GOC opens fundraising drive for Sinai Monastery and Holy Sepulchre Church
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has called on Greece’s metropolises and parishes to collect donations to support the ancient shrines on Sinai and in Jerusalem.
On February 27, 2026, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece announced the launch of a fundraising drive in support of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.
In its resolution, the Synod stressed that caring for these ancient spiritual centers is an important duty of the entire Orthodox Church, and urged all metropolises and parishes to take part in the collection. The decision was adopted at a Synod meeting on February 4, 2026.
The fundraising is planned for key days of Great Lent. Donations for St. Catherine’s Monastery will be collected on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, March 22, while the collection in support of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will take place on Great Thursday, April 9. The donations raised will be transferred to special accounts at the National Bank of Greece.
The Synod’s document notes that such initiatives help strengthen fraternal solidarity among Orthodox communities and support the upkeep of sacred monuments that are symbols of faith and spiritual heritage in the Holy Land and on Sinai.
Earlier, Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos III said that recent difficulties in the life of the Orthodox community on Sinai had been resolved, emphasizing the importance of continued support for these places of pilgrimage and prayer.
As previously reported by the UOJ, Greece’s defense minister urged protection for Christians in the Middle East.
