Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2)
Our convent bearing the name of St Martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth was founded in the settlement of Novinki on the outskirts of Minsk in 1999. The convent originated in an Orthodox Sisterhood of the same name. Since 1996, the Sisterhood has served many care centers, including the National Psychiatric Hospital and Municipal Hospital as well as boarding homes for children and adults with special, a TB clinic and a home care facility for mentally challenged children.
The mission of our convent is to provide spiritual and social help to the sick and the suffering. The Convent runs a homestead located 19 miles far from Minsk. It helps drug and alcohol addicts as well as socially vulnerable persons tackle their problems and provides the homeless with shelter and care.
To support and develop the above ministries numerous workshops and studios operate within the frameworks of the Sisterhood. These include an icon-painting studio, sewing and embroidery shops, candle workshop, wood-carving and blacksmith workshops. The Sisterhood activities also include religious education and publishing.
The convent and sisterhood have always worked together in serving God and people.
Sisters and brothers of the convent pray for each other daily. On Sundays, after singing the akathist hymn to the St Elisabeth, the brothers and sisters share their experiences in serving people and discuss spiritual issues. All decisions regarding the activities of the convent and the sisterhood are made with the blessing of the convent’s spiritual father, Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok. Full cycle of divine services is held in the churches of the convent and the Psalter is read continuously.
03.11.2009
My First Encounter with God
There’s Nothing in Life that Happens by Chance…
Usually, we do not realise why our life takes this or that direction. We do not see God’s Providence. Later, if we look back and analyse the past years, we see that nothing happened by chance.
I recall the time when I started going to church and had taken communion just a couple of times. I was sitting in Ss Peter and Paul Cathedral, waiting for my turn to come to Father Andrew to confess. There was an old icon worn from time on a column in front of me. I was in my first year of a school of arts and was still craving to create something…
18.10.2009
Moleben at the Metochion
Our Сonvent received a particle of the holy relics of St John (Maximovich), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, as a gift in September 2008. This treasure was brought to us from America by Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, a member of clergy of San Francisco Cathedral in honour of “Joy of All Who Sorrow” icon of Mother of God. Father Peter came to our convent once more after visiting the homeland of St John of Shanghai. He had travelled there in order to deliver a part of the relics and personal possessions of the Saint to Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra. An armchair of the Saint and articles of his vestments were among the personal possessions of St John, brought from San Francisco. These things remained in the house of an acolyte where St John reposed, for many years…
26.09.2009
A Concert for the Young Patients of the Boarding Home for Children
The concert of the vocal ensemble “The Timbrel” took place in the boarding home for mentally challenged children in Novinki on September 24. It was a wonderful gift for the children. Not only the small dwellers of the boarding home enjoyed the young and clear voices of the participants of the ensemble, but also monastics and medical staff. The participants of the ensemble sang poetry of St John of San Francisco (Shakhovskoi), Alexander Block, Vassily Zhukovich, Matushka Irina Kakhovskaya, as well as folk songs gathered by Elder Nicholas Gurianov (of the Isle of Zalita)…
24.08.2009
Monastic Tonsure in the Convent
Today is a great feast – the tenth anniversary of the Convent. We have a monastic tonsure. This is a Great Supper that the Lord has prepared as He greets back His lost children. This joy is shared by many people who came to the church that day. Everybody waits for the sacrament of tonsure to begin.
Two rows of monastic sisters in the centre of the nave. Three Rassaphore sisters are standing opposite the sanctuary. They wear white robes with their heads uncovered. The sisters resemble sacrificial lambs. A soul is frightened and trembles when she goes into the embrace of the Loving God, and she understands that she can not bring anything to God, not a sacrifice. She understands that she has not obtained anything good but on the contrary, she lost and wasted the talents that she had received from the Lord…
22.08.2009
Interview with Abbess Euphrosinia (Laptik), the Abbess of the Convent in honour of St Martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth
You were one of the first sisters of mercy to choose monastic life. How did it happen?
Before I came to the Church, I always felt insincerity in human relations. I thought I should not live like that. Often in my childhood, when I went to bed I wished to get up in a completely different world. I thought, “Now I am a part of a whole, and later when I grow up I will have to be alone.” This was what I did not want.
Each person has a moment in his life when the Lord touches his heart. I had questions inside my soul and I felt the urge to find answers to these questions. Once I came to Ss Peter and Paul Cathedral and saw sisters of mercy there. I wanted to be one of them…
22.08.2009
Wishes for the Anniversary
Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok:
Patience and unity
Archpriest Sergius Khrapitsky:
The most important thing for us is to remember that the Lord has called us to labour for the sake of the glory of the Church, not just for the glory of one convent, but for the glory of all the Church…
21.08.2009
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord…
Interview with Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual father of the Convent in honour of St Martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth
Father, what is the beauty of monastic life? What is the importance of monasticism for people, for the country, and for the world?
Monasticism is an opportunity to reject all temporary matters and build the Kingdom of Heaven inside one’s soul right here, on earth. A person rejects the most important thing for him when he or she becomes a monastic. A person rejects his or her will, his self, and allows God to act. Monasticism means serving God and being fully united with Him…
21.08.2009
Interview with Zinaida Lobosova, the head sister of the Sisterhood of St Martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth
Sister Zinaida, can you please tell us about your obedience in the boarding home?
Twelve years ago, when the first sisters of mercy came to the National Psychiatric Clinic they had to spread their ministry over all the departments. Apart from the Clinic, there also was a boarding home for mentally challenged adults. These people also needed care and help. There were not enough sisters. Therefore, head sister Helena came to me after All-Night Vigil on Theophany. She invited me to go to the boarding home on obedience. I was startled because I have a husband, two children and I worked at a factory at that time. I could not fathom how it would be possible for me to take part in this work…
24.07.2009
Orthodox Summer Camp
The Orthodox summer camp for kids Nezabudka was established in 2001. Nun Maria (Derzhanovich), a teacher's college graduate, made up her mind to establish the camp when she was just a novice. Once she asked sister of mercy Tatiana, ‘Sister, what do you think, do children need a summer camp?’ Tatiana replied enthusiastically that they do need a camp and she described how she saw it: ‘That would be great if children lived in the fresh air in tents, cleaned up, helped to cook, worked several hours a day because idleness brings vanity. So with God’s help the sisters started to gather children for the first session…
22.06.2009
The Metochion of the Convent
To gather those dispersed …
The metochion of St Elisabeth Convent is a place where work and prayer help a person build a new life, which will not be similar to a prison cell or a ward in a hospital. Many of the people who come to the metochion have a gloomy past behind their backs. Their new world assumes other relation to themselves, to the neighbour and to God. It is necessary for outward man to be corrupted, yet the inward man renewed day by day for Life Eternal...
