The social ministry of monasteries in St. Petersburg in the 20th century

The author considers the social ministry of monasteries in St. Petersburg. At the start of the 20th century, a fairly complex system of social ministry, both in the fields of education and charity, had emerged in the norther capital. Education dominated the activities of the St. Alexander Nevsky Laura, while the two female convents - St. John and Holy Resurrection Novodyevichy - devoted themselves primarily to charitable endeavors, foremost among which was the establishment of orphanages and hospices. With the start of World War One, the charitable activities of monasteries in the capital grew even further, with hospitals of the Red Cross for injured and sick soldiers being opened. All monasteries also accepted many war refugees. Soon after the October Revolution of 1917, Soviet authorities forbade the social ministry of monastics; nonetheless, it continued in one form or another up to the de facto closure of the monasteries (St. John’s in 1923, Novdyevichy in 1932, and the Laura in 1933), first as quasi-legal and then as illegal activity. After the fall of the Soviet government and the reestablishment of monastic life in St. Petersburg, this charitable activity renewed. However, this renewal was not without great difficulties. On the whole, the social ministry of monasteries in St. Petersburg is well developed even today, but still has not reached its pre-revolutionary levels.