HISTORY

Since the middle 1990-th Ukrainian Orthodox Church has overcame the main negative effects of the clerical division and its daily life has been coming back to the active social help to all the people in need.

Now this activity has an systematic and coordination character under the guidance of the

Before it has been established, a great scope of the organizational, educational and methodic work on the base of the partnership, which has been established by the representatives of the Church, state and nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine and abroad as well. This work contains:

1. Partake in the international conferences and seminars, devoted to the social service of the Church:
• Conferences of the Committee of the European Churches (CEC) – Geneva, 1995, London 1997;
• Meetings of European charitable agencies (ERPG) – Armenia 2001, Slovakia 2003.
2. Partake in the training-courses on the organization and implementation of the church related social project:
• Budapest 1998, Hungarian Interchurch Aid;
• Vilemov (Czech Republic) 1998, Social Center of the Orthodox Church of Czech and Slovakia;
• Bialystok (Poland) 1999, Eastern European office of the World Council of Churches (EEO WCC);
• Kyiv – November 2000, February 2001, September 2003.
3. International meetings together with the representatives of the international charitable organizations and partners – church organizations of Ukraine – who conduct the social service projects:
• Kyiv, June 1998 – Florovsky nunnery (Nunery of Stt. Flor and Lavr) working meeting of the representatives of WCC, Deacon Work from Germany, Swiss Interchurch Aid, United Churches of Netherlands, Sweden Interchurch Aid with the clergymen and lay people of Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who actively partake in the social service. Contacts, which were established, has started the work on material and technical support from the side of the European partners to the social activities, run by the UOC (Charitable kitchen in St. Cyril’s church of Kyiv; Kitchen for the blind; sewing workshop and House of Mercy for the elder in the Obukhiv area of Kyivan diocese; Sanatorium (Alupka) Charitable medical center and bakery in the Crimea diocese; Support to the elder, orphans and disabled in L’viv and other activities as well);
• Crimea, Alupka, May 2000 – work meeting of the representatives of WCC, Deacon Work of Germany, Swiss Interchurch Aid, United Churches of Netherlands, Sweden Interchurch Aid, Norwegian Church Aid with the representatives of Ukrainian Orthodox Church and some other religious organizations of Ukraine. As a consequence of this meeting, Coordination Committee of Interchurch Aid in Ukraine (CCIAU) under the World Council of Churches has been created. Since that time the meetings with the charitable European agencies become an annual (Obukhiv 2001, Transcarpathians 2002, Kyiv 2003). On these meetings the strategy of the social work of the church organizations develops, and the resolutions on financing of the proposed project approve.
4. Preparation and implementation of the scope of social projects and creating the conditions for the fruitful work on support the needy:
• Bureau of social service has been created in the Florovsky nunnery (together with the Hungarian Interchurch Aid and “PADKO”company, 1998);
• Charitable organization “Hospice of St. Barbara” has been created in 1999 as a help to the totally ill children (cancer etc.) and to their families;
• Orthodox social center in the Children department of the Kyiv cancer center, 2000.
• Decision of the Holy Synod of Ukrainian Orthodox Church to renew the work of the Department of the charity and social work (April 2002).