Israel Bombed a 1,600 Year Old Church—How You Can Help
More than 150 victims, including babies and children.
Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church is—or was—a 1,600-year-old church in Gaza.
Here’s what it looks like now:
From the Holy Orthodox Order of St. George (emphasis mine):
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.
The Order of St. George is collecting funds for the innocent Christians in Gaza, who are themselves persecuted by Hamas and had nothing to do with the attack on Israel.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has issued a statement (again, emphasis mine):
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.
I’ve seen reports that 40% of Christians in Gaza were sheltering in that church. Here’s what you can do to help:
Pray for the dead and the survivors.
Pray for the rescue workers digging through the rubble for survivors.
Pray for those who committed this atrocity.
Consider a donation to the Order of St. George to help the remnant in Gaza.