15th of May 2025
Amid the smoldering ruins of Gaza—where homes have turned to dust and the silence of death has replaced the laughter of children—one place dares to defy the darkness.
The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios—consecrated over a thousand and a half years ago, and standing on foundations that reach back to the time of Christ—has become one of the last refuges of a people abandoned by the world. In a city starved of food, water, electricity, medicine, and mercy, the Church stands like a burning oil lamp in a cave—flickering, yes, but unextinguished.
It is here, behind its ancient and sacred stone walls, that nearly a thousand people once fled in desperation—Christians and Muslims alike. Mothers with infants in their arms. Fathers broken by the fatigue of war. All were welcomed, because the Church of Saint Porphyrios did not ask who you were—only what you needed.
Today, nearly half of those who once found sanctuary have returned to the ruins of their former homes or to the homes of relatives. But the Church has not abandoned them. It continues to carry them—feeding them, supporting them, praying for them, refusing to let them be forgotten.
This past Easter, while much of the world exchanged greetings and flowers, the Church in Gaza struggled simply to provide the displaced with a warm meal. The food—prepared with trembling hands—was offered not only to the few hundred still sheltering inside, but also to those who had already returned to the wreckage. It was an act of resurrection in a place surrounded by death.
Today, the Church continues to distribute food parcels. It shares whatever it can—flour, lentils, rice, oil—though the markets are bare and the crossings have been sealed for over two months. It is feeding not just those within its walls, but also those now scattered among the ruins of Gaza. This is not merely relief. It is resistance—against famine, against despair, against the machinery of annihilation.
The Church has become Gaza’s wellspring. Fresh water flows from Saint Porphyrios twenty-four hours a day, quenching the thirst of the displaced and the desperate. Water for cleaning and washing is offered daily. There is no fuel. No gas. No electricity. And yet—the Church gives.
Flour, when found, costs $300 to $400 per bag—a price no ordinary family can pay. There is no meat. No fruit. No medicine. No baby formula. No diapers. The people are surviving on prayer and providence. And still—the Church gives.
Saint Porphyrios Church has not asked who prays facing east or west. It has not asked who eats pork or who fasts during Ramadan. It has simply asked: Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you human?
In that spirit, the Church is currently providing food and water to 80 Muslim families—300 souls—every single day. Not because it is easy. But because it is right. Because this is what it means to follow Christ in the shadow of His Cross.
The Church has become what the early Church was: a refuge, a hospital, a table set in the wilderness. It is not merely surviving—it is shining.
What will we say to history when it asks what we did while the oldest Christian community in Gaza was crucified? While children starved in the courtyards of the saints? While Christ was once again born into poverty, cast out by kings, and forgotten by nations?
Saint Porphyrios does not ask for pity. It asks for partnership. For solidarity. For those with means to give. For those with voices to speak. For those with hearts still capable of breaking.
The Church still stands. But it stands on the edge. Its food will soon run out. Its water systems are straining. Its people are exhausted. And still—they serve.
Saint Porphyrios is not alone. Across the shattered city, the Church of the Holy Family—Gaza’s only Roman Catholic parish—has also opened its gates. Under the pastoral care of the Latin Patriarchate, it too has become a sanctuary: a sacred refuge now sheltering Orthodox, Catholic, and Muslim families alike—men, women, and children who have refused to abandon the homeland of their ancestors, even as the world turns its back.
Until his final days, Pope Francis personally called daily to offer words of comfort and solidarity to the faithful sheltering within its sacred space—a world leader’s voice breaking through the din of war. Since his passing, Pope Leo XIV has taken up that same mantle without hesitation, continuing the march of mercy and bearing the torch of apostolic compassion for a suffering people.
Together, the Orthodox and Catholic Churches—often separated by centuries of history—now stand shoulder to shoulder, united in suffering, united in mission, united in Christ. Between them, these two churches shelter the last embers of Christianity in Gaza. And more importantly, they shelter life itself.
They have become more than places of prayer. They are field hospitals for the spirit. Embassies of heaven on a broken earth.
Because love does not retreat.
Because the Cross is not a theory.
Because in Gaza, the Body of Christ is bleeding—and still giving life.
If we let that light go out, it will not be just Gaza that has lost something sacred.
It will be all of us.
The Order of Saint George the Great Martyr is the only authorized international non-governmental organization blessed to raise funds for the Orthodox Christians of Gaza. This is per the direct and public blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias, the ruling Orthodox hierarch in Gaza. In addition to helping Saint Porphyrios directly, the Order is actively looking for ways to offer charitable assistance to the Latin Church in Gaza, which has taken in nearly 300 Orthodox Christians. The Order remains steadfast in its commitment to the community of Saint Porphyrios, to Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias, to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and to all Christians who live and breathe across Gaza, the Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria, and the wider Middle East.
To make a charitable contribution to the Order and its efforts in the Holy Land and Middle East, please use the yellow “Donate” button in the top menu. If you are interested in joining the Order as a member, please click on the menu item entitled “Join the Order.”
