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When the Heart Understands and the Soul Sings



What is life? This question is quite easy, but at the same time, it is difficult to answer it. The sunlight coming through the window in the morning, our relatives and friends, week-days and week-ends, challenges and enjoyments – all of these make up our life. In other words, it’s everything we encounter in our everyday lives. However, that’s not all. It’s important what’s in our hearts. Do they tend to good and purity? Do they reach for other people?

Only those of us, whose heart is open for light and love, truly live. Days pass like the cars of a leaving train. Childhood, youth, family life, children… Problems and further joy. These things seem natural to us. How could it be otherwise indeed?

There are people who live close to us but whose paths are completely different. Their society is limited to the territory of the Psycho-neurological hospital №3. Some of them have found themselves here in a twist of fate, but the others have been there for whole their lives. They cannot enjoy the simplest life’s pleasures. What is trivial and casual for us, is unknown for them. When we look at them from where we sit, we may think they are totally deprived people. That is not true. Sure, they cannot live at our usual pace, but that doesn’t mean their souls are poor. The brothers and sisters who visit the hospital say these people are extremely sincere and sensitive. They will never betray or lie, because they just do not know how to.

Another their feature, which surprises the outsiders, is their ability to feel God. They attend divine service in the home church and take the sacrament with pleasure. Despite the fact they cannot get some things with their mind, their hearts understand everything.

The inhabitants of the hospital are free to deal with some terrestrial arts too. Some of them sing, and the others like dancing. There are even local “stars” – a creative team “The Joyful Hearts”. It was created by the late Novice Tamara, the inhabitant of our Convent. She poured her heart and soul into the artists. They’ve managed to become a big creative family for many years. Nun Sofia (Demyanova) leads the team at present time.

– None of them has musical education, but they can sing with their souls. – tells Mother Sofia. – They can not only sing, but dance and play the spoons as well. And they are really good with words!

The members of the team got here for various reasons and in different life periods. But their reluctance to depress and desire to find themselves is what unites them.

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Andrew Natalchuk, the soloist of the choir, is blind and can’t see this world, but he can perceive it with his heart. So he tries to express all his feelings in songs.

– Each song is favorite for me, – he says. – How could a song be less favorite? Each has its soul and each is beautiful in its way. I like the songs by Yuri Antonov and songs from films. They’re quite spiritual.

Elena Zaharevskaya is another soloist. She has never got musical education, but her nice and pure voice will inevitably touch your heart. She’s a very artistic person, who enjoys life no matter what.

– I tried to sing when I was a kid. But I have been singing with the choir for more than a month. At the rehearsals we try to support each other, when, for example, someone forgot the words, and this unites us. We rehearse three times a week, we choose and learn new songs. I like to be on the stage, and people like our concerts and applaud us. I’d like to go to France very much! To see the Eiffel Tower, to go it up and to observe the city from height! And it would be interesting for me to talk to the people living there. Each trip gifts us new memories, new acquaintances, and new moments!


The Joyful Hearts” give concerts not only in the hospital. They have performed several times in Russia and Europe in terms of charity projects. Their plans for the near future include a tour to France. All these can be possible due to the donation of those, who is not indifferent to their fate. So we all hope, that with God’s help the collection box of their performances will be enriched with one more successful concert.

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