What was decided by the annual meeting of the clergy of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese

CrimeaPRESS reports:

No offerings in “envelopes”, budget transparency, housing construction and moving the seminary to Sevastopol.

In the administration of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, a meeting of the diocesan council was held under the chairmanship of the head of the Crimean Metropolis, Metropolitan Tikhon of Simferopol and Crimea. How reports press service of the metropolis; suffragan bishops, the secretary of the metropolis, and members of the diocesan council participated in the work of the council. The annual diocesan meeting of the clergy of the diocese, monastics, and abbesses of convents was also held.

Let us note the most important decisions of the Crimean clergy:

On the provision of financial assistance to supernumerary (retired) clergy, as well as widows of priests. A decision was made to allocate monthly benefits for the children of clergy of the diocese (as a rule, clergy families have large families), to build housing for needy clergy, and to organize a Diocesan Medical Center for laity and clergy.

About the need for a wide range of primarily spiritual literature, as well as canonical icons and church utensils in the diocesan warehouse, at the same time affordable.

The ruling bishop emphasized that donations for the sacraments and services should be voluntary and feasible for the laity, and if parishioners lack funds, they should be made by clergy free of charge.

An important resolution of the meeting was the move of the Tauride Theological Seminary to the city of Sevastopol, to the St. Vladimir Monastery in Chersonesos. On the basis of the current premises of the Taurida Theological Seminary, a Theological Academy for the laity will open. It will provide laity with the opportunity to study a wide range of theological and humanitarian subjects; a choir school and a school of choir directors, an icon painting school, and a youth center will open. The task has been set to prepare children’s Orthodox camps for schoolchildren in Crimea by the summer of 2024.

No offerings “in envelopes”. The Metropolitan raised the issue of consistency and transparency in the management of the diocesan budget. From now on, the ruling bishop asked the clergy to forget about any forms of financial contributions to the diocese, except for official transfers for general diocesan needs.

About a hundred churches (mostly rural) out of 327 operating in the diocese are expected to be completely exempt from contributions for general diocesan needs due to their difficult financial situation. All deans have been instructed to study in detail the situation for each of these churches and prepare information about parishes in need of support.

Issues regarding the inventory of movable valuable property of churches were also considered.

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