A training course on counseling people living with HIV/AIDS launched

A training course on counseling people living with HIV/AIDS for clergy and Orthodox specialists has been launched on February 8, 2006, under the Russian Orthodox Church program for preventing and overcoming the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The two-week course has been organized jointly by the Russia Round Table at the DECR and the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian.

The main aim of the seminar is to train Orthodox specialists for giving psychological and spiritual aid to people living with HIV/AIDS and their families and to teach them psychological counseling skills. The training seminar is attended by over 30 people from various dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church who work for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and drug addiction.