The
sisters of St Elisabeth Convent organised a real feast for the patients and the
staff of the Boarding Home No. 4 on the day of the Merciful icon of the
Mother of God. A Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the chapel. After the
Liturgy, everyone prayed during a procession as a way of consecrating this
place that has become the home for some and the meaning of life for others.
Invisible World
The
Boarding Home in Vulica Siamaška was opened in 2010. Former patients of the
Boarding Home for Children with Special Needs were transferred here
immediately.
Nina
Sandovich, a sister of mercy, recalls:
— When we
began visiting our friends in this Boarding Home, we saw that they were
somewhat forlorn; they felt lonely. We had visited them in the Boarding Home
for children, and they had attended church. They had a hard time getting used
to this new place, new people, and new circumstances. We would simply come to
our children and invite Father Valery. We dreamed of having a church here. We
decided that the church was to be consecrated in honour of the Merciful icon of
the Mother of God. People pray to this icon of the Mother of God for those who
have mental health issues or special needs, or, as they used to put it, about
the "paralytics". Of course, the Mother of God is the mother of us
all. Most of those who stay here lack motherly protection, love, and support.
A chapel
in the Boarding Home was founded in 2013 and has been the place of weekly
worship since that time. It is in this room that the residents meet their
relatives on weekdays and encounter God on weekends and holidays.
The
Boarding Home is a special and isolated world where things are different. As
Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok noted in his address to the staff of the Boarding
Home, "Christ teaches us to love. Out there in this world each person
lives for his own sake but here we try to understand and accept people who
suffer and in so doing defeat the sinful laws of this world. Prayers that are
going on here help everyone and give us hope and faith, which are lost so
easily. We see the insanity of what happens around us. These people who were
cast out of this world due to their illness are much more honest and pure than
those who consider themselves to be valuable and significant in this world.
Angels in Slippers
If you
draw an analogy between the invisible world of the Boarding Home and the
invisible world of the paradise, the people who stay here are Angels… They came
to the Liturgy on the day of the Merciful icon of the Mother of God wearing
slippers on their feet. It is dark and everyone else is sleeping in the houses
that surround the Boarding Home but there are two windows shining in the
building of the facility because the Liturgy is going on. Someone holds the
hand of a sister, someone sings along with the choir, someone in his
simple-heartedness blesses the priest. Some of the patients cannot leave their
units but a priest comes to them so that they could receive the Body and Blood
of Christ.
— Those
who live here appreciate every meeting and every minute spent together. They
show us how to be grateful, how to love, and how to appreciate each other.
People who come here are genuinely blessed, — the Rev Rodion Alkhovik, who is
the spiritual counsellor of the Boarding Home, says.
The
sisters of St Elisabeth Convent regularly organise spiritual meetings with
Father Rodion, pilgrimages to holy places, and birthday parties for the
patients.
— The
staff are so professional, and the art therapy classes are so amazing here that
our main task is to come and just talk with the patients. You should not do
things in a formal manner but instead you must show each of the people who you
talk with that you care, — Sister Nina believes.
Rejoice!
The
celebration was marked by a special atmosphere created thanks to spiritual
chants, ballads, and contemporary church music performed by Rejoice Choir of
the Sisters of Mercy and their friends. The staff are looking forward to new
concerts like this one.
The
concert kicked off with dances prepared by the residents of the Boarding Home.
It was their first appearance on stage in front of the sisters and the
personnel. It took them two years to prepare for this performance. They had
prepared four dances. Some of the dancers can't even talk but they are very
creative. Sister Ludmila who teaches them is a professional choreographer.
There was
an exhibition of pictures and other artefacts made by the patients of the
Boarding Home No. 4 for the mentally challenged in the National Art Museum
of Belarus on Sunday December 3, which proved yet again that the residents of
the Boarding Home are extremely talented.
St.
Elisabeth Convent
November
28, 2017
CONVERSATION