Which church? The Latin church is doing lots of building, and converting Eastern churches to Latin. The government is building roads and ports, as much for the war effort as for trade. Keep in mind that contributing to charity also gives you the ability to occasionally draw on the people who you are helping or whom will be helped in the future (for example if you contribute to a trade specific retirement fund).
Given his uncertain faith, I think the church was a bad suggestion for the charity. How about port projects, particularly ones that provide better work or living conditions for port laborers? (It seems to me that it has to be a project that is already ongoing, as his small contribution is not enough to start a project.)
A retirement fund for dockworkers? Improvements to infrastructure wouldn't be considered charity...
A retirement fund for dockworkers would be fine. Thanks.
I'm curious about what keeps Stavros at the covenant. He's a wealthy merchant with no doubt many ties to the outside world. What draws him to the isolated covenant of Palavo Pyrgos?
Fair question. He is interested in the covenant, and sees it as an opportunity. I presume that he helped acquire some of the materials, which is how he knows of it. He does not know if it will turn out to be a place to get unusual things, a set of customers for items he can provide, or just interesting people. He actually lives and works in Patras.
That makes perfect sense. We're an oddity, and oddities are often lucrative.
Thanks for the explanation.