A fundraiser will be held at the Archdiocese of Canada for the restoration of the Valoukli hospital/nursing home, which was severely damaged by the fire that broke out on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
According to a relevant announcement, Archbishop Sotirios of Canada calls on “the priests to pass around a special tray collection at their respective parishes during the Divine Liturgy on the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, together with the following day, on August 7th” and asked the “the Reverend Fathers, the community presidents and council members, the Ladies of the Philoptochos, and the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to do all within their power to ensure this fundraiser effort is a success”.
Read below the announcement of Archbishop Sotirios of Canada:
Right Reverend Bishops, Reverend Parish Priests, Honourable Presidents and Esteemed Members of the Boards of Directors, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of the Philoptochos Societies, Teachers, Students and Youth Members of the Communities, and to the Entire Plenitude of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.
Beloved in the Lord,
As I write this encyclical to you, the only old age home of our Ecumenical Patriarchate is burning completely. One hundred mostly elderly individuals — and who are these elderly people? they are our parents, our grandfathers, and our grandmothers, who sacrificed so much to raise us — find themselves homeless. I can only imagine the pain, the sadness, and the anguish of our Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Bartholomew, and of our Mother Church in general. What are these individuals awaiting from us? What is our responsibility? And what does God Himself await from us? Everyone is awaiting for us to reach deep into our pockets, to showcase authentic Christianity, like children who feel the pain of their parents.
I sincerely ask all parish priests to pass around a special tray collection at their respective parishes during the Divine Liturgy on the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, together with the following day, on August 7th. I ask the Reverend Fathers, the community presidents and council members, the Ladies of the Philoptochos, and the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to do all within their power to ensure this fundraiser effort is a success.
All of the funds raised will be sent directly to the Ecumenical Patriarchate so that the historic old age home at Baloukli can be built better than before.
With fatherly love and blessings in the Lord,
ARCHBISHOP SOTIRIOS
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF CANADA
