Missionary meeting with the wards of the communication center of the Social Fund of the Russian Federationtranslated

On July 6, in the teahouse at the Church of the Great Martyr and Victorious George in Ivanovo, the chairman of the missionary department of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk diocese, the rector of the church, Priest John Lvov, met with the wards of the communication center of the Social Fund of the Russian Federation. The topic of the conversation was dedicated to the upcoming holiday - the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity. We talked about the problem of demography. Father John noted that the root of the crisis lies not in the economic, but in the spiritual plane. He emphasized: the decline in the birth rate is, first of all, a symptom of man’s deep apostasy from God. When a person turns into himself, into his comfort, career and pleasures, his neighbor turns from the greatest gift into a hindrance. Modern people often perceive family and children as a limitation of their own freedom. We have forgotten how to sacrifice and we have forgotten how to truly love. And without sacrificial love it is impossible to create a strong family, which is the basis for overcoming the demographic decline.

On the eve of the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, the priest paid special attention to the life of the holy faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom. Their marital union became not just a story of beautiful devotion, but a school of Christian love. Father John...