Yevhen Hlushchenko, the Imam of Kharkiv ICC Mosque, and Murad Putilin, the head of the Office of the Ukraine Military Muslim Chaplaincy, participated in the interdisciplinary round table on palliative care and chaplaincy.

The event took place in the office of the Eastern Regional Bible Society of Ukraine (Kharkiv). The representatives of various churches and religious communities, clergy, chaplains and public figures, held a sincere and fruitful conversation, during which they touched upon the issues on the palliative care and the pastoral care for people, suffering from serious illnesses.

The meeting was initiated by Serhii Dmytriiev, churchman, chaplain, chairman of the NGO Eleos-Ukraine, executive secretary at the social ministry commission of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.

During the roundtable discussion, there was a presentation of palliative care guidance. The participants also discussed the options of chaplaincy service both in hospitals and among palliative patients at home.

The participants of the meeting broadly discussed the legalization of the medical chaplaincy, the legal grounds to provide the qualified spiritual help, and the appropriate education of people, providing such support. They focused on the fulfillment of and respect for patients' rights and their religious beliefs.

At the end of the meeting, all those present signed a charter on the palliative care provision for older people.

Yevhen Hlushchenko, Kharkiv ICC imam, notes: “Every divine religion has the commandments to take care or those people in need. To better such person’s lot is our duty. That’s how we understand it. That’s how you should understand it, if you are a human. May God grant all we planned come true and follow the example given in Prophet's Sunnah: "The best of you are those who are the most beneficial to people".