Bugulma, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, July 2, 2018

A new project addressing the needs of the poor and homeless in the territory of the Almetyevsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was launched recently in the town of Bugulma in the Russian Tatarstan Republic.

On June 14, the head of the diocese’s Social Department Fr. Konstantin Petryaev celebrated the rite of the consecration for the new mobile social refectory. The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Mayor Irina Belova of Bugulma and representatives of the sisterhood of the Almatyevsk Diocese, reports the site of the Tatarstan Metropolitanate.

The new trapeza is made from a trailer previously used by geologists and oil workers that was given to the Church by a local oil exploration company. The room is equipped with its own heating system, which will allow it to be used in the cold season.

The social trapeza will be used by the Sisters of Mercy of the Almetyevsk Diocese to feed the local homeless and poor for free. Food was previously distributed in the area in tents and temporary pavilions, but the new mobile dining hall provides more comfortable conditions. The food will be prepared in the refectory of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in compliance with all sanitary norms and rules.

According to the agreement with the city administration, the address of the trailer will be near the railroad station, which is a traditional venue for the charity events of the Almetyevsk Diocese’s Social Department.

Something similar was opened in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk last year, where three specially-equipped railway cars were converted into a shelter for the homeless.

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