The organization of patient care in our country is closely connected with the activities of the communities of sisters of mercy. As mentioned, in 1844 there were 56 communities of sisters of mercy in the world, of which 35 were organized in Germany, 6 in Russia (St. Petersburg, Vyborg, Saratov, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki) and 1--3 communities in other countries.

The first such structures in our country were created through private charity. In March 1844, in St. Petersburg, on the initiative and at the expense of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna and Princess Theresa of Oldenburg, the first Orthodox community of sisters of mercy in Russia was founded (since 1873 - the Holy Trinity community of sisters of mercy in honor of the church existing at the community Holy Trinity). According to the charter of the community, which was approved in 1848, its purpose was "the care of the poor sick, the consolation of the mourners, bringing to the path of the true persons who indulged in vices, the upbringing of homeless children and the correction of children with bad inclinations." The community included: a department of sisters of mercy; women's hospital; an almshouse for the terminally ill; reform school; boarding house; shelter for visiting children; branch of the "Penitent Magdalen".

The community accepted widows and girls of all classes aged 20 to 40 years. Before receiving the title of sister of mercy, women had to work in the community for a year. The procedure for enrolling in the sisters of mercy took place in a solemn atmosphere, as well as during the dedication to compassionate widows.

After the liturgy served by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, a gold cross was laid on each one accepted as a sister, with the image of the Most Holy Theotokos on one side with the inscription "Joy of All Who Sorrow", and on the other with the inscription "Mercy". The one who was accepted as a sister took an oath, in which there were the following words: "... I will carefully observe everything that, according to the instructions of the doctors, will be useful and necessary for restoring the health of the sick entrusted to my care; everything that is harmful to them and forbidden by doctors will be removed from them in every possible way" .

According to the Charter, the sisters of mercy were not supposed to have their own clothes, furniture, or their own money. "Everything that a sister can receive for her services in gifts or money," the Charter said, "belongs to the community." If there were violations, the sister was expelled from the community according to the Charter, but there was no such case in the history of the community.

During the creation of the community, the number of sisters of mercy was determined at 30, the subjects - at 20 people. The title of sisters of mercy during the year received 3-4 people. The community almshouse had 6 beds for terminally ill patients; there were 70 places for orphans and poor children; there were 20 children in the correctional school; only in the first 11 years there were 446 people in the department of "penitents".

There was a community on charitable funds. In the 1950s, the community was going through a difficult period - the economy fell into disarray, the discipline of the sisters worsened, and the question arose of closing it. However, since 1859, when the community was headed by E. A. Kublitskaya, its activities began to revive.

The professional training of the sisters of mercy included teaching the basic hygienic rules for caring for the sick, some medical procedures. Subsequently, the scope of their duties was significantly expanded. In addition to working in the branches of the community, the sisters of mercy selflessly cared for the sick in low-income and poor families.

The women's hospital at the community was organized with 25 beds, and since 1868 it already had 58 beds. In 1884, a men's hospital with 50 beds was opened.

Over the years, well-known doctors worked in the community as consultant teachers: N. F. Arendt, V. L. Gruber, N. F. Zdekauer, N. I. Pirogov, E. V. Pavlov, V. E. Ekk, the first female doctor N. P. Suslova.

Intercession Sisters of Mercy was established in 1859 in St. Petersburg by the Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna. According to the statute (1861), the goal of the community was "to take care of the incoming patients, to train experienced sisters of mercy and to bring up poor and homeless children."

The community included a nurses' department, a hospital, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy, an infants' department, a junior children's department, a boys' school, and a school for the training of paramedics.

35 people worked in the department of sisters. As a rule, girls and widows aged 17 to 40 were accepted here. The trial period was 3 years, after which, in a solemn atmosphere, after taking an oath, the sisters received a golden cross on a blue ribbon with the inscription "Love and Mercy". Sisters, subjects and pupils of the school for paramedics were on duty in the hospital, outpatient clinic, pharmacy and were obliged to follow the orders of the doctors. The community hospital had 20 beds for adults and 30 for children. The hospital for outpatients provided assistance free of charge by consulting physicians who were on the staff of the hospital.

The department for young children was designed for 98 people of both sexes. Orphans, cripples, blind children, children from poor families were accepted here.

The boys' school had 40 pupils who remained in the community until the age of 12.

The school trained 100 paramedics; training included two stages - preparatory (gymnasium) and special (medical). The curriculum included the study of anatomy, physiology, physics, pharmacology, clinical disciplines, minor surgery, desmurgy, methods of patient care. The course of study was 4 years. The sisters of mercy who graduated from college received a certificate giving the right to work as an assistant to the doctor.

In 1866, Princess N. B. Shakhovskaya created a community of sisters of mercy "Satisfy my sorrows" (the name of the icon of the Mother of God). The community established at the prison hospital later opened an orphanage for girls, a hospital and a dispensary. Subsequently, the community became the largest in Russia, in 1877 it consisted of 250 sisters of mercy.

A special place in the activities of the first communities of sisters of mercy is occupied by the Exaltation of the Cross community, which was established in St. Petersburg at the very beginning of the Crimean War on the initiative of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna faith). It was the world's first female medical unit to provide assistance to the wounded on the battlefield. Helping the wounded by the forces of the sisters of mercy of this community was a prototype of the activities of the future Red Cross Society.

After analyzing the experience of the first communities of sisters of mercy, it can be noted that there were no fundamental differences in their activities. The sisters' invariable qualities were strict morality, love and mercy for their neighbor, diligence and selflessness, discipline and unquestioning obedience to superiors. The statutes of the communities, although they were strict, but, unlike the monastic ones, retained some elements of freedom for the members of the community. Sisters had the right to inherit and own their own property, if they wished, they could return to their parents or marry. Among the sisters of mercy there were many women and girls of noble birth. However, the charter did not allow anyone to make "discounts", and no one aspired to privileges, everyone with equal dedication endured the hardships of everyday work in peacetime and the hardships and dangers of front-line life.

On the other hand, it should be emphasized social orientation nursing, obstetric and feldsher care in Russia, which was primarily intended for the poor, pregnant women, newborns, children, the elderly, the sick and the wounded. In addition, it was aimed at helping victims of wars, natural disasters, and epidemics. Not only was care and physical assistance provided to a sick, wounded, orphaned child, but humanitarian and vocational education was organized (shelters and schools in the community). Anything that can be called a modern term "social rehabilitation and adaptation".

There is also a division of the spheres of assistance activities: assistance in hospitals and hospitals was under the control of a doctor and was dependent on him, since the doctor considered a nurse, a walker or a compassionate widow as "a tool on whose fidelity and accuracy the success of treatment depends": the work of sisters in shelters, almshouses was less dependent on the doctor, provided more independence in actions, since, in addition to care, it meant training, instilling skills, including professional ones.

The organization of nursing care, aimed mainly at socially vulnerable groups of the population, was cost-effective. Thus, the activities of educational homes, whose incomes significantly exceeded expenses, made it possible to open hospitals for the poor with the money earned. The development of nursing and obstetric care was supported by society and the state.

In 1854, during the Crimean War, the siege of Sevastopol began.

On November 5, 1854, in the church of the Mikhailovsky Palace (now the Russian Museum) a solemn opening ceremony of the Exaltation of the Cross community took place. After the liturgy, the sisters of mercy, headed by the headmaster A.P. Stakhovich, took an oath, which included the following words: "... as long as my strength becomes, I will use all my cares and labors to serve my sick brothers."

On the morning of November 6, the first group of sisters of the community left for the front. On November 22, after a short training, the second group of sisters of mercy went to the Crimea. By the beginning of 1856, more than 200 sisters of mercy from the Exaltation of the Cross community were already working in the theater of operations.

In his letter of December 6, 1854, N. I. Pirogov wrote: “Five days ago, the Exaltation of the Cross community of the sisters of Elena Pavlovna, up to thirty in number, arrived here and set to work zealously; if they do this, as they do now, they will bring no doubt, many benefits."

For the first time in this war, which N. I. Pirogov called the "great drama", the sisters of mercy began to do what in our time is designated as a function of protecting the patient, and they began to be regarded as the patient's lawyers. It was the sister who represented and defended the interests of the patient. Here is how N.I. Pirogov wrote about this work of the sisters of mercy: “They alternate day and night in hospitals, help with dressings, they also attend operations, distribute tea and wine to the sick and watch the attendants and caretakers and even doctors. The presence of a woman, neatly dressed and helping with participation, revives the deplorable vale of suffering and disasters. But compassionate empresses must also arrive ... the order of these widows is also entrusted to me. "

In another letter, he noted: “So they put the neglected hospital on its feet, that now you won’t know. It is no coincidence that E. M. Bakunina, noting this work of the sisters of mercy, spoke of them as "intercessors" for the interests of the sick and wounded.

From the end of December, most of the sisters could not continue to work in hospitals due to typhus; the rest cared for sick sisters. The women who re-entered the community were trained for 2-3 months in the infantry hospital of St. Petersburg in special medical courses, and then they were also sent to the theater of operations.

On January 13, 1855, a detachment of 12 sisters arrived in Sevastopol, headed by the elder sister M. Merkulova, they were entrusted with the most difficult work - duty (day and night) at the main dressing station and in a temporary hospital. N. I. Pirogov divided the sisters into several groups and developed instructions for each group regulating their activities. A group of dressing nurses was on daily duty in the departments of hospitals, helped doctors with dressings and operations, and monitored the cleanliness of the wards. According to the instructions, the sister is obliged to seriously prepare for dressings, to select the necessary medications and dressings for work. When dressing, she had to pay attention to changes in the wound and the surrounding tissue; in the event of severe redness, purulent streaks or bleeding, you should immediately report this to the doctor.

Particular attention in the instructions was paid to measures to prevent infection of wounds, in particular, it was indicated that only clean sponges specially taken from a pharmacist sister could be used.

N.I. Pirogov in one of his letters describes in great detail the activities of the sisters. On his initiative, for the first time in the history of military field surgery, nurses and doctors were divided into four groups. The first group was obliged to sort those arriving according to the severity of their injuries, and those who needed urgent surgery were immediately transferred to the second group. The third group cared for the wounded, who did not need urgent surgical treatment. The fourth group, consisting only of sisters and a priest, took care of the terminally ill and dying. Finally, two hostess sisters were busy distributing wine, tea or broth to the wounded. The hostess sisters kept all the provisions. This was the first "specialization" among the sisters, taking into account the level of their knowledge and abilities, as well as the practical need for this kind of activity.

The sisters had to work in terrible conditions. From day to day, according to Pirogov, from 150 to 200 amputations and other serious operations were performed. Often the wounded were located in tents-infirmaries. Once, Pirogov recalled, a downpour broke out over this camp of martyrs, soaking through not only people, but also the mattresses under them. When someone entered these infirmary tents, groans for help were heard from all sides. And the sisters of mercy, kneeling in puddles in front of the sick, rendered all possible assistance to them.

According to eyewitnesses, many sisters of mercy, helping surgeons, got accustomed to a variety of operations so much that any of them could have performed an amputation on their own. The sisters did not leave without care the wounded French, who were not considered enemies. Having taken on overwork and a heavy cross, the sisters of the Exaltation of the Cross community, "reluctantly, served the operators, chloroformed the operated, monitored the pulse, held the arm or leg that the operator cut or sawed, pressed their fingers instead of the tourniquet on the artery indicated by the surgeon, and even imposed ligature on the vessel, from which arterial blood oozed after the removal of the leg.

Despite the fact that the first sisters of mercy were recruited with great haste and many of them had no education, they all quickly learned nursing and became models of professionalism.

The sisters of the community were representatives of various classes, had different education, and this was sometimes the reason for the difficulties that arose in relations between them. So, A.P. Stakhovich, the head of the detachment of the Exaltation of the Cross community in the Crimea, demanded that the sisters of mercy call her the general's wife, "they called her excellency, although she was the captain's widow." Therefore, N. I. Pirogov suggested that the "chief boss" be called simply the elder sister. The famous surgeon did not share the opinion of A.P. Stakhovich, who looked "at the sisters as nurses." This was the reason for the appeal of N. I. Pirogov to the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna with a request to "remove" Stakhovich.

In addition to medical work, the sisters supervised the activities of the quartermasters. This was due to the fact that state money allocated for hospitals was plundered, in the apt expression of N. I. Pirogov, "even during the day." Thus, according to N. I. Pirogov, the sisters of mercy got a new function - "moral control" over the actions of the hospital administration.

E. P. Kartseva, who arrived in the Crimea in 1855 and later became one of the most famous sisters, put a lot of effort into the fight against hospital embezzlers who robbed the sick and wounded.

For selfless care of the wounded and sick, 158 participants in the Crimean War were awarded medals "For the Defense of Sevastopol" and a gilded cross.

An example of heroism and selflessness during the Crimean War (1853-1856) is Dasha Sevastopolskaya (Mikhailova), the first Russian sister of mercy, who helped the sufferers free of charge, used ordinary vinegar to dress wounds as a means of disinfection.

Dasha of Sevastopolskaya was an orphan, her father died in the war at the Battle of Sinop, and her mother died. She sold her inheritance, disguised herself as a cabin boy and went to war. Nobody recognized her as a girl. The sovereign awarded her with a gold medal "For Zeal", ordered the grand dukes to kiss her, gave her five hundred rubles, and promised another thousand when she got married, and kept his promise.

The Crimean War showed the benefits of female care for the wounded and sick, which was carried out by the warring parties. This, based on the experience of the Crimean War, N. I. Pirogov will write what will be included in all medical encyclopedias and textbooks of the world: "War is a traumatic epidemic. Just as there is always a shortage of doctors during large epidemics, so during big wars there is always a lack of them" . He was convinced in practice that in such a situation, in the interests of the wounded and sick, it is necessary to expand the functions of a nurse, they should be wider than that of a nurse, and the quality of medical care should be higher. And preventive measures to prevent diseases, especially infectious ones, to create conditions for recovery turned out to be so striking that, as N. A. Semashko noted, N. I. Pirogov proved that "the future belongs to preventive medicine." This was also proved by the sisters of mercy, who worked under the guidance of N.I. Pirogov in the most difficult conditions of the Crimean War.

N.I. Pirogov introduced the concept of specialization in the work of community nurses: there were "hostesses", "pharmacists", dressing and operating room nurses, the concept of "senior nurse" appeared instead of the position of "chief boss". Pirogov N. I. defended the idea of ​​introducing female labor in hospitals (before that, care was provided to a greater extent by men).

On November 5, 1854, 38 nurses arrived from England, headed by Miss Florence Nightingale, at the disposition of the Allied armies in Constantinople; at that time in British hospitals, according to various sources, there were up to 3,000 wounded. Nursing sisters were placed in a barracks hospital (in Scutari, Turkey) and performed various jobs depending on the need and skill: some of them helped surgeons, others worked as cooks, laundresses, seamstresses, and others were engaged in preparing pillows and mattresses.

F. Nightingale went to the place of hostilities, to Balaklava, only at the beginning of the summer of 1855 with the aim of visiting hospitals, to which she had previously sent some sisters. Miss Nightingale not only donated her savings to the establishment of a coffee house in Inkerman, but also helped in the construction of reading rooms, organizing readings for sailors, also wrote letters for the soldiers, made sure that their remittances were sent to their homeland, arranged baths, laundries, hospitals kitchens, which contributed to the reduction of mortality and sanitary losses in the British army. At the end of 1855, F. Nightingale will return moved to England, organized a collection of donations in order to create a school for the training of sisters of mercy. On June 26, 1860, she opened the world's first school for the training of sisters of mercy in St. Thomas's Hospital in London.

COMMITMENT TO FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

I, solemnly before God and in the presence of this assembly, pledge:

To spend my life in purity and faithfully serve my profession. I will refrain from all that entails harm and death and will not take or knowingly give harmful medicine. I will do everything in my power to maintain and elevate my profession, and I promise to keep confidential all personal matters relating to my management and the family circumstances of patients that come to my knowledge in the course of my practice.

With fidelity I will strive to assist the physician in his work and will devote myself to the well-being of those who have trusted in my care.

In her Notes on Care, F. Nightingale defined nursing, showed its difference from medical practice, she created a model of nursing, that is, a theory that was taught in the first nursing schools in Europe and America.

The name F. Nightingale has become a symbol of mercy.

Every 2 years, the International Committee of the Red Cross awards 50 medals in her name on her birthday (May 12). This is the highest award for nurses, activists of the Red Cross. The regulation on this medal states that it is given "not to crown a career, but to celebrate outstanding actions and recognize the exclusively moral qualities of the awarded." Currently, this medal has about 1000 people.

Thus, in the domestic literature on the Crimean War and its medical support, it is emphasized that the Exaltation of the Cross community is deservedly the world's first medical formation, its activities were carried out according to a clear system proposed by the brilliant surgeon N. I. Pirogov. In fact, on the battlefields of the Crimean War, the basic principles of military field surgery were born, a well-thought-out system of staged treatment and evacuation of the wounded, then formulated by N. I. Pirogov in "The Beginnings of General Military Field Surgery" (M; L., 1944) .

A white robe, a white headscarf with a red cross - these are the modern sisters of mercy, whom I first saw when I visited the community at the Stavropol hospital church of the Healer Panteleimon.

Everything today is almost like in pre-revolutionary Russia. True, the current sisters do not have a special education, but they also work with the sick - they provide not so much medical assistance as moral support. On Sundays and holidays, they visit people who are forced to while away the time in hospital beds: they bring holy water, prosphora, crosses, spiritual literature, they rush to console with a kind word ... It happens that one of the patients needs communion. Then the sisters invite the priest.

The decision to create a sisterhood was made at a meeting of parishioners, but the idea itself came from Father Pavel (Samoilenko). So, on July 7, 2000, this community appeared.

No one else's misfortune

... Among the many people who came to the temple on Sunday morning, it was not difficult to find sisters dressed in all white. At this time, they just completed their first tour of the fourth hospital and agreed to talk.

So, the sisters of mercy are not just an ideal, heroic image, they are real people with their own destinies.

All the women gathered in a cozy office, and the conversation turned out to be sincere and warm: at the moment, about thirty parishioners carry out this service at the temple. The community is headed by Olga Skrynnik, who told how the forgotten volunteer movement was revived. At the temple, she is the elder sister, and outside its gates, she is a chemistry teacher in one of the city's comprehensive schools.

– Our mission is to carry the word of God, console, help the sick. During the day we try to go around the entire hospital and maternity hospital. Patients meet in different ways: some are waiting impatiently, while others refuse any help - we are not offended, we just wish health and move on, - says O. Skrynnik. - Sometimes you doubt: is there any sense in what we are doing? You go into the next room, and then you are greeted with a smile ...

As you know, all the sisters of mercy are parishioners of the temple. Among them there are not only representatives of the older generation, but also young people. For example, girls from Sunday school help women. Although the movement is voluntary and everyone can ask for help, not everyone can become a sister of mercy.

“The future sister must definitely talk with the rector and receive his blessing,” explains Olga Skrynnik. – But there is no guarantee that a person will stay for a long time. Not everyone can withstand this work: there are those who have enough spiritual warmth ...

The conversation was continued by Anna Filippovna Kurs. The woman is already retired, but she does not lack vitality, energy. She is always ready to help and has been in the community for over a decade.

“Every day I ask the Lord to give strength and health to this difficult task,” she continued the conversation. – I started attending the temple when I was still working at the factory. The work was hard, I constantly communicated with suppliers, clients ... I was very tired and came here every weekend, finding peace of mind. And when she became a pensioner, she decided to become a sister of mercy.

healing stories

Anna Filippovna knows many stories of miraculous healing of patients. One of them happened not long ago.

- A woman was admitted to the hospital, whose esophagus closed due to nerves. She lay there for three weeks, but the doctors could not help. When we visited the patient, the patient shared her emotional experiences. We consoled her and gave her a piece of prosvir as parting. They persuaded us to swallow, the very next day the woman's esophagus opened ... At the meeting, she rushed to hug us and thanked us with tears in her eyes.

Many, after communicating with the sisters of mercy, reconsider, “reshape” their lives. So, for example, it happened to a patient who was admitted to the hospital with a broken leg. The story is quite simple: he drank, fell, woke up - plaster. The young man led a wild life, but after the instructions of the sisters of mercy, he decided to confess to the priest and realized that it was time to give up addictions...

Such big and small human tragedies are experienced by the sisters of mercy together with the patients of the hospital. But it’s not so easy to accept the sorrows of a stranger, console him, help him find the right path, but none of the women complain about fatigue. For many of the patients, their soul just hurts. In my presence, they remembered a young man who was brought to the hospital without legs. For two months, the sisters of mercy visited him. And when it came time to discharge the young man, it turned out that he had no relatives or friends. They began to fuss, turned to the Ministry of Social Protection of the Territory for help: a disabled young man was placed in one of the stationary institutions.

“God grant that he is well taken care of there,” Anna Filippovna said with a sigh.

Quite recently, Tatyana Kriulina came to the community. Problems in the family forced the woman to turn to God and start helping others.

And Taisia ​​Telnova was brought to the community of sisters of mercy by her own illness.

– For the first time, a friend brought me to the temple, – says T. Telnova, – I was seriously ill and was going to have an operation. She didn’t know how to pray, what to do in church at all—she was too far from church life. After the operation, she began to go to church herself, and when she found out about the sisters of mercy, she volunteered to help them. Now I can't imagine my life without community. Sometimes I feel bad, but I still go to the service, and when I meet the gratitude of people, the strength reappears...

We spent more than one hour with the sisters of mercy - we walked around the wards together, were in the maternity hospital, and almost everywhere people met them with a smile. At the present time, when sometimes you do not notice someone else's misfortune, the work of the sisters of mercy becomes especially noticeable - doing it at the behest of the soul, they still serve in society as an example of sincere love for one's neighbor.

Lecture #2

Formation and development of nursing in Russia. Communities of sisters of mercy. The contribution of sisters of mercy to the development of nursing in Russia (E.P. Kartseva, Dasha Sevastopolskaya, E.A. Khitrovo, E.M. Bakunina, etc.). The main directions of reforming nursing in the Russian Federation at the present stage. Nursing in Russia at the turn of the millennium XX- XXIcentury

It is known that even in ancient times, women often devoted their lives to caring for the elderly, the sick and the disabled.

In the X century, the daughter of Prince Rurik, Princess Olga, organized the first hospital in Russia.

In the 11th century, “widow women” (midwives) appeared, their duties included baptizing newborns and assisting during childbirth.

In the XII-XIII centuries, "hospital wards" were created at churches and monasteries in Moscow. The necessary treatment of the sick and wounded during periods of epidemics and wars was carried out in the monastery hospitals. The word "hospital" means: the place where pain lays a person down.

In the 30s of the XII century, the granddaughter of Vladimir Monomakh Evpraksia-Zoya was engaged in traditional medicine. She became the first Russian woman to set foot on the difficult path of medicine. She wrote the first domestic medical treatise "Ointments", which was unique for that time. Labor includes questions of physiology, hygiene, propaedeutics and prevention of certain diseases.

Medicinal activities in Russia were carried out by healers, sorceresses, sorceresses. They helped both the nobility and the common people. Numerous chronicle sources of the XIV-XV centuries mention the names of the peasant girl Fevronia, the princely daughter of Euphrosyne, Theodosia Morozova, who, at the call of the heart, took care of sick people.

In the 16th century, doctors performed the functions of midwives, later - pediatricians. From the notes of foreigners about Moscow in the 14th-16th centuries: “There are no doctors or pharmacists at all in everyday life.”

Russia entered the 18th century with Peter I. Thanks to this tsar, there were significant changes in the organization of medical care in the Russian state.

In 1715, a Decree was issued on the service of women in foster homes to care for sick children. This was the first step to involve women in medical work. Peter's undertakings were not destined to come true: Catherine I removed women from hospitals, and subsequently retired soldiers performed the role of nurses.

The main attention in the time of Peter the Great was given to the creation of military medical institutions, and therefore in 1707 a hospital was built in Moscow, at which the first medical and surgical school in Russia was opened. In the future, similar schools for the training of doctors began to open at hospitals in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt. Since 1741, students from soldier families were recruited to hospital schools. After 5 years of training, they received the specialty of a barber or assistant doctor and were sent to the army. Later they were called paramedics. "Paramedic" in translation from German means "field barber".

Women's labor was again used only in the middle of the 18th century in civilian hospitals, the care of the sick was carried out by "women-sitters" - these were the wives or widows of hospital soldiers. But this service was distributed only in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

At the beginning of the 18th century, obstetric benefits were provided in Moscow by the first "scientific" midwives who were trained abroad. The first obstetric institution was established in 1764 (before that, there was not a single maternity hospital in Russia). Soon a midwifery institute was opened in St. Petersburg - an obstetric and educational institution.

In 1803, "widows' homes" were opened at educational homes - shelters for poor widows, where women received skills in caring for the sick. These women were called compassionate widows.

Nursing in Russia has been developing since 1803

with the organization of the service of compassionate widows - the predecessors of the sisters of mercy.

Thanks to Empress Maria Feodorovna, Russian women were involved in medical work, and this was a new phenomenon in the social life of the country. Compassionate widows were sent to work in hospitals. In a solemn atmosphere, they took an oath to serve the chosen cause of caring for the sick. This form of professional participation of women in nursing was the only one until the middle of the 19th century.

It is interesting to note that the fate of the great Russian writer F.M. Dostoevsky. He was born in a hospital, in the family of a doctor, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. The difficult life of widows is described by A. Kuprin in the story "The Holy Lie". After the death of his father, four-year-old Sasha Kuprin, together with his mother, the princess, a cripple, for lack of funds ended up in the common ward of the widow's house.

1812 - war with Napoleon. Life has shown that with a large influx of the wounded and sick, medical institutions were not able to do without auxiliary female labor. Therefore, in 1816, a special paramedical school for 150 places was opened at the Moscow hospital;

in 1818 - courses for nurses and the Institute of Compassionate Widows. The training was carried out according to the textbooks of X. Oppel. The name of this doctor is associated with the beginning of special training for women in Russia as medical staff.

In 1832, a paramedic school for boys was opened at the Golitsyn Hospital, and in 1854 for women. In total, by 1911, 27 medical assistant schools were opened.

Organization of communities of sisters of mercy - 40-50s of the XIX century

It is hard to imagine, but until the middle of the 19th century, nurses took care of the sick in medical institutions and helped doctors.

First the community of sisters of mercy in Russia - Holy Trinity - was created in St. Petersburg in 1844.

Widows and girls of 20-40 years old were accepted as sisters of mercy. During the year, the subjects took training courses and actually tested their mental and physical qualities. They studied the rules of patient care, methods of dressing wounds, pharmacy and recipes. In a solemn atmosphere, women were ordained as sisters of mercy. However, in order to help the wounded in the theater of operations, women for a long time

time was not attracted - there was an opinion in society that only a fallen woman could look after wounded men.

In 1854, in St. Petersburg, on the initiative and at the expense of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, sister of Nicholas I, the famous Holy Cross community was formed to train nurses to help the wounded. Women underwent training for two to three months, and then they were sent to the front in Sevastopol. Well-known doctors taught in the community, including himself N.I. Pirogov.

“Interest in the matter of caring for the sick and wounded woke up in society with the start of major military campaigns, when before the eyes of enthusiasts arose in a foggy haze the heroic image of a woman bandaging the bloody wounds of a dying soldier.”

Many Russian women and girls helped the wounded in a difficult combat situation. Among them is 15-year-old Dasha Mikhailova, lovingly nicknamed by the defenders of the city Dasha of Sevastopol - a legendary person. At the call of her heart, she went to the front, in the most difficult conditions she helped the wounded at dressing stations, then in hospitals. In fact, she became the first sister of mercy before the arrival of Pirogov with his squad of nurses. Dasha was highly appreciated by N.I. Pirogov, by order of Nicholas I, she was awarded the gold medal "For Courage" and a large cash prize.

For the first time in world history, sisters of mercy began to help the wounded and sick on the battlefield.

About one conquest of the revolution

Is it true that when the first communities of sisters of mercy arose, care for the sick and wounded in the modern sense simply did not exist?

Care was, but it was insignificant. It was carried out mainly by male personnel, the so-called servants. If it was about military events, then it was a servant from the soldiers - from the decommissioned, slightly wounded, etc., who did all the work. In the civil department there was such a servant - both male and female - from the most diverse persons of the lowest rank. This job has always been very low paying. And, of course, a little professional.

- Can we say that the women's nursing movement gave rise to the profession of a modern nurse?

Here it should immediately be noted that there were completely different movements concerning the same subject - a sick person. There were people who came to this job because they simply had nowhere to go. Often they were people who were drinking and leading an absent-minded lifestyle, they were often seen stealing, they were often kicked out, and there was a staff turnover.

The second category is people who came all the same in order to care for the sick. For example, the institute of compassionate widows. These were, as we would now say, the homes of veterans, or rather, the wives of civil service veterans, the widows of those who died in the line of duty. Some of these women were engaged in caring for the sick, thus receiving additional earnings. Their activities did not have a purely religious direction. Since the religion was state and everyone was Orthodox, then, naturally, compassionate widows took an oath on the Gospel, kissed the cross, etc. But still, these organizations cannot be called religious communities.

The third direction is women's public formations in times of troubles and national catastrophes. For example, the Red Cross, which was also in many ways a women's organization.

And finally, the fourth ones are religious communities, where service to the sick was considered as a kind of service to God and the way of salvation.

- How did the pre-revolutionary position of the sisters of mercy differ from the current one?

Previously, sisters were a very protected category, including socially protected. The working age was short - fifteen years, then a pension. And the pension is good, you could support yourself and another relative, give him an education. Those. the matter was taken seriously, and the person who was caring for the sick gave him all his health, he knew that the community would not leave him later. Most of the communities had capital, and they lived on interest from this capital. And the sisters often worked for a fee, by the way, for a lot of money. But the money did not go to them, but to the general cashier.

- That is, in the old communities, the sisters lived on full provision?

Yes, on official clothes, on official food ... It was a certain way of life, which now seems almost impossible to me. Well, before doctors lived at the hospital, teachers at schools. Now this system is broken.

In addition, if we take the real community of sisters of mercy, they all worked in departments that were strictly closed to any other help. There has always been administrative support. A special department, special hospitals were allocated, a special procedure for the work of these sisters was created, their legal status was determined. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov wrote that the feat of a sister of mercy is possible only if there is a strong male guardianship behind it. Then the woman can handle it.

It is necessary that a sister of mercy feel her rights, so that she understands that if she asks for something, demands something, disagrees with something, then she will be supported, listened to. Now this is not. If a sister in the department wants to do something to take care of the sick, for example, to get some linen, she goes to the hostess, the hostess sister sends her obscenities, and everything ends there.

In addition, the former sisters always had very important controlling functions. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, for example, wrote to his wife during the Crimean campaign (in a joking manner, true, but nonetheless) that the sisters of mercy in Odessa shot the chief pharmacist. "Truly merciful sisters!" - writes Pirogov. The story was this: the pharmacist stole medicines, and the sisters, with great effort and with high support (the patroness of the Exaltation of the Cross community was nothing less than Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, who had very great power) achieved a trial. Giant machinations were uncovered, and the apothecary shot himself in disgrace.

- And how is a sister of mercy different from an ordinary nurse? Are these different professions?

Now there is some confusion with the concept of "sister of mercy". One of the difficulties of the present time is that everyone puts their own meaning into this concept. And if we return to history, then we must understand it quite unambiguously: a sister of mercy before the revolution is just a nurse. Here were the professions: an officer, a lawyer, a priest, a cab driver, and there was a profession of a sister of mercy. The sisters of mercy were different - depending on the type of communities to which they belonged: confessional, Red Cross, heterodox, there were also atheists, atheists. But professionally it was the same.

A revolution comes and everything changes. The revolutionaries were the first to react to the word "mercy". And not even because the sisters of mercy were religious, but because for the revolutionaries the word "mercy" was associated with religion and was subject to destruction. By the 25th or 26th year, the Bolsheviks removed the word "mercy" from the lexicon. Thus, without wanting it themselves, they gave it an ideological meaning - it was associated with a religious, that is, a spiritual attitude to the matter.

And it turned out that when now this name - "sister of mercy" - returned, it began to mean something else. Using it now, we oppose a sister, who formally refers to her duties, with a Christian sister, and on the other hand, we oppose the health care system that exists, some other - more humane, more reasonable.

By the way, Count Alexander Sturdza, the founder of the well-known Odessa Orthodox community of sisters of mercy and a very pious person, has the same idea in his address to the sisters: he tries to oppose his sisters of mercy to some others that existed in his time. “For between a truly compassionate nurse and an ordinary nurse,” he writes, “there must be a considerable essential difference: a simple nurse (consider a simple sister of mercy. - A. F.) can be serviceable without much sympathy for the patient. On the contrary, a compassionate sister, ministering to the sick for the sake of Christ, must be inspired by faith and love, in which lies all our merit and all our wisdom. That is, there was some opposition then.

It seems to me that today, officially calling a person a sister of mercy, we always confuse his status. After all, it's actually an appraisal. And it happens that today I am a sister of mercy, and tomorrow I am a viper. Because today I love the patient and take care of him, but tomorrow I'm tired of them all and I don't want to take care of them. And I am no longer a sister of mercy.

In our school, we put ourselves on the hook: with our name - "school of sisters of mercy" - we kind of announced that this title can be fixed in the educational program, that this is the formal name of the profession. What this word is not and should not be. This is a fundamental moment.

A sister of mercy is a professional physician, but with special mental and spiritual qualities. These qualities may be given to some from God from birth, as a dispensation of the soul, but most often they are acquired as a result of acquisition, as a gift from God for our labors. And these special spiritual and spiritual qualities cannot be an element of professionalism in the bureaucratic sense of the word. They cannot be part of a qualification.

Now, in fact, there is a formalization, standardization of all life. What Dostoevsky said: when right comes, love goes. Before our eyes, there is an increase in the paper "legal field", a terrible paper "must" and "should" - and the washing out of normal, free human relationships, where love is present. Even people entering into marriage are encouraged to conclude a contract, which defines the duties and responsibilities of the parties. The same is true in medicine. But the more they try to force the physician to work for the patient through formal requirements, the more opportunities he will have not to do this. It's a paradox, but it's true. Because inside formal conditions one can always be absolutely soulless. Here I am supposed to turn the patient over five times an hour to prevent bedsores. I know, I feel, or they told me that this particular patient should not be turned over five times, but twenty-five times, and in the next hour, maybe not even once. But formalism gives me the opportunity to show an absolute dislike for him. I have written - five times, and I will do as it is written.

Here we have one sister wrote a dissertation on bedsores. And she writes there that in the department where patients with spinal injuries lie, a formal approach to professional activity is unacceptable. That is, bare professionalism does not work there. There must be certain mental and spiritual qualities and properties for this work - that is, something that goes beyond professionalism.
"I'm standing and crying..."

- When schools like yours or the community of sisters of mercy are being created now, is the goal to return to some ideal in the past?

This is a difficult question. When we created the school, the idea that the spirit of the former communities of sisters of mercy was being revived was, of course, present. But in fact, in the form and role in which those communities of sisters of mercy existed, nothing can be revived. What was before the revolution and what is now are two different states. And it is simply impossible to "adopt" the previous experience.

The main idea was different. When perestroika began, there was such a joyful feeling that our society itself would be able to participate in solving social problems. Everyone thought: now something like this will open. The problems of sick people will be dealt with not only by officials, but also by society itself, it will form some structures that will figure it out and do what is necessary.

After all, we lived in a society where the patient was unnecessary. He was a cog - shorn, dressed in a uniform that was practically a repetition of the form of convicts. And there was not a single lawsuit about what happens in the hospital, the patient could never be right. Everything that the doctors offered was the ultimate truth, the doctor was a kind of official managing human health.

Perestroika began, and it seemed to everyone that reasonable approaches would finally prevail. And one of the reasonable approaches was the return of the Church to social activity.

So, when our school of sisters of mercy was created, the main idea was that in society, in the Church, there is a certain stratum of people who would like to be engaged in providing real reasonable help to the sick. And only a small thing remains - to organize, unite, train them, and then everything will go by itself: they will come to the hospital and arrange chic, brilliance, beauty there.

And when for the first time we announced: "Come!" - people came, exactly those same ones. Mostly those who already have an education, have life experience, adults who came to God and realized that they used to live wrong, but now they know how to do it right. And the right thing is to work with patients. And our task was not to teach them mercy, but to give them professional skills for such work.

- Then something changed?

There were only two or three such sets. The trend emerged almost immediately: we "selected" these people in Moscow rather quickly. The stock has run out! And the main idea has changed. If the first idea was: "I need this education in order to go to the sick," now: "I need an education, and what I will do next - we'll see. But the place where I am is good. The place is church, here is spiritual atmosphere, it's calm here, they don't smoke, they serve lunch..."

Now very young people come to us, who, in general, know little about themselves. And I must say, do not open it. This is such a misfortune - many of them, when they act, say all sorts of lofty words, but in fact there is nothing behind these words, except for the understanding that such words should be said, and not vice versa. It is clear that a person cannot come and say: I came to you, because a sister of mercy earns a lot or quickly makes a career ... They speak accumulated newspaper words, behind which there is no essence. When we started, the essence was, because a person said: “I’m walking, I see your ad is hanging on a pole, I read it, I’m standing and crying like a fool ... Because I suddenly realized that I had worked at a factory for 20 years - an engineer, but in fact, that's where I need to be ... "These were living words.

And when the children come, they themselves do not yet know what they want. Over the years, while they study, grow up, they completely change and they have a lot of plans - maybe very good ones, but not directly related to working with patients. We think that we are a school of sisters of mercy, but in fact we have people who have no idea what it is. And they do not have a real need to help the sick, because this need is formed much later, already in an adult.

And by the way, the sisters of mercy were not admitted to the old communities until they were 20 years old. And 20 years then - it was already about-th-th age. People who made their choice came to the old communities.

So now our school of sisters of mercy performs the function of a kind of haven for young people who, during their studies, can not only remain clean, but also, if they wish, grow in church life and in holiness.

But there are ordinary medical schools and institutes where Orthodox people study. Isn't it enough for a physician to simply be a believer, why is a special Orthodox medical education needed?

Of course, a Christian must be in the world. But for this he must be a very strong Christian. Are there any now? I don’t know about others, I myself am a bad Christian, and it’s very difficult for me. So I imagine how difficult it is for children.

Given the current situation, Orthodox educational institutions are very much needed. In ordinary institutions, and even more so in schools, there are a lot of temptations now. Medical students tell me what's going on there. They drink, walk, debauchery, take drugs. We recently went with our students to the anatomical museum of the medical institute. We come to the locker room, and on the column there is a huge inscription with a felt-tip pen, completely indecent.

We sometimes like to complain: it’s bad here, our teachers are not good enough ... But children from other schools come and say: I want to transfer to you, our teachers swear at us in the classroom. We may not have perfection, which, probably, never and nowhere at all, but still, in comparison with other schools, the situation here is completely different, which allows children not to die.
Aptitude test

But maybe the young can be taught? How do you explain the meaning of nursing to them?

We are trying to teach them that another person is very important for a sister of mercy - his worries, needs, his experiences, that when communicating with other people, we should always ask ourselves: "What can be done for him?" That is, we teach them to prepare themselves for service. But to what extent this is possible, I don't know. Some girls get it. Maybe this is somehow connected with innate characteristics, because there are people who are prone to self-sacrifice, to helpfulness, and there are people who believe that, on the contrary, everything should be given to them.

But speaking is speaking, and deed is deed. It is necessary to work with the sick, and for the students nearby to see it. Because no words can replace deeds. And here you can immediately see who is good for what. It happened with us like this: students go to the hospital with one of the older sisters, and then this sister tells me: they came to the department, they had to shake off the dirty blanket from the homeless, and the girls said: we don’t want it, it’s dirty. And mercy is just this: the blanket is dirty and nasty, but the homeless needs the blanket to be shaken and turned over, he doesn’t need anything else ...

The second point, very important, in my opinion: if she is a doctor, a sister of mercy should be brought up in a medical institution. The whole paradox is that we do not have such medical institutions where we can educate sisters of mercy.

- Which means what?

There should be nurses and doctors who love the sick, set an example of selfless service. The entire hospital staff, the team, should be an example. We have practically no such examples - well, no more than two or three departments where our sisters of mercy work. But if we have 250 students, we cannot send them to practice in one department. And when they come to other places, they find themselves in conditions of life that have nothing to do with mercy and Christianity. I do not want to scold anyone, but now the atmosphere in hospitals is becoming very difficult.

There are not enough nurses in hospitals. There are people who have nowhere to go to work. Giant burdens fall on the sisters. There are not enough working hands, there are no medicines, there are no items of care, linen. The conditions are very difficult. Just imagine - a man comes and says: I will play the violin! They tell him: please play. Only we don’t have a violin, we don’t have bows, and the orchestra went into the next room ... And what should this violinist do? And modern sisters live in this all the time, all the time they are faced with the fact that it is impossible to carry out their activities. This causes a very difficult mental and professional internal conflict. And many break down and stop doing something at all.

At the same time, there are wonderful nurses who need to erect a monument. Those who stayed to work, who work with seriously ill patients. They are also sisters of mercy. Of course, they are non-church, but they are sisters of mercy, because they love the sick and take care of them. And they give their lives for them. Here they would be churched ...

Therefore, if I were now asked how I see the future of the school, I would say this: it should be made a school for advanced training. For nurses with a diploma of secondary medical education who worked in a hospital and realized that they lacked mercy and something very important inside. So that they can come here and, being churched, living the church life together, receive this.

- What prospect do you see for the communities of sisters of mercy in the current situation?

I believe that the place of a sister of mercy in modern society must be determined by law. It is necessary to find people in state structures who are interested in creating medical institutions where sisters of mercy would work. But is it real, I don't know. Not sure.

Until we find administrators who want not to make money in every possible way (and the modern system allows you to make money on anything, including the hospital), it is unlikely that anything will work out. Well, a simple thing: let's say, a big hospital with many buildings. The Orthodox community comes: "Let's repair one building together and make a hospice here." But the head physician is not interested. He will rent this building to some firm for much more money.

In order for the sisters of mercy to have a future in state structures, it is necessary that the state show a non-material interest in this. Or it should be like Elizabeth Feodorovna - with very high patronage and very high prosperity. It was, after all, a completely self-financing unit. If Elizabeth Feodorovna had not had money, there would have been no Martha and Mary Convent. She bought a hospital, she bought land, she bought medicines, she hired teachers for the school, and so on.

There should be a law on state orders, i.e. the state must determine the areas in which it entrusts public and religious organizations with work. This is, for example, the problem of homeless children, or the problem of the homeless, or the problem of the elderly, the disabled, etc. A program should be developed in which the state budget would be allocated to a specific executor to solve a specific problem. Here, let us suppose, is the community of sisters of mercy. She concludes an agreement with the state that she takes 50 children to raise. And she gets the state budget for it. And the state, in turn, controls how this money is spent.

This law is in force in many states. With us, unfortunately, everything remains now at the level of personal agreements. That is, let's say, the rector of the church and the director of the state orphanage agreed, they took several sisters to the orphanage, then a few more sisters, then a priest comes there, reads prayers, a chapel appears, then the church is consecrated. Such a slow, slow path is probably possible - in the event that there is a specific person who wants to do this. But such people are actually very few.

§ 2. A Brief History of the Foundation of the Moscow Communities of Sisters of Mercy

The Moscow communities of sisters of mercy, despite the commonality of their goals, were in many respects different organizations from each other. They were subordinate to various departments, which determined the degree of their independence, the management structure, and much more. All the communities that existed in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries can be structurally and subordinated to three main types: subordinate to the diocesan authorities, communities of the Russian Red Cross Society and self-governed within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their similarities and differences are best seen when comparing the statutes of specific communities of sisters of mercy.

In total, there were six communities in Moscow. The first of them - Nikolskaya - under the Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, was organized by Princess S.S. Shcherbatova and Dr. F.P. Haaz during the cholera epidemic of 1848. Initially, the community was located on Dolgorukovskaya Street, and in 1851 moved to Vorontsovskaya near the Novospassky Monastery. The sisters cared for the sick in city hospitals and at home. The community had an orphanage and an almshouse for elderly women. In 1855-1856, during the Crimean War, the sisters of the Nikolskaya community, together with the compassionate widows and sisters of the St. Petersburg Holy Cross community, assisted the wounded in the Crimean hospitals.

In the late 1850s the archive of the community burned down, so there is practically no detailed information about its activities. By the mid 1870s. a few elderly sisters of mercy remained in the community, who moved to the almshouse. The community ceased to exist, but in 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, it was restored on the initiative of the trustee of the Lefortovo branch of the Moscow Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor O. L. Eremeeva.

In 1865, Princess N. B. Shakhovskaya, who worked in the Nikolskaya community, moved with thirty sisters to a separate house on Pokrovskaya Street, thereby founding the community “Satisfy my sorrows”. In 1872, the community moved to Lefortovo (the current address is Hospital Square, 2), where a number of charitable institutions gradually opened: an orphanage, a women's school, a hospital, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy, and, finally, a shelter for the elderly nurses.

The sisters of mercy of the “Satisfy my Sorrows” community provided assistance to wounded soldiers on the fronts of the Serbo-Turkish, Russian-Turkish, First Balkan and First World Wars, and in peacetime helped the population of Russian provinces suffering from crop failures and epidemics, served in the Yakut colony for lepers.

In 1872, the Vladychne-Pokrovskaya diocesan community was officially opened (Bakuninskaya St., 83 and Gastello St., 42–44). Its establishment and the first years of activity are associated with the bright personality of Mother Superior Mitrofania (Rosen). The abbess energetically carried out the arrangement of the new community, personally seeking the necessary funds for this. However, she was accused of illegal financial transactions and convicted, after which the position of the Pokrovskaya community was greatly shaken, although thanks to the help of the Metropolitan of Moscow Innokenty (Veniaminov), and then the Moscow City Duma, the organization continued its work.

Under the Vladychna-Pokrovskaya community, there were hospitals, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy, an orphanage, a general education and medical assistant's school, a sericulture school and needlework workshops.

The Committee "Christian Aid" of the Russian Red Cross Society was established in Moscow in 1877. Under it, a shelter was immediately opened for soldiers who were injured during the Russian-Turkish war. In 1880, under the Committee, the Alexandrinsky shelter for the terminally ill and crippled was established, in 1883 - the hospital named after Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, in 1888 - the Alexandrinsky community of sisters of mercy (9 Pisemsky St.) and a shelter for former sisters mercy of the Red Cross. Finally, in 1896, a polyclinic named after Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was opened at the community. All these institutions were founded on the initiative of the Wisniewskis. The sisters of mercy of the Alexandrinsky community took part in the Russo-Japanese and World War I.

Little is known about the activities of both the Alexandrinsky community and the entire Christian Aid Committee before 1904. At the beginning of 1904, the Main Directorate of the ROCK received information about the abuses of the Committee's leadership. As a result of the investigation, the Vishnevsky spouses were removed from their positions, and the leadership of the Committee was entrusted to the maid of honor E. F. Dzhunkovsky.

The Iberian community (17, Malaya Yakimanka Street) was founded in 1894 under the Moscow Ladies' Committee of the Russian Red Cross Society. Throughout the entire period of its existence, the community was under the patronage of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The community operated a pharmacy and several medical institutions: a surgical and therapeutic clinic, an outpatient clinic, which were attended by the best doctors in the city.

The sisters of mercy of the Iberian community assisted the wounded during the Greco-Turkish, Russian-Japanese and the first Balkan wars, the Ihetuan ("Boxer") uprising in China and the First World War. The community sent its detachments to many provinces of Russia struck by famine and epidemics.

Portrait of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

In 1901, another community arose - Pavlovskaya (Plyushchikha St., 13). It was created as an independent charitable institution to provide comprehensive assistance to the poor population of Moscow. One of the founding members of the community was the famous Archpriest of Kronstadt John Sergiev (Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt), who blessed its foundation and made the first donation for it.

A pharmacy worked at the Pavlovsk community, there was a small hospital and an outpatient reception was conducted, but the main ministry of the sisters was carried out at home with the sick and those in need of help.

The last community organized in Moscow was the Nikolskaya community, recreated in 1914, named after its first founders, Dr. F.P. Gaaz and Princess S.S. Shcherbatova.

Many researchers include the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna in 1909, among the communities of sisters of mercy. However, the Martha and Mary Convent is a unique institution that had no analogues in the history of Russia. Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna undoubtedly used the experience of the sisters of mercy in creating her Convent. But in addition, she sought to use the experience of Protestant women's communities, as well as the ancient deaconesses of the Christian Church. The Grand Duchess herself definitely said that the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent could not be attributed either to a monastery or to a community of sisters of mercy. In a letter to Emperor Nicholas II, she bluntly wrote that she “would be very sorry if this type of abode were completely a monastery and, of course, not an ordinary secular<ая>the community has undergone a change.” The activity of the Monastery needs a separate special study, which cannot be carried out within the framework of this work.

Of the six Moscow communities, three belonged to the Russian Red Cross Society. The statutes of two of them - Alexandrinsky under the Committee "Christian Aid" and Iberskaya - were approved simultaneously with the creation of communities. But the Society was aware that for the coordinated work of all its numerous institutions, it was necessary to introduce uniformity in the structure of their management and strictly regulate their activities. In 1873–1875 work was underway to draw up uniform rules for the sisters of the Red Cross. As a result, on January 31, 1875, Minister of the Interior A.E. Timashev approved the "Rules on Red Cross sisters appointed to care for sick and wounded soldiers." Then this desire for unification led to the adoption in 1903 of the Normal Statute of the Communities of Sisters of Mercy of the Russian Red Cross Society. The Nikolskaya community of sisters of mercy in memory of Princess S. S. Shcherbatova and Dr. F. P. Haaz, established in 1914, organized its work on the basis of this charter.

Vladychne-Pokrovskaya community was diocesan. The Holy Synod approved its charter on the basis of the highest command in 1871, and in June 1872 supplemented the “Regulations on the Rights and Benefits” of two Russian diocesan communities of sisters of mercy - Pskov and Moscow.

The fate of the community of sisters of mercy "Satisfy my sorrows" is very complex and, perhaps, unique. Initially, it functioned solely on the initiative and under the leadership of Princess N. B. Shakhovskaya. In 1868, the Ladies' Committee of the Society for the Care of the Wounded and Sick Soldiers was established in Moscow, and Natalya Borisovna's sister, Princess Nadezhda Borisovna Trubetskaya, became its chairman. The latter proposes to include the community in the composition of the Committee because of the commonality of their goals. Princess Shakhovskaya accepts this proposal. Thus, since 1868, the community “Satisfy my sorrows” was attached to the Moscow Ladies' Committee of the Society for the Care of the Wounded and Sick Soldiers, which was recorded in its first charter.

However, after the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, when the community asked the Society for financial support, it turned out that its activities were beyond the authority of the Red Cross. In 1881, as a result of a correspondence that lasted about two years, the community was recognized as an independent institution under the direct patronage of the highest, and received a new charter, which in 1890 was further amended and supplemented. With the death of Princess Natalya Borisovna Shakhovskaya, who was the founder and permanent abbess of the community, the latter came under the jurisdiction of the Moscow City Duma, and in 1910 a completely different charter was approved for it. Thus, the “Satisfy my Sorrows” community in the entire history of its existence has changed its official status and, accordingly, its charter at least three times.

The Pavlovsk community of sisters of mercy was independent, its charter was approved twice - in 1901 and, with some changes, in 1908.

The charter of the first Moscow community - Nikolskaya (1848), which was under the ladies' guardianship of the poor in Moscow, has not yet been found. It is possible that she, in fact, did not have a separate charter. Initially, she, apparently, was guided by the charter of the institution of sisters of mercy, approved on October 5, 1848 by Emperor Nicholas I for the community in St. Petersburg, which later became known as the Holy Trinity. It was to this charter that the committee that was engaged in the revival of the Nikolskaya community in 1912 initially turned.

In the future, Princess Shcherbatova sought to approve a special charter for her community. The office of the Moscow governor-general partially preserved the correspondence that Sofya Stepanovna conducted with higher departments in 1849-1852, trying to achieve the approval of her own charter for the community that had already existed for several years by that time. In response letters, the princess pointed out the lack of need for such a community and the means to maintain it. Nevertheless, the Nikolskaya community lasted at least until 1874. Whether it was able to receive its charter during this time remains a mystery. In the end, it was decided to abolish the community: they stopped accepting new sisters, and the women who had worked in it for a long time at that time had already reached old age.

It should be noted that the question of the time of the final abolition of the first St. Nicholas community also, unfortunately, still remains open. Sources give different data on this. The authors of three of the four well-known historical essays agree that in 1874 four elderly sisters remained in the community, who could no longer work and were transferred to the almshouse - the community ceased to exist, and its building was occupied by the almshouse, which worked for many more years. Since all these narratives coincide almost verbatim, it is obvious that their authors either used the same source or consistently borrowed information from each other. According to O. L. Eremeeva, who had at her disposal the archive of the Lefortovo branch of the Ladies' Care of the Poor, in the community back in 1879 there were 12 sisters who were transferred to the Lefortovo branch of the guardianship, where they lived until 1892. Olga Lvovna claims that the archives preserved the names of the sisters and the invoices for their equipment and the issuance of their salaries for 1879-1892, but she does not write anything about what these sisters did for 13 years, in what position and where exactly they lived what status they had and what happened to them in 1892. She only notes, without commenting, that every year they were given less and less money: at first this amount was 1000 rubles, and in the last year - only 200 rubles . This source confirms the information about the transfer of an almshouse for elderly women to the building of the Nikolskaya community itself, among which were the retired sisters of mercy. O. L. Eremeeva even names the last two sisters of the Nikolskaya community who died in 1902: the 75-year-old daughter of the titular adviser Alexandra Petrovna Smirnova and the 90-year-old widow of the storekeeper Evdokia Semyonovna Kuzovova. The information provided by O. L. Eremeeva indirectly confirms the indication of other sources that in 1873 (a year before the alleged closure) there were 19 sisters of mercy in the community, while in 1874 there were only four of them. What could happen to 15 sisters in a year? The assumption of their transfer to another institution seems very logical, although the five-year difference in the dates indicated is, of course, surprising. It is clear that the illegibly written numbers "4" and "9" are easy to confuse, but which of the reading options is correct? In favor of an earlier date is the fact that there is no data left about the participation of the Nikolskaya community in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878. After the official abolition of the community, her sisters, if they continued to carry out their ministry in hospitals, then probably already in private. The continued, even insignificant activity of the officially existing community of sisters of mercy should have been reflected in the reporting documents of the Russian Society for the Care of the Wounded and Sick Soldiers. In addition, in a historical note, O. L. Eremeeva, with reference to archival documents, writes about the departure of the sisters of the Nikolskaya community to the Crimean War eight months earlier than the detachment of the Exaltation of the Cross community, which is not true and casts doubt on the reliability of this source. Perhaps, over time, new documents will be discovered that shed light on the question of the date of the closure of the community. So far, it is not possible to answer it unambiguously.