Gaza, October 20, 2023
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Although inaccurate information spread earlier this month of an attack on the St. Porphyrios Orthodox Monastery in Gaza, which has been housing hundreds of people since the recent hostilities broke out, it has been confirmed that the monastery was seriously struck yesterday, with some sources estimating hundreds of dead.
The Holy Orthodox Order of St. George the Great Martyr reports:
We have just received confirmation from multiple sources in Gaza that Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church has been bombed today. Archbishop Alexios appears to have been located and is alive, but we don’t know if he is injured. We have no word on the condition of any other of the more than 500 people being housed at the church and monastery, including the person who has been our source for most of our information.
The bombs hit the two church halls where the refugees, including children and babies, were sleeping. Presently, survivors are searching the rubble for other casualties. Our source at the scene says that they estimate that 150-200 people are dead, and that number is expected to rise as more people are found in the wreckage.
According to a report from the Orthodoxia News Agency, His Eminence Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias, who has promised to remain with his flock, come what may, is alive and well.
The attack on the monastery comes just two days after the parking lot at the neighboring hospital was hit.
“They hit the offices and the entrance of the monastery. They bombarded them with a rocket and the whole building collapsed. There were many Christians inside, many of whom have been injured and we also have fatalities,” Abp. Alexios said.
“They have to bring in bulldozers so we can see how many people were crushed,” His Eminence added.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has condemned the attack:
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli airstrike that have struck its church compound in the city of Gaza.
The Patriarchate emphasizes that targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas over the past thirteen days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored.
Despite the evident targeting of the facilities and shelters of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other churches—including the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem Hospital, other schools, and social institutions—the Patriarchate, along with the other churches, remain committed to fulfilling its religious and moral duty in providing assistance, support, and refuge to those in need, amidst continuous Israeli demands to evacuate these institutions of civilians and the pressures exerted on the churches in this regard.
The Patriarchate stresses that it will not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty, rooted in its Christian values, to provide all that is necessary in times of war and peace alike.
Meanwhile, His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Poland issued a statement on the violence in the Holy Land:
Concerned and moved by the current situation in the Holy Land, from the first moments of the tragic armed conflict, we have been raising fervent prayers to the most high and Almighty God for mercy for this holy place. We ask the Lord of all creation to grant peace to the land on which our Savior Jesus Christ was born and to grant peace and mutual respect to all the inhabitants of the region.
Recalling the call of the Apostle Paul: Live peaceably with all men (Rom. 12:18), we appeal to all those who may have an impact on the situation in the region to bring about an end to destructive actions. As disciples of Christ, we are opposed to all conflicts in which people die; we strongly condemn acts of war.
We stand in solidarity in the trauma of war with the victims of the conflict in the Holy Land and in pain with the families of those killed.
Lord Almighty, grant the Holy Land Thy Grace, and receive the souls of the reposed into Thy Kingdom.
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To help those suffering in Gaza, please consider donating through the Holy Order of St. George’s Gaza fundraising campaign:
https://www.paypal.com/giving/campaigns?campaign_id=U94UASLK6LDX2
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