December 23, 2024
Photo: basilica.ro
Orthodox Churches throughout the world are embracing the Christmas season with a wave of charitable initiatives, demonstrating their commitment to serving those in need during these winter holidays. Notable recent examples include:
Russian Church
On December 20, representatives of the Russian Church’s Publishing Council visited Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, where they delivered a significant donation of religious literature to the local diocese: 450 copies of the Holy Gospel published by, 200 prayer books, and other publications for the diocesan cathedral’s library, with all publications intended for charitable distribution.
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The Sts. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow has launched its annual Garland of Goodness Christmas charity campaign, which over its six-year history has raised over $31,135 (3.2 million rubles) from 3,880 participants. The convent currently serves 2,500 people monthly, providing medical, psychological, spiritual, and material support to terminally ill children, lonely elderly people, and families in crisis situations, and the campaign aims to raise funds for eight social projects while also collecting candy donations for holiday gift packages for children from low-income families and those with disabilities.
The monastery is accepting donations online, and additional fundraising efforts include a charity fair featuring handmade items created by residents of the Elizabeth Children’s Home and convent volunteers.
Ukrainian Church
Parishioners of the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem in Odessa raised over $2,400 (100,000 hryvnia) for the premature baby intensive care unit at Ohmatdyt Hospital in Kiev, providing funds along with non-invasive ventilation masks for small patients.
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In just two of its recent events, the Social Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church distributed 1,000 St. Nicholas Day sweet gift packages: 500 were delivered to children in the frontline Kherson Province (with special precautions taken due to constant shelling risks, particularly in the dangerous Korabelny district), while another 500 were distributed in Kiev to children from displaced families, orphans, low-income and large families, and children with disabilities.
“We warmly greet you on the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker! It’s very important to pass on our Orthodox traditions to children and teach them: We give gifts in imitation of St. Nicholas, as his speedy help is known to all who ask for it in prayer,” said Fr. Sergei Ekshiyan.
Bulgarian Church
On December 21, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Sliven visited the Children’s Hospital Ward at Dr. Ivan Seliminski Hospital in Sliven, where visiting children ang Christmas songs for the young patients.
The Metropolitan distributed several gifts: icons of the Holy Theotokos to hospital officials and the department staff, while the young patients received stuffed animals and children’s prayer books. Additionally, children from local Sunday Schools presented handmade Christmas cards to all patients, which they had created in their Christmas workshop. Christmas bazaars also raised $1,335 (2,500 leva), which was donated to the Children’s Hospital Ward.
Romanian Church
Priest and psychologist Fr. Dragoș Răduț offered prayers for the recent inauguration of Romania’s first crisis center for the elderly, in Vidra. The facility can accommodate up to 40 elderly people for periods of six months and provides housing, treatment, physical therapy, and psychological counseling.
Children from the Buftea Excellence Center presented paintings they had created for future residents, and the center’s location near a recently renovated Maramureș-style church will provide residents with a place for worship.
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The Cluj Archdiocese’s St. Nectarie Association held its Christmas Charity Fair from December 20-22, with the aim of raising funds for continuing construction of the St. Christopher Pediatric Palliative Care Center in Cluj County.
The fair featured handmade decorations, Christmas carols, chocolate, and homemade cookies. The Center, which will provide comprehensive care for children in terminal stages of progressive chronic illnesses, has made significant progress in construction: all four levels and the roof are complete, PVC windows and doors are installed, and work is underway on electrical, plumbing, and climate control systems, as well as floor heating installation. Though the more expensive work is just beginning, the Association plans to inaugurate the hospital in 2025.
Greek Orthodox Church
In response to ongoing wars and high prices, the Greek Orthodox Church continues its extensive charitable outreach through its nationwide Love Offerings campaigns this Christmas season. These drives, organized by dioceses across Greece, involve thousands of volunteers going door-to-door to collect donations that will support the Church’s vast philanthropic network serving more than one million people.
The campaigns aim to help anyone in need regardless of faith or background, with particular focus on providing daily hot meals, supporting families in border regions, and assisting the sick and homeless. According to the Church’s Synodal Committee for Social Welfare and Charity, this network encompasses over 98,000 social structures including parish welfare funds, soup kitchens, and social grocery stores, operated by approximately 15,000 volunteers and supported by an annual charitable budget exceeding $110 million (100 million euros).
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