and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). This was reported today to an ITAR-TASS correspondent at the ROCOR diocese of Berlin and Germany.
"We grieve for the victims. We especially suffer for the children who are wounded and sick. Emergency and practical aid is needed for the bodily and spiritual welfare of these children," said Archbishop of Berlin and Germany Mark.
According to the president of administration of
the "Foundation for Children's Aid," Dr.
Tizbonenkamp, it was also decided to provide
support for creating in Beslan a parish
therapeutic center. "Here severely traumatized
children will receive help from clergy, teachers,
and physicians, which will help them to survive
the horrible memories of these days and to acquire
new life perspectives," he stressed. The diocese
of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz of RPTs is acting as
a partner of ROCOR in this project. (tr. by PDS,
posted 15 September 2004). |
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