Russian Church raises 500,000 euros for Greek homeless
The Orthodox Church of Russia has donated half a million euros to go toward helping the growing ranks of Greece’s homeless, it emerged on Friday.
According to the Russian church’s official website, www.diaconia.ru, a total of 19 million Roubles, or around 500,000 euros, had been collected by May 22, following appeals for cash from churches and monasteries across the country but also from individuals. The campaign started in February following a public appeal by Russian Patriarch Kyrill for support for the Greek homeless.
According to a Russian Church official, most of the donations from Russian citizens ranged from 100 to 400 Roubles (or 2.5 to 10 euros) with many Diaspora Russians contributing. «People see the problem in Greece as their own,» the official said.
The donations are to go toward the soup kitchens run by Greece’s Archbishopric, sources said.
