Latest Big Social Media Site in Russia Is Just For Christians

Imagine a Christian Facebook, which gives you immediate access to a community of people who share your faith. Imagine a social network that provides a powerful support system for your attempt to lead a Christian life.

In 2014, a group of talented Russian Сhristians launched Elitsy, the Social Media Platform for Orthodox Christians.

According to its official page, Elitsy provides a modern platform for strengthening the ties of Orthodox Christians throughout the world and the strengthening and development of parish life. It is open to all Orthodox Christians, and for all, those, who are just trying to find their way to God.

Elitsy's direct goal is to provide a social network and community which combines the best elements of popular social networks, expanding them with unique options that "help people come to God, unite Orthodox Christians and to develop and empower parish life."

The website's mission is 'to show people that Orthodoxy brings fulfillment and joy to life, and that being Orthodox is both fun and healthy.' 

Of course, the website provides all the standard elements of social media platforms: profile, news feed, groups, photos, messenger.

But what differentiates Elitsy from other social media is the services it offers, such as “Ask a Priest” and “Ask a Christian Psychologist,” where users can ask for advice from priests and psychologists in minutes, either in the public space or in private messenger.

Elitsy also runs multiple video and music projects. For example, there is a Good Morning program with Fr. Andrey Tkachev (a very popular Russian priest), a cultural/literature program with Fr. Artemy Vladimirov (another celebrity priest), an ‘anti-substance abuse’ club, a ‘request for prayer’ tab.

It also runs and promotes documentaries about the anti-abortion movement and on other Christian themes.

My personal favorite function, however, is the ‘events’ tab, through which you can find all the religious events happening in the vicinity, such as festivities, volunteer options, concerts or anti-abortion rallies. It also makes it really easy to plan and organize parish and multi-parish events, meeting and making friends with other parishioners, priests, and church specialists.

Ultimately, the charm of this website lies in its ability to combine the human factor with the spiritual factor: making friends and, at the same time, engaging in spiritual betterment. 

Today, there are about 180,000 users, and 1145 priests on the website. Priests, upon desire, are given the option to participate and contribute to the site as missionaries.

And while, unfortunately, an English version of Elitsy doesn't exist, perhaps it’s high time to come up with something similar to accommodate the Christian English speakers around the world?