All pregnant women in Tver Oblast will be given a letter from the metropolitan, the Tver Diocese reported on October 15.
Vitaly Ermakov, the head of the Tver Diocese, wrote a letter addressed to women, urging them against abortions. He described pregnancy as "the toughest choice: whether to keep or to kill your baby." The letter will be distributed to all pregnant women at antenatal clinics across the region, according to the Tver Diocese.
The metropolitan refers to pregnancy as a "true miracle" and encourages women to "draw inspiration" from the story of a righteous couple who struggled to conceive but eventually became the parents of the Virgin Mary.
The letter also states that pregnant women are not alone, as "God, the Church, and society" are with them.
Priests in Voronezh Oblast are also being involved in outreach to pregnant women. Local authorities have created a Telegram bot called "For Birth"; its original title,"Za-rozhdenie," starts with the Latin letter Z, a symbol associated with the war in Ukraine. Through the bot, clergy members contact women to dissuade them from having abortions.
