Orthodox Missions Around the World

[Asteriktos]

A place for posting info about various missions and missionaries around the world. I'd think this primarily would have to do with evangelism being done in locations that have no previous organized and persistent Orthodox presence, but if you want to post about that cool new mission in a suburb of Chicago go ahead.

Not everyone would necessarily get the same thing out of the thread. Some possibilities: being inspired to donate or support missions; learning about and having a greater appreciation for the work being done; or getting ideas for things that could be helpful in the local area of the user.

What it's not meant to be: promoting a particular jurisdiction to the detriment of perceived 'rivals' in an area; or gawking at other cultures because 'gee whiz so exotic!'

 

[Asteriktos]

Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage (Youtube)

A pan-Orthodox effort for nearly 30 years, currently helping 22 orphans and looking to expand their capacity to 30. Some info from the website:

"St. Innocent Orphanage is not a foster care facility, so when we accept one of these special boys into our home, we do so with the knowledge that they will be with us until they are grown men. Because of the substantial number of orphaned children in Mexico, the inadequate state and capacity of municipal and city orphanages, and the need to prioritize available resources for the care of younger children, these adolescent and teenage boys become marginalized and are left to care for themselves on the streets. If not for the existence of St. Innocent Orphanage, these boys would eventually be drawn into a violent life of drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal activity."

Besides the obvious (food and shelter) they "seek to integrate the Orthodox faith into most aspects of the boys’ daily lives," support schooling, and provide opportunities for positive social interaction and various activities.

Because of the need to maintain a stable and consistent living space, among other reasons, in general they don't accept 'visiting' and temporary help. There seems to be exceptions here and there though, as there is a 'Home Building' project in 2018 that they need help with. Apart from that there are opportunities on the site to support them financially through a U.S.-based non-profit, with both a general and also project-specific or person-specific types. Financial data (for transparency) is disclosed on the website.

 

[Asteriktos]

Sometimes you have to go further than before to find Orthodox.

 

[Volnutt]

These people seems like they're doing good work with the poor of Toronto. https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/parables

 

[RaphaCam]

Archeparchy of Rio de Janeiro and Olinda-Recife

The mission started with a group of 9 Brazilians from a religious studies group who went to an Old Calendarist monastery in Portugal (under Metropolitan Gabriel of Lisbon) and came back as two priests and two subdeacons, who subsequently returned, started two churches and immediately baptised over thirty people. Metropolitan Gabriel joined the Polish Orthodox Church in 1989, consecrating the local Archimandrite Chrysostom a bishop for Brazil in 1991 (today he's an archbishop). Metropolitan Gabriel reposed in 1997, being replaced by Metropolitan John, who consecrated Bishop Ambrose in the following year. In 2000, Metropolitan John was excommunicated, some parishes in northeastern Brazil joined the Serbian Orthodox Church (still on operation and active mission), but both Brazilian hierarchs remained in the PAOC. I'm not sure about our updated numbers, but I can reckon at least six churches (one of them functioning as a monastery) across the country, here in Rio being three active churches, a bishop, five active priests, two or three subdeacons, and one nun.

Our hierarchs celebrating in a humble parish in the Northeast:

Bishop Ambrose and Archimandrite Jerome:

Rio Priests united in Pascha, there were better pictures, but I have no idea where they ended up:

 

[recent convert]

Orthodox Christian Mission Center ( OCMC ):

https://www.ocmc.org/


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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,Indonesia is home to nearly 260 million people. Over 90% are non-Christian. The Orthodox presence in Indonesia is very small, but you can change this! In Medan, the Church has established a hospital. Named for the Theotokos, it serves those who would not otherwise have access to healthcare. Each year this facility saves lives in the name of Christ. Can you imagine a witness more powerful than this? With...

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[Iconodule]

Saint Barnabas Orthodox Orphanage & School, in Kenya:

http://orthodoxmissionkenya.org/

 

[Asteriktos]

St. Nicholas began his mission in Japan in 1861 and continued it for 50 years. According to this article (linked to by Orthodoxwiki), as of 2008: "the Japanese Orthodox Church had 2 bishops, 23 priests, 12 deacons. There are 67 parishes and 9958 registered members of parochial communities," though "The latter number covers only those who regularly participates in sacraments and make donations. This data does not include those who come to pray to Japanese Orthodox churches as their number is much bigger." The church is currently headed by Archbp. Daniel (Nushiro) in Tokyo.

Exterior of Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo (originally built in 1891)

Interior of Holy Resurrection Cathedral

- video taken of the exterior of the Holy Resurrection Cathedral
- video from a service
- video from a service in The Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kyoto

 

[Asteriktos]

Orthodoxy in Alaska
The OCA Diocese of Alaska currently maintains St. Herman's Seminary (Kodiak), some 100 churches, chapels and missions served by 35 priests and 11 deacons, covering an area of 586,000 square miles. The Seminary and many churches are in great disrepair. Today, we find the results of decades of aggressive assimilation policies, war, welfare and misdirected education efforts have left Alaska our number one state for substance abuse (alcoholism), suicide and violence. (Source)

Diocese of Alaska
Alaskan Orthodox texts
Outreach Alaska
Russian Orthodox sacred sites in Alaska

St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, AK)

 

[Iconodule]

“Welfare”?

Bishop David baptized me when he was a priest. Many years to him.

 

[Mor Ephrem]

Bishop David baptized me when he was a priest.

If he accomplishes nothing else in his ministry, he has done such good for the Church.

 

[Volnutt]

Bishop David baptized me when he was a priest.

If he accomplishes nothing else in his ministry, he has done such good for the Church.

Can you feel the love toniiiiiight?

 

[peacenprayer]

I spent a year a St John the Compassionate Mission in Toronto. Its an apostolate mission working with the poor, not place trying to make converts. I can't put into words the beauty of the life there. Like the church itself, you have to experiance it and live the life to get it.
Wonderful, caring people!

http://stjohnsmission.org

 

[Asteriktos]

"The missionary activity of the Holy Metropolis of Cameroon began in 1980 when she was invited to missionary activism in Extreme Nord, north of the country, and in villages completely abandoned by other Christian confessions. (It is important for the history of Cameroon to clarify that the Roman Catholic Church, while active in Cameroon since 1880, only arrived in the capital of Maroua in Extreme Nord in 1972)... In the northern part of the country the cultural difference is evident with much more difficult living conditions and particular problems, and so many missionary efforts of various Christian Bonds have been abandoned."

"The total number of the Orthodox faithful of the Metropolis is over two hundred thousand"

 

[RaphaCam]

Found some pictures of Archpriest Tercílio Carlini, first Brazilian ordinated to priesthood. He was a missionary in the Moscow Patriarchate, served the poor and was a faithful intercessor for the Amerindian community in Rio. May his memory be eternal.

 

[pasadi97]

https://www.ocmc.org/

Orthodox Christian Mission Center OCMC.

https://www.ocmc.org/about/open_teams.aspx

 

[biro]

"The missionary activity of the Holy Metropolis of Cameroon began in 1980 when she was invited to missionary activism in Extreme Nord, north of the country, and in villages completely abandoned by other Christian confessions. (It is important for the history of Cameroon to clarify that the Roman Catholic Church, while active in Cameroon since 1880, only arrived in the capital of Maroua in Extreme Nord in 1972)... In the northern part of the country the cultural difference is evident with much more difficult living conditions and particular problems, and so many missionary efforts of various Christian Bonds have been abandoned."

"The total number of the Orthodox faithful of the Metropolis is over two hundred thousand"

Beautiful.

 

[RaphaCam]

https://www.ocmc.org/

Orthodox Christian Mission Center OCMC.

https://www.ocmc.org/about/open_teams.aspx

I met a guy from OCMC when I was in New York, amazing. He didn't seem to be much older than me and yet had helped in an Orthodox missionary orphanage in Albania and came back with a lot of interesting info, going from parish to parish to talk about OCMC in coffee hour.

 

[Mercurius1]

https://www.ocmc.org/

Orthodox Christian Mission Center OCMC.

https://www.ocmc.org/about/open_teams.aspx

I met a guy from OCMC when I was in New York, amazing. He didn't seem to be much older than me and yet had helped in an Orthodox missionary orphanage in Albania and came back with a lot of interesting info, going from parish to parish to talk about OCMC in coffee hour.

What all did he say about what is going on in Albania? I hear through the OCMC that a lot of good things are happening there

 

[RaphaCam]

What all did he say about what is going on in Albania? I hear through the OCMC that a lot of good things are happening there

He basically described the routine of an Orthodox orphanage, he must have said something else about the general picture, but I don't remember details anymore. Orthodoxy is thriving there for a country that had all churches closed and just a couple of old priests here and there left. The evil Hoxha did against the Church cannot be understated, but God always triumphs in the end.

 

[Tzimis]

All wonderful stories. Thank you for sharing. There is an organization here in Maryland that I donate to called IOCC. They are doing wonderful things around the world. Vist there website for more info and contributions.

 

[RaphaCam]

Found some pictures of a pontifical Divine Liturgy served by Bishop Ambrose of Recife (Polish Orthodox Church) in the occasion of the Presentation of the Holy Theotokos being served in the Native American village of Silva de Belém, in Rio Tinto, Paraíba. Archimandrite Jerome (in a blue cassock), head of the only Polish Orthodox monastery outside Poland, also appears in the pictures. I'd been looking for those for ages.

 

[Asteriktos]

"On Friday we will have the Holy Sacrament of Baptism of more than 50 people performed by Patriarch Theodoros of Africa, in the presence of 6 hierarchs and thousands of believers at the parish of St. Catherine in Gishari, Rwanda."

Părintele Nectarie

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Pic included in that particular update:

And pic (apparently) from a few days earlier:

 

[RaphaCam]

Patron's day episcopal Divine Liturgy in the Holy Martyrs Cosmas and Damian Orthodox Church. Nice to see so many young and/or new faces!