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Russian Church Helps Parishioners Who Lost Homes due to Hurricane Helene - Priest
Russian Church Helps Parishioners Who Lost Homes due to Hurricane Helene - Priest
Sputnik International
Members of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) are helping believers and non-believers alike who lost their homes due to Hurricane Helene in the US state of North Carolina, Archpriest Matthew Williams told Sputnik.
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“In all, our parish has three persons that lost their homes. They lost everything,” Wiliams said. ROCOR’s St. Tikhon church, where Archpriest Williams serves, is located in Blountville, Tennessee, several miles from the border with North Carolina. The area around the St. Tikhon church was also impacted by the hurricane, but buildings were not damaged, he said. Many homes were completely damaged in two neighboring counties in North Carolina, where some of the parishioners live, Father Matthew said. “I believe that two homes of our members went underwater because of the broken dams in North Carolina, and the third one was destroyed due to the flash flooding,” Williams said. The parish has provided temporary housing as well as financial and material support to as many people as possible who have lost everything. Some were able to only save their personal documents and a few even saved some icons. Williams noted that Hurricane Helene made landfall on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, one of the major Orthodox Christian feast days. The parishioners were able to confirm the following day that they were safe. However, it took several days to establish contact with one elderly couple. The priest and several believers found them at their flooded home only several days later and immediately brought them to the church. “Our parish has received considerable financial donations, food, water, and closing, which we are distributing to the impacted communities,” Williams said. A portion of the financial resources will be provided to those who have lost their homes and to people whose homes have no power and heating ahead of approaching cold weather, Williams added.
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hurricane helene victims, hurricane helene damage, hurricane helene casualties, russian church help hurricane helene victims
hurricane helene victims, hurricane helene damage, hurricane helene casualties, russian church help hurricane helene victims
Russian Church Helps Parishioners Who Lost Homes due to Hurricane Helene - Priest
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Members of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) are helping believers and non-believers alike who lost their homes due to Hurricane Helene in the US state of North Carolina, Archpriest Matthew Williams told Sputnik.
“In all, our parish has three persons that lost their homes. They lost everything,” Wiliams said.
ROCOR’s St. Tikhon church, where Archpriest Williams serves, is located in Blountville, Tennessee, several miles from the border with North Carolina.
“We have a good number of parishioners there,” the priest said, adding that the church tries to provide material support to those affected by the disaster.
The area around the St. Tikhon church was also impacted by the hurricane, but buildings were not damaged, he said.
Many homes were completely
damaged in two neighboring counties in North Carolina, where some of the parishioners live, Father Matthew said.
“I believe that two homes of our members went underwater because of the broken dams in North Carolina, and the third one was destroyed due to the flash flooding,” Williams said.
The parish has provided temporary housing as well as financial and material support to as many people as possible who have lost everything. Some were able to only save their personal documents and a few even
saved some icons.
“I think that it is going to take them a good time to really understand the impact in its full scale. But they are being taken care of by the parish, so that is a blessing for them,” the priest said.
Williams noted that Hurricane Helene made landfall on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, one of the major
Orthodox Christian feast days. The parishioners were able to confirm the following day that they were safe.
However, it took several days to establish contact with one elderly couple. The priest and several
believers found them at their flooded home only several days later and immediately brought them to the church.
Most ROCOR parishes throughout the United States have organized special fundraising events to collect money for those affected by the hurricane.
“
Our parish has received considerable financial donations, food, water, and closing, which we are distributing to the impacted communities,” Williams said.
A portion of the financial resources will be provided to those who have
lost their homes and to people whose homes have no power and heating ahead of approaching cold weather, Williams added.
On September 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm and then proceeded north, causing significant damage complete with catastrophic flooding in the states of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina. More than 230 people have so far been reported dead.
