"I was sick, and you visited me" (Gospel According to Matthew, 25:36). This is the main thing: we do or we don't do, we visit or we don't visit. After we understand this, something may work." Father George Chistyakov

Church of Intercession of Holy Virgin Mary

In 1994, the hospital church of the Intercession (Protection) of Holy Virgin Mary was opened in the hospital, largely thanks to efforts of the Help Group. The church is located right in the hospital buildings, in the former conference hall.

From 1993 and till his premature death in 2007, Father George Chistyakov, a well-known Russian Orthodox priest and theologist, was the dean of the hospital church.

The first Divine Liturgy at the new church was performed on Tuesday of Easter Week in 1994. This Tuesday Easter service has become traditional and takes place each year now.
Services are regularly held at our church, although, in view of its location and specific situation, their timetable is somewhat unusual. Divine Liturgies are performed on Saturdays (and on major church feasts, of course) on 10:30 a.m. The Easter service starts at midnight and includes a vigil with a procession and then a Divine Liturgy. Baptismal services are performed once a week.

The church is open for visitors every day after 3 p.m. Parents and children of any nationality and any religious beliefs can always come here for support, advice and consolation. If they want, they can take something to read or to watch from our church: Holy Bibles, prayer books, films illustrating the Old and New Testaments.

Here, at the same church, we have a small library of books for children and a collection of videos, including cartoons. In one of the corners, there is a piano for music lessons. And a huge stuffed horse and an equally huge teddy bear, our children's dear friends, are lying on the steps.