
Svetlana Medvedeva (1965- ), wife of First Vice-Premier Dmitri Medvedev
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The first presentation of a new church order and patriarchal medal dedicated to St Evfroseniya (the monastic name of Grand Princess Yevdokia of Moscow) shall take place Wednesday in the patriarchal residence in Chisty Perulok, the Grand Princess Yevdokia of Moscow Fund reported to Interfax on Tuesday. The Fund recommended that Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of the First Vice-Premier of the RF, receive the award for her work as the chairman of the board of trustees of the spiritual-cultural programme “Spiritual-Moral Culture of Young Russia”. This Orthodox religious programme is supported by Patriarch Aleksei and by President Putin, it’s a charitable project intended to impart spiritual values to the young, to prevent child crime and homelessness, fight against alcohol and drug abuse, oppose family separation and unfruitful marriages, and educate against draft-evasion. Fr Kyprian Yashenko, Chief of the Programme and Rector of the Institute of Expertise of educational programmes and state-confessional relations, while answering questions concerning the programme at a news conference, pointed up that about 600 youth organisations such as Styag, are participating.
Igumena Filareta Smirnova of the podvorie of the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Convent and Igumena Yekaterina Chainikova of the Convent of the Life-giving Cross in Jerusalem shall also receive the award. In addition, the following women shall also receive this award:
SOKOLOVA Larissa, professor of the Ippolitov-Ivanov Musical Institute
EVSEYEVA Galina, Honoured Builder of Russia
LADYGINA Anna, “Large-Family” mother {Editor: she’s what was called a “Heroine Mother” in Soviet times}
The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate at its session in August 2007 decided to create a new order of honour for women named after St Evfroseniya of Moscow to recognise “those women who have done sacrificial service for the good of the Church and the Motherland”. In addition, a patriarchal medal is given along with the award. It shall be awarded to those women whose efforts have strengthened church-state relations, helped to rebuild churches and monasteries, aided the Christian education of children, and to those who’ve shown the highest standards of Christian mercy to the elderly, disabled, sick, and orphans.
22 January 2008
Interfax-Religion
Novaya Gazeta
www.interfax.ru
http://en.novayagazeta.ru/data/2007/58/00.html
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