Moscow, February 26, 2026
Photo: timeformercy.tilda.ws
The Russian Orthodox Church’s Synodal Department for Charity has launched a campaign called Time of Mercy, running from the first week of Great Lent (February 24) through the end of Bright Week following Pascha (April 20).
Donors can support five fundraising drives through the campaign’s website.
The five collections target the following needs:
-
assistance for residents of the Belgorod region, including sleeping bags, blankets, heating equipment, food packages, medicine, and warm clothing
-
life-essential medications for disabled children from Donbass, where the Church’s refugee aid center in Moscow serves 35–40 people monthly
-
support for elderly people who rely on a social dining hall at the Moscow Church of Sts. Flora and Laurus, which is currently closed for repairs
-
funding for Church charitable work coordinated by the Synodal Department from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka
-
assistance for those who call the Church’s social help hotline, which has received over 350,000 calls in five years and is open to people of any faith or nationality
“Lent is often called the spiritual spring,” said Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity, “and this is indeed true. During this time, our efforts in prayer, fasting, and repentance are especially blessed and filled with Divine assistance.”
“Then, the true life that we’ve lost is revealed to us, and a desire is born to serve our neighbors through acts of mercy and thereby offer gratitude to God.”
The campaign follows the Goodness at Christmas initiative, also organized by the Synodal Department, which raised over 1.8 million rubles ($23,350) with participation from more than 2,000 donors.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe and Gab!
