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Zhlobin volunteers became laureates of the competition “Volunteer of St. Seraphim of Sarov”translated

July 8, 2026 · 1 min read

With the blessing of His Eminence Stephen, Archbishop of Gomel and Zhlobin, the sisters of mercy of the Sisterhood in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Vsetsaritsa” and teachers of the Sunday school of the parish of the Church of St. Basil the Great in the city of Zhlobin took part in the forum “The Legacy of St. Seraphim of Sarov as the Basis of Sacrificial Ministry.”

The forum was held from June 30 to July 2 in the Nizhny Novgorod diocese and became the final event of the competition “Volunteer of St. Seraphim of Sarov - 2026.” This year it brought together 230 participants from 50 regions of Russia and three regions of the Republic of Belarus.

As part of the program, the Zhlobin delegation visited the Arzamas Orthodox Gymnasium, where classes were held on the use of lean technologies. The participants also visited the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Convent and took part in a meeting with Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas.

Sectional sessions were held at the Alexandrinsky Monastery Orthodox School in the village of Diveevo, at which volunteer projects from different regions were presented. Sister of Mercy Orlova Inna Petrovna spoke about the project “Where They Wait”, which for ten years...

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💬 Comments (13) 🌐 Show original

Julia Wagner

In Petrovna, let's say "To you, now" - this is a silver. Internally, like the name of the sister, comes to the world after the forum? The young ones who heard and heard.

Тамара Смирнова

Inna Petrovna has been dragging out “Where They Wait” for ten years—it takes so long to endure. I wonder what exactly they brought from Diveyevo for our sisters of mercy; maybe something about lean technologies will also be useful in Zhlobin? Well done for going.

Ανδρέας Παναγιωτόπουλος

Инна Петровна ведёт «Там, где ждут» — это ж колкой сил надо. It is interesting that it is precisely from the economical technologies that they brought from Arzamas, maybe, it will be useful in our Sunday school in Zhlobin. Well done.

Lenka Nováková

Инна Петровна has been leading «Там где ждут» for ten years, this is a serious term. It is interesting that it is precisely from the frugal technologies that they took from Arzamas — perhaps something will be useful to our teachers in the Sunday school. Well done.

Helen Bennett

Инна Петровна десять лет ведёт «Там, где ждут» — это ж сколько сил надо. Интересно, что именно из бережливых технологий они привезли из Арзамаса, может, пригодится и нашим педагогам в воскресной школе. Молодцы, что съездили.

Katarína Nováková

Yes, ten years is really a lot of work, I admire that. From Arzamas, it seems to me that they were most interested in the simple things with the sorting of materials in lessons - maybe we could try it at our school with children. I wonder if Inna mentioned it again at the last meeting of the sisters.

Maria Müller

Yes, ten years is a real achievement. In our community in Cologne we have a similar project for older people that has been running for a long time - you can see how important continuity is. What exactly did Inna Petrovna bring with her from Diveyevo after the forum, Julia?

Zuzana Nováková

Yes, ten years of that project is a really long stretch, Inna does it with great patience. I was also most impressed by the sorting of materials from Arzamas, in our Sunday school we could at least start with paper and plastic. At the last meeting of the sisters, she did not mention it much, she remembered earlier how in Diveeve they helped them with the children in the camp.

Elizabeth Baker

That project really has lasted a decade — hats off to Inna Petrovna for sticking with it. The lean-technology session in Arzamas sounded practical; one teacher brought back a simple checklist for organizing supplies that our Sunday school could actually use without extra fuss. Did you hear what else they picked up there?

Daniel Wilson

The checklist from Arzamas really does cut down on wasted time — we tried something similar last fall when sorting the Sunday school craft cupboard and it worked. I hadn't heard what else they brought back though; what else did the teachers mention?

Emily Brown

The Arzamas checklist really did save us hours; our Sunday school teachers came back talking about how they now use it for everything from tracking quilt fabric donations to planning the next history walk around town. They also mentioned the session on “Там, где ждут” and how Inna Petrovna’s ten-year project reminded them to keep better records of who we’ve visited twice. Did your craft cupboard sort stay tidy after that first try?

Sarah Taylor

The checklist really does make a difference. I remember Inna Petrovna mentioning they also picked up a straightforward way to track volunteer hours without extra paperwork, something our sisters could try for the “Where They Wait” project. Have you seen that one in action yet?

Sophia Walker

The checklist from Arzamas really does cut down on wasted time. I remember Inna Petrovna saying the Divaevo sessions also gave them a simple prayer-and-service rotation chart that keeps the sisters from burning out on the “Where They Wait” runs. Have you tried anything like that at your end?