Society of Orthodox Doctors. What's the best? - Compare the past and bring it together with the present
“The doctor must speak to the patient in the language of gospel love, using the example of his own life to show the person the righteous path.”
Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea
Of course, a doctor is a person of the society in which he lives, and the processes occurring in society concern medical workers to the fullest. Today there is a lot of talk about increasing spirituality and responsibility in society as a whole and, of course, the doctor as part of the society in which he conducts his professional activities.
Last year, an expanded meeting of the “Society of Orthodox Doctors in the name of Righteous Lawrence of Kaluga” took place. This was the first such large-scale congress in the last few years of the organization’s existence, at which new leadership was elected and goals and objectives for the coming period were determined.
Opening the meeting, Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk greeted medical workers with the words: “Medicine has always occupied a special place in the life of society. The instruction that the doctor was created by the Lord to heal; necessary and must be read, was given back in Old Testament. The activity of a doctor is a real ministry, similar to the ministry of a priest, because bodily illnesses are a reflection of illnesses of the soul.” The head of the Kaluga Metropolis also expressed hope for the development of interaction with the regional Ministry of Health.
On ethics in medicine and Orthodoxy; We talked about the work of the Society of Orthodox Doctors - its goals and plans with the Chairman of the Society, Evgenia Vlasova:
The Society of Orthodox Doctors was created in March 2009. At the origins of its creation was Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk. And today the society works closely with the department for church charity and social service of the Kaluga diocese, headed by Archpriest Alexei Pelevin. I can’t say that the Society of Orthodox Doctors is numerous, but we hope that in the near future there will be more doctors who support our views.
-Ideas of the Orthodox Church, many of which were initially included in the ethical component professional activities doctors have been uniting medical workers of your public organization for many years. This is the ideological basis on which doctors join the Society of Orthodox Doctors?
Yes, the purpose of society is to promote development medical activities based on the Orthodox faith and Christian morality, integration of the efforts of doctors in this direction.
First of all, it's a revival. Orthodox traditions in medical practice and the medical environment (worship, caring for the sick, holding the Sacraments of Confession, Communion, Unction). Secondly, of course, this is an understanding of the problems of modern medicine and biotechnology in the light of the teachings of the Orthodox Church (holding scientific and practical conferences). We are planning a presentation of medical topics by Orthodox doctors with commentary by clergy. There is already experience in such lectures as “Sleep in a person’s life, sleep disorders”, “Influence computer games on the child's psyche."
Thirdly, an important area of our activity is missionary activity. We plan to introduce the medical community to the basics Orthodox doctrine. For example, a series of classes is being held on the topic “The Earthly Life of the Virgin Mary in Icons.”
-Does your activity extend only to the professional medical community?
No, we work not only with doctors. We have projects in the field of education and charity (for example, holding charity events, etc.) We are planning to organize training for relatives of patients who have suffered acute cerebrovascular accident in the basics of caring for them.
We will strive to direct our efforts to bring medical care closer to socially vulnerable segments of the population. We are planning to create a diagnostic center at the temple, where Orthodox doctors will receive consultations as part of charitable activities. We will provide support to patients, their relatives, as well as staff of the palliative care department of the Tovarkovskaya Hospital. Patients in this department need not only medical care, but to a greater extent spiritual nourishment. Here, cooperation with ministers of the Orthodox Church and interaction with the Kaluga city branch of the All-Russian Public Organization “Russian Red Cross” is especially necessary. We also plan to hold consultations with medical specialists at home for seriously ill and immobile patients, and we intend to take part in the creation rehabilitation centers. Under the auspices of the Kaluga diocese, with the participation of the Society of Orthodox Doctors, it is planned to create a “House for Mom”, where assistance will be provided to pregnant women in difficult life situations.
One of important points in the work of society is the creation of a system of medical care for clergy and monastics. For this purpose, those responsible for the Deanery have been appointed from among the Council of the Society of Orthodox Doctors, who will help organize individual assistance to each specific person. In addition, the society takes an active part in the work of the helpline Kaluga Diocese to resolve professional issues, and also assists in obtaining legal advice for Orthodox medical workers who find themselves in difficult moral and ethical situations.
-How do you feel about creating Orthodox churches and chapels in medical organizations?
Of course, we are very glad that such a tradition, very widespread in pre-revolutionary Russia, is reborn. We plan to actively promote the creation of Orthodox churches and chapels in medical organizations. A register of prayer rooms in medical organizations has been compiled, a letter has been prepared to the Ministry of Health regarding assistance in opening new prayer rooms, temples, and chapels. For example, in the near future it is planned to open a temple at the children's city hospital in honor of the icon Mother of God“Healer”, since the end of September 2017, services have been held in again open temple in the name of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon at the children's regional clinical hospital. After all modern research in the field of psychotherapy, confirm that the “priest and doctor” combination is very effective. Today it has been established that faith has a positive effect on mental health people recovering from cancer, stroke, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury and other illnesses. For employees of medical institutions, the availability of this kind of place is also very important. A person who has chosen the profession of a doctor must always be ready to selflessly provide help to those in need and be an example of service to one’s neighbor. After all, as I said Reverend Ambrose Optinsky: “In this life we need a sympathetic gaze, a kind word, we need the consciousness that we are loved and believed in, we need the rarest and greatest treasure in the world - an attentive heart.”
N. Nefedenkova,
Specialist of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "Kaluga Regional Center"
medical prevention".
On September 27, 2015, Archpriest Sergius Filimonov celebrated his 50th birthday. We congratulate him on his anniversary and wish him health and God's help in his multifaceted activities, because he is at the same time a professor at St. Petersburg State Petroleum Medical University and the First St. Petersburg State Medical University named after. acad. I.P. Pavlova, candidate of theology, doctor medical sciences, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Church and Medicine”, member of the Executive Committee of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia (OPVR) named after. St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Chairman of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of St. Petersburg named after. St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea, rector of the temple Sovereign icons Mother of God, a practicing ENT surgeon of the highest category. Father Sergius was taught a love of medicine by his parents, doctors, and a love of God and people by Archbishop Luke. Father Sergius kindly provided his photographs to the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation for the exhibition “St. Luke”, which was held in Moscow on June 5-6, 2014. (http://www.orthomed.ru/node/434). This exhibition was also seen by participants of the V All-Russian Congress of Orthodox Doctors (https://yadi.sk/d/tjC_ouv3jNBST). In 2016, it will be dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the defense of Valentin Feliksovich Voino-Yasenetsky’s doctoral dissertation “Regional Anesthesia”, the 70th anniversary of the date of Bishop Luka receiving the Stalin Prize and transfer to the Simferopol Department, as well as the 20th anniversary of the acquisition of his holy relics and canonization as locally revered saints in the Simferopol and Crimean diocese.
Father Sergius, we met you in Kupavna at one of the conferences dedicated to the holy surgeon. We thank you and Svetlana Vladimirovna Lobodina for your help in organizing the exhibition “St. Luke”. It became known that it would take place on March 18, 2014, the day the relics of St. Luke were found. It was on that historic day that Vladimir Putin announced the return of Crimea to Russia. Before this, all residents of Crimea prayed to their Heavenly patron. You manage to combine serving God with the work of a doctor, following the example of St. Luke. What role did he play in your life?
Huge. I try to talk to my students at St. Petersburg Medical University about personality and life path Saint It is a pity that many medical school graduates know little about it. Until I was 21, I also knew nothing about St. Luke. When I was a cadet at the Military Medical Academy, during the course of operative surgery, the teachers recommended to us his “Essays purulent surgery"as a classic work on medicine. In Soviet times, we were not told that the author of this wonderful book was a clergyman. When I became a believing doctor and began to join the church, my spiritual father, Archpriest Vasily Lesnyak, brought his autobiography with the wish that I become like him, so that his life would become an example for me. Although I did not set such lofty goals as young Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky, I still wanted to serve people, help them in their sorrows and illnesses. I studied the iconography of St. Luke, and even gave a report on this topic. Having read the works and sermons of the saint, I was amazed by his versatility, titanic height and the power of his thought. It became clear to me that a person would not be able to create anything like this in his life if God did not help him. Thus, through Saint Luke, the light of Christ shone for me. I believe that it should be talked about anywhere and everywhere. I sincerely thank the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation for providing us with an electronic layout of the photo exhibition. (https://yadi.sk/d/EKaIjC7Yghz99) After the congress, we will use it at our other events.
- Please tell us about the congress.
The congress was held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. Priests from 89 dioceses of the Russian Federation took part in the congress. Orthodox Church, representatives of regional branches of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia, guests from Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, healthcare workers, medical students, nurses. The organizers of the congress were the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia, the Department for Church Charity and Social Service of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Department for Church Charity and Social Service of the St. Petersburg Diocese, the Government of St. Petersburg, the Society of Orthodox Doctors of St. Petersburg named after. St. Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky), Northwestern Federal Medical Research Center named after. V.A. Almazov and the Military Medical Academy named after. CM. Kirov. The forum began in the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica in Kolomyagi, where delegates of the congress took part in Divine Liturgy, which was headed by the chairman Synodal Department for church charity and social service, Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevsky Panteleimon.
The congress was dedicated to the issues of preserving and strengthening the traditions of Russian medicine, perpetuating the memory of famous doctors who made a great contribution to the development of world medicine, preserving the high title of a doctor, and cultivating a compassionate attitude towards the individual patient. On October 3, we unveiled a memorial plaque to E.S. Botkin - the life physician of the family of the last Russian Emperor - and held an Interregional Forum of Medical University Students, which had great value for the education of physicians based on the examples of the life and service of doctors who remained faithful to their human and medical duty until the end of their lives.
- What problems were discussed at the congress?
We discussed the following topics: " Contemporary issues biomedical ethics”, “Pastoral and nursing service in the hospital”, “Counseling of persons with behavioral and mental disorders”, “Therapy family relations», « Orthodox fast: nutrition and medicine”, “Legal aspects of the Church’s ministry in medical institutions”, “Features of pastoral support for mental patients”.
Currently, society is widely discussing the proposal to legislators of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' to remove abortion from the compulsory health insurance system. He said this on January 22, 2015 at the III Christmas Parliamentary Meetings held in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation within the framework of the XXIII International Christmas Readings. What do you feel about it?
Orthodox doctors in St. Petersburg actively support the proposal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. I believe it is necessary to change the mentality of medical professionals. Abortionist thinking dominates among doctors. In the event of any unfavorable factors in terms of the health of the mother or fetus, abortion is often immediately offered as a means of effectively solving the problem. However, many parents want to raise and educate their child, even if he is born sick, with defects and various deviations. The abortifacient mindset of doctors needs to be gradually changed to become a positive reproductive mindset, focused on life and not death. Without a doubt, to overcome such an evil as abortion, a set of measures is needed: assistance to families in resolving housing problems, material support for large families, introduction of ethical standards into the health care system that would encourage doctors to take care of preserving the life of a conceived child, curbing advertising and propaganda of abortion. Patriarch Kirill spoke about this, proposing to remove abortion from the compulsory medical insurance system. In his opinion, this will not lead to an increase in the number of clandestine abortions, since the price of professional medical services should not be prohibitive.
The initiative of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church caused a great public outcry. Discussions took place both in the media and on social networks. What could you say to opponents of the Patriarch’s initiative?
The discussion also unfolded at our congress after the speech of Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov. The fact is that pregnancy is not a disease, and abortion is a treatment, therapeutic or health-improving manipulation that the state must pay for from taxpayers. The chairman of the commission on family issues, protection of motherhood and childhood of the St. Petersburg diocese, Archpriest Alexander Diaghilev, speaks about the need for real support for pregnant women, single mothers and large families, about the importance of the emergence of chaste family educational programs that promote Christian family values. Father Alexander believes that when developing the bill, however, one must not forget to take into account that there is an abortion for medical reasons with a direct threat to the life and health of the woman. The chief physician of the Soul Care Center of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of St. Petersburg, obstetrician-gynecologist of the Center for Fetal Medicine, Yulia Toropkova, believes that removing abortion from the services of the compulsory medical insurance system will allow a believing doctor to refuse to carry out this manipulation, incompatible with his religious or moral principles, without the risk of being left without work. Yulia Yuryevna is one of 150 members of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of St. Petersburg. These are doctors of different specialties, professing Orthodox faith. We also have associate members of the Society - teachers, psychologists, nurses and students who do not have a diploma from a medical university.
- Please tell us about the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia named after St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky).
On September 29-30, 2007, the First All-Russian Congress of Orthodox Doctors was held in Belgorod, at which representatives of 49 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to create this all-Russian public organization. OPVR is a voluntary, self-governing non-profit public association. October 12 of the same year His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Rus' blessed the activities of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia, giving it the name of the confessor and physician of St. Luke. The Society operates in accordance with the Constitution Russian Federation, Federal law“On Public Associations”, other current legislation of the Russian Federation, is guided by generally recognized principles and norms international law and its own Charter, with respect and observance of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church. OPVR builds its activities on the principles of equality of its members, legality, transparency, voluntariness and self-government.
- What are the goals and objectives of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Russia?
The main goal is to unite existing and newly emerging regional societies of Orthodox doctors into a single organization, the main focus of which is to introduce Christian values into Russian medicine and improve the quality of health of citizens of the Russian Federation. The main task of the Society is to improve medical care for Russians and spiritual healing on the part of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the provision by Orthodox doctors of feasible free professional medical care, understood as service to a suffering person.
On June 18, 2015, a Cooperation Agreement was signed in Moscow between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. A separate article is devoted to joint work to prevent abortions. What are the prospects for such work?
The agreement involves the development of crisis pregnancy centers at maternity hospitals with the participation of psychologists and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the participation of representatives religious organizations in pre-abortion counseling of women in medical organizations. Today in Russia there are more than 50 church centers for the protection of motherhood, 27 church shelters for women with children and pregnant women in crisis situations, 26 of which have been created in the last 5 years. There are about 30 humanitarian aid centers operating in the Church, and pre-abortion counseling for women is provided in antenatal clinics in more than 25 dioceses. The Society of Orthodox Doctors of St. Petersburg, along with other problems, also deals with the problem of abortion, prenatal diagnosis, and contraception.
Mark Popovsky’s book “The Life and Life of St. Luke Voino-Yasenetsky, Archbishop and Surgeon” describes how Valentin Feliksovich once kicked a pregnant woman out of his office and for a long time could not calm down, angrily telling his wife that the girl demanded to pull out the child who had been fed up. I'm sure you would do the same. What should a woman know about the consequences of abortion?
She should know that blood murdered babies cries from the earth. IN Holy Scripture God Himself is “the protector of the weak” (Jude 9:11). The command “Do not kill a child by causing a miscarriage” is in the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.” Abortion represents serious threat physical and spiritual health of the mother, not only because of women’s diseases. By terminating a pregnancy, a woman challenges God, thereby exposing herself to the danger of remaining alone, losing family and friends, and becoming disabled. Only in the case of a direct threat to the life of the mother is it recommended in pastoral practice to show leniency. The Church does not reject women who have had an abortion, but calls them to repentance, prayer and penance, followed by participation in the saving sacraments.
A special group “Helping Young Mothers” has been created in your Church of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God. Tell us about her, please.
By May 2008, when the idea of creating our group first arose, there were eight young families in the parish, more than a hundred children and about fifteen women who had reproductive problems or were pregnant. Our group is a division of the Society of Orthodox Doctors. We cooperate with the St. Petersburg Breastfeeding Foundation, the Little Mama crisis center, the Life center at Novodevichy Convent, the Foundation of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, with the obstetric department of the Gatchina Central Regional Clinical Hospital, the Medical Genetic Center, the hospital named after. S.P. Botkin, obstetric department of St. Petersburg State Medical University named after. I.P. Pavlova, maternity hospital No. 9 and other medical institutions of the city.
- What goals and objectives does the group have?
The purpose of creating our group is professional medical assistance and spiritual care for pregnant women and nursing women, counseling infertile couples, assistance in child care issues, baptism of newborns in serious condition, organization of pilgrimage trips. The main thing, of course, is preparation for a natural, normal birth and assistance to women whose pregnancy is complicated. We distribute all women to sponsored maternity hospitals.
- Are only your parishioners turning to you for help?
No. Women also come from other churches in St. Petersburg, other dioceses and cities of Russia, wives of priests and even unchurched women who have had negative experiences with government medical institutions. It happens that you have to resolve issues related not only to infertility treatment methods, but also to the choice of maternity hospital. IN recent years There is “obstetric aggression” in Russian maternity hospitals. Where is Orthodox woman find a competent obstetrician-gynecologist who can understand her psychological characteristics and give birth correctly? One day a woman with diabetes came to us. She was told that we would not persuade her to terminate her third pregnancy. The two previous pregnancies were difficult, as diabetes decompensated during them. She gave birth to two children and dreamed of having a third child.
- How can you contact the specialists in your group?
To get an appointment with a doctor at one of the medical and diagnostic institutions in the city with which we cooperate, you need to contact through the website of the Society of Orthodox Doctors or through its control room. It is also possible to contact the temple secretariat by appointment.
Sometimes the purpose of abortion is to “supply” tissues and organs of human embryos, aborted at different stages of development, for the treatment of various diseases and “rejuvenation” of the body. How should we approach this phenomenon?
This is simply blasphemous. The Council of the Russian Orthodox Church determined that the use of fetal therapy methods is unacceptable. Condemning abortion as a mortal sin, the Church cannot justify the destruction of the conceived human life, even if the effectiveness of “rejuvenation” therapy is scientifically proven. She is a crime and an example of gross immorality.
- What is the main cause of infertility in women?
There are more than 30 medical reasons infertility, but there are also spiritual reasons. Believer married couple you need to start with a thorough study of the quality of your Christian life and understanding everything that is happening together with your confessor. It is important to identify ancestral and family sins that may interfere with childbearing. If a marriage is not sanctified by the Church, it is necessary to get married. Spouses must regularly participate in such church sacraments as confession, communion, and unction. The parishioners of our church performed several pilgrimage trips to Cyprus to the Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God, at whom they prayed huge amount women of different ages and nationalities. Almost all of them found the long-awaited pregnancy. In Russia, each diocese has its own miraculous places and shrines that have healing power and help with infertility. Along with the spiritual care of the spouses by the priest, doctors are involved in their treatment. Over the course of a year or two, the spouses become churchgoers and receive treatment. If pregnancy does not occur during this time, the situation is released to the will of God, and the couple can accept an adopted child from the family.
- Is ultrasound diagnostics dangerous for pregnant women?
It is strictly unacceptable to perform an ultrasound at 3-6 weeks of pregnancy without extreme indications, if there is no suspicion of an ectopic or disrupted pregnancy. The first planned ultrasound is performed at 11-15 weeks of pregnancy. At this time, it is possible to identify a “frozen”, undeveloped pregnancy. The use of ultrasound is justified for the purpose of early detection and treatment of fetal diseases or threats to the woman’s life. The most difficult thing is when a defect incompatible with life is detected in the fetus and the question arises of terminating the pregnancy for medical reasons. The task of our service in such a situation is to provide the woman with complete, verified information about the state of her health and the pathology of the fetus, so that she can calmly make an informed decision without pressure from others, including the antenatal clinic doctor. The woman makes the final decision only with the blessing of her confessor.
- What are the advantages of an Orthodox doctor in treating a patient?
It is very important, for example, to have time to christen “fear for the sake of mortals” babies who were born with pathology and are in serious condition. If there is a doctor or nurse next to a “severe” baby who can baptize him, then his chance of survival is much higher than that of unbaptized children with the same disease. In just one year, 98 babies in our group were baptized with this rite, of which 7 babies died. Obstetrics is one of the most conservative specialties, but in recent years the time of childbirth has been reduced by almost half, and instead of the required 16-18 hours, women give birth for 6-8 hours, which is why the number of cases of birth injuries in women and babies has increased. Up to 2/3 of children are now born with somatic pathologies and diseases of the central nervous system. Natural childbirth requires a lot of time and effort; it is not technologically advanced. Our maternity hospitals are fighting for the title of child-friendly maternity hospital. Individual or family births are offered, but it is not the status of the maternity hospital that is important, but the head and hands of the doctor. In order to treat not a disease, but a person, a doctor must have certain philosophical and religious beliefs. It is very important that not only the woman, but also the obstetrician-gynecologist pray before giving birth. In some maternity hospitals, women are scolded for bringing icons with them. To reduce the percentage of “obstetric aggression”, we refer our patients to specific doctors in sponsored maternity hospitals.
At the congress, much attention was paid to the mental ill health of people. How would you comment on the fact that on September 7, 2015, a doctor was killed by a patient at the Road Clinical Hospital in St. Petersburg?
Patients who undergo plastic surgery tend to have a somewhat frivolous attitude towards medicine. Often they have mental changes. Abroad, such patients must be examined by a psychiatrist before surgery. This is not the case in Russia, but if a patient has this kind of abnormality, the result of the surgical operation will simply be reduced to zero - the patient will still not like it, and he will go for surgery a second, fifth, tenth time. A doctor can do everything perfectly, but then some complications or deviations will arise for reasons beyond his control, because human body- this is not a machine, and a doctor is not a sculptor. Mutual understanding is important in the relationship between patient and doctor. The main cause of conflicts is the doctor’s inattention to the patient or the patient’s inadequate perception of the information provided by the doctor. Therefore, it is based on an initial meeting between the doctor and the patient, a detailed conversation, discussion of possible options for complications and ways out of them. When a patient enters a clinic for treatment, especially for surgical treatment, he is offered informed consent. The patient is warned about how the treatment will be carried out and what negative consequences it can lead, because any operation has a certain risk, when, for example, in 80% of cases death can occur. And the patient himself decides whether to undergo surgery. Whether he falls into this 20% depends not on the doctor or the patient, but on the characteristics of the body, and, first of all, on the will of God. It happens that the doctor does not explain all the possible risks well. It happens that the patient’s mentality does not allow him to critically assess the consequences. He thinks that everything will go smoothly, bad things will not affect him. But each organism has its own characteristics of functioning, features of constitution, age, gender, etc. Unfortunately, the situation in Russian medicine is such that when a doctor has a corridor full of patients, he has no time to talk. The standards that are adopted today in various specialties, especially in the outpatient clinic, do not allow the doctor to adequately communicate with the patient and explain to him the specifics of the procedures being performed. Considering the workload of doctors, patients should clarify everything that worries them at the pre-hospital stage, fully find out what kind of treatment is ahead, and be attentive to the recommendations and opinions of doctors.
Father Sergius, thank you for interesting conversation and I wish you health and God’s help in your multifaceted activities.
“We, Orthodox Christians - pastors and doctors - must work together, understanding that any illness is not only a physical, but also a spiritual test. This is the path of understanding life, the path of repentance, gaining humility and patience. The doctor must speak to the patient in the language of gospel love, using the example of his own life to show the person the righteous path, as St. Luke did.”
Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICE AND CHARITY – rector of the Church of St. Luke and the Presentation of the Lord (at the Medical Academy named after S.I. Georgievsky), Archpriest John Drozdov.
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Society of Orthodox Doctors of Crimea named after. Saint Luke
(V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky)
Chairman of the Society of Orthodox Doctors of Crimea - Tatyana Andreevna Shevchenko
The Society of Orthodox Doctors of Crimea named after St. Luke (V. Voino-Yasenetsky) was created in 2001. Then it included only a few - those who felt an urgent need to help the sick - the poor, low-income, disadvantaged citizens, those who clearly understood that physical and spiritual health- are the only ones who in their activities were guided by the precepts of St. Luke - a priest and a brilliant doctor. The All-Russian Society of Orthodox Doctors and the Belarusian Society, organized following the example of the Crimeans and the blessing of the highest clergy, bear the name of St. Luke. Today, the Society of Orthodox Doctors represents an entire army of doctors who voluntarily and free of charge provide assistance to the poor. Currently, according to its chairman Tatyana Andreevna Shevchenko, the activists of this association alone, that is, chief doctors of medical institutions, heads of departments, number more than four hundred people.
Work in the Society of Orthodox Doctors is a purely personal, voluntary matter for everyone; no administrative levers are applicable here. The role of the Ministry of Health is limited only to the assistance with medicines and consumables, which it is able to provide to the doctor’s office at the diocese.
For more than 10 years, the Ministry of Health has been working in close cooperation with the Simferopol and Crimean diocese. It began with the laying of a capsule on the site of the current chapel of St. Luke on the territory of the hospital named after N. I. Semashko. The Church of the Presentation of the Lord and St. Luke was built at the Crimean State Medical University named after. S.I. Georgievsky. Through joint efforts, the branch of the Republican psychiatric hospital in the village of Aleksandrovka, where both mentally ill and tuberculosis patients undergoing forensic psychiatric examination are treated. As statistics show, the mortality rate in this department has decreased tenfold. Work is underway to create the St. Luke Charitable Foundation, the funds of which will be used for the construction of Alexander Nevsky cathedral, publication of the magazine “Orthodoxy and Medicine”, as well as to finance expensive operations for the poor. And contributions to this fund will also be entirely voluntary.”
The goal of the Society is to promote the development of medical activities based on the Orthodox faith and Christian morality, and to integrate the efforts of doctors in this direction.
