Gold with enamel 8,5g.; Unique!!! Only in 1844, with Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna and Princess Teresa Oldenburg, the first community of sisters of mercy in Russia was founded in the capital, which since 1873/74 received the name Holy Trinity - until that time it had no name. The leadership of the community was carried out by the ladies' committee, and its maintenance was provided at the expense of interest on the capital of Grand Duchess Alexander Nikolaevna - there were no other permanent income, except for donations received from the imperial family and individuals. Unmarried women and widows, necessarily literate, from 18-20 to 40 years old, could join the community. If the sister married, she was expelled from the community. The probationary period was determined from one year to three years. The functions of the sisters included on duty in apartments and in the hospital, the reception of patients who came to the community: the vocational training of women was purely practical and was reduced to knowledge of some medical procedures and sanitary and hygienic rules of care. By the mid-70s of the XIX century, there were five branches in the community: the sisters of mercy themselves; test sisters; medical; educational and four-year female school. The community had a women's hospital (designed for 52 patients: 38 adults and 6 children), an almshouse for elderly sisters and a pharmacy, where medicines were issued free of charge. Orphans aged 10 to 13 years (a total of 32 people) who can read and write were taken to the educational department (shelter for children). In addition to their maintenance, they were educated at the women's school of the community. Subsequently, girls of their own free will could go into the category of subjects. A four-year school in its status was equated with a female gymnasium, 120 girls studied in it for a certain fee; upon graduation, graduates received the right to enter the fourth grade of women's gymnasiums without exams. On average, about 20 thousand people turned to the community for help. The community consisted of one senior doctor and 19 doctors out of state. N.I. Pirogov often came here, who attended meetings of the community committee and sometimes carried out operations. It is possible that his local observations became the basis for the creation of the future structure of the Holy Cross sisterhood. In the 40s and 50s, the number of sisters of the Trinity community almost did not increase. If in 1844 there were 18 of them, then after the Crimean War (1857) there were only 24 of them. Only by the end of the 19th century, the sisterhood included 80 people. 42 years (from 1844 to 1886) at the head of this organization was the same abbess - E.A. Kublitskaya, who was later replaced by B.A. Abaza. The operation of the sisters was quite harsh. Only 21 sisters served up to 5 years, 24 people - from 5 to 10 years, nine - from 10 to 20, seven - from 20 to 30, and only three sisters - more than 30 years. The Trinity community, both in form and spirit, borrowed a lot from the female monastery life, since in the Russian state, unlike Western Europe, institutions of this type did not exist. As a special phenomenon, the community of sisters was something very specific in conservative in the spirit of Russia, where any undertakings were always treated with great suspicion, so for the time being a new type of female service was forced to develop in line with existing traditions - The Trinity community could not be any other than half-monastic, in this sense it will become a prototype for a number of others, but not all sisterhoods, who initially gravitated to half-monastic charters. This characteristic feature of community activity, having undergone a significant evolution, will continue until the beginning of the 20th century.
