Metropolitan

Published by the Orthodox Christian Missions Center, January 24, 2005

Pastoral Reflections from Metropolitan Herman on the Importance of OCMC

Photo of Metropolitan Herman (right), Fr. Bob Kondratick, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America (center) and Fr. Martin Ritsi, Executive Director of the Mission Center (left) at a Banquet in 2003 when OCMC was honored with the Athenagoras Human Rights Award.

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), St. Augustine, FL - His Beatitude Herman, Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America, recently commented on the work of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center saying, “through its programs OCMC has shared in and supported the Church’s mission, mandated by Christ Himself, to ‘make disciples of all the nations’.”

In reflecting on the Gospel passage Luke 1:39-40, where the Theotokos visits St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist, His Beatitude said, “We see in the Mother of God the first person to carry the Word of God and announce the good news of salvation. Imitating the example of the Mother of God, each and every Orthodox Christian is called to bring Christ to his or her neighbor and proclaim the good news that ‘God is with us’.”

He then went on to say, “The Orthodox Christian Mission Center, through its support of missionaries and various missionary programs seeks to carry the Word of God to that one-third of the world population that has never heard the good news of salvation and to support those areas in which the Orthodox Church is growing.”

His Beatitude continued by listing statistics of children, priests, students, seminarians and men and women who have recently benefited from the ministry of OCMC. Some of the listed successes were the 6,300 people who received health care, over 800 children who participated in catechism programs, 350 women who attended spiritual retreats, 269 mission indigenous priests financially supported and over 30 students receiving theological education.

He concluded his reflection with, “None of this important work would have taken place if there were no one to provide the material assistance that is necessary to make it possible. It is my hope that our Orthodox faithful will help support the Mission Center to assure that the important work of proclaiming the Gospel will continue in those areas of the world which are so in need of hearing the Word of God – that good news first announced at the coming of the Son of God into our world.”

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center is the official international mission agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), of which Metropolitan Herman is a member.

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center: Helping Orthodox Christians respond to Christ's call to preach, teach, baptize, minister to the poor and make disciples of all nations as the official international mission agency of SCOBA.



Volume 7 Number 5 - Tuesday, February 1st, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY