International Almsgiving through the Metropolis Missions Department

Our Holy Metropolis continues to both directly provide, as well as facilitate, tens of thousands of dollars in international donations through its Missions Department.

The Metropolis, for example, provides $12,000 annually to the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, to support its various missionary programs and spiritual activities in Asia.

Moreover, as has become tradition in recent years, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto held a live Skype session with their brothers and sisters in Christ at the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea.

The video session took place on Friday evening, March 16th, after the Fourth Salutations to the Theotokos in Toronto, when it was already Saturday morning in Seoul. His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios participated and spoke to the assembled faithful in Toronto; a question-and-answer session ensued that included conversations about Great Lent, together with the progress made by the Church in Korea.

Our Metropolis also provides $60,000 annually to various dioceses of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, where both clergymen and lay people work tirelessly to promote Orthodoxy and advance the Gospel of Christ.

Funds provided through our Missions Department help to:

• Build a church
• Little Angels
• Support a Mission Priest
• Dig a well
• Canister of love
• Support a seminarian

While our Missions Department is small but growing, its impact on the organizations it assists is tangible and real. Relatively small donations of Canadian dollars often go a long way in missionary activities, particularly in the developing world. For this reason we ask the faithful in Canada to make a charitable donation to our Missions Department; a tax receipt for Canadian residents will be provided and all funds received will be distributed to our international partners around the globe.

As we find ourselves in the holy period of Great Lent, let us cultivate the virtues, almsgiving among them, and let us recall the words of Jesus Christ: Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.