Source: The official blog of the Catalogue of
St.Elisabeth Convent
Robert Koch, a German microbiologist, announced his
discovery of the tuberculosis pathogen on March 24, 1882.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905, and
the WHO declared March 24 the World TB Day in 1993. This
terrible disease is responsible for 1.6 million deaths
annually.
The State Institution “The National Applied Research
Centre of Pulmonology and Physiatry” was opened in
our city on August 21, 1928. Our sisters of mercy carry
out their obedience in this place. Today we talk with one
of them.
Sister Lubov, can you tell us about your
obedience?
I started visiting the patients of the
Center five years ago. Generally, the people who suffer
from this illness come from the socially vulnerable
groups of our population. Many of them have difficult
fates: alcohol addicts, homeless, disappointed in life,
offended... They find it hard to believe in God’s
mercy. Some are so irritated that they do not only
insult a sister of mercy but can even throw something
at her. I have had a firsthand experience of this: one
of the patients threw an empty can at me. However, such
accidents cannot stop us in carrying out our obedience.
I recall how one man disliked me to such an extent that
he would literally push me out of his ward. So one day
I came to him, bent over, and said, “Please
forgive me for annoying you... I see that you lose your
temper because of me.” He softened a little, and
then we even became friends! It turned out that he was
a believer of some kind: he even carried an icon with
him. So the fact that these people are so unfriendly
may be caused by their pain, fears, and sorrows, and we
must always bear this in mind.
It is great to have
a chapel in honor of St Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) on the
territory of the Center. We petitioned for it for over
five years! Finally, our Father Andrew blessed us to
gather signatures for this chapel. That was when the
project started to move forward. You know, we were
surprised to have gathered many signatures of the
patients of the Centre in support of the construction,
and even from those whom I had never expected to do so.
A person who had appeared to be absolutely indifferent
to the matters of faith would suddenly say, “Of
course, I'll sign your petition! It is very
important for the patients to have the place to
pray!” When we started to hold molebens in this
chapel, and when these people got the opportunity to
confess and take communion, the atmosphere immediately
changed. Many people turned to God and became
practicing Christians. Those who were especially fond
of the Orthodox faith were put in charge of the chapel,
and they started to feel their responsibility and
started to live in a different way. This was the
beginning of their spiritual life...
Can you give us some examples?
There was a boy whose name was Dima. He
was very young, he had just turned twenty. He believed
in Christ with all his heart and became a practicing
Christian. He was put in charge of the chapel. He was
so zealous in prayer that he would sometimes even sleep
in the chapel on a pew. He did not want to return to
the ward... This was a striking example of a person
changing so drastically! Maybe they even laughed at
him, saying he must have gone insane. An unbeliever
cannot understand these changes. Many people think that
a new believer lost his sanity whereas in fact he came
to his senses! He simply took a sober look at his life
and saw its deep meaning!
Dima took a vow. He told God that he was ready to
sacrifice his own life for his parents to turn to God...
Soon this boy reposed in the Lord. He passed away as a
devout Christian.
Sister Lubov, why did you start visiting this
place?
Thing is, I was here as a patient a
couple of times. So I know this suffering firsthand. I
got ill with TB in 2005... As soon as I was discharged
from the hospital, I was thinking that I would never in
my life come back again! You see, I hated even the
ubiquitous smell of antiseptics! However, God's
will is above all... In the meantime I took the
blessing to begin my obedience here. Now I visit the
patients of this center every week. Surprisingly
enough, almost all the sisters who have their obedience
in the TB center, used to be its patients like me! Only
Leah (Sister Leah Chekan reposed in the Lord on
February 25, 2014) never got ill with this disease. God
has His plans for each one of us!
When our interview was over, Sister Lubov shared some
good news with us: one of the patients of the center had
asked her to get information about the possibility of
employment at one of the Convents workshops. Sounds pretty
normal, doesn't it? The person is looking for a job,
so what? However, the fact that he hopes to find the job
in the Convent is a small yet significant victory!
By Natallia Klimovav from the Stories of the
Sisterhood
