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Published
by the
Standing Conference of Orthodox Canonical Bishops
in the Americas,
March 2005
Encyclical of SCOBA for
Mission Sunday - March 13, 2005 |
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March 13, 2005
Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday
But how are men to call upon him in whom they have
not believed?
And how are they to believe in him of whom they
have never heard?
And how are they to hear without a preacher?
And how can men preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of
those
who preach the good news? (Romans 10:14-15)
The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference
of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas
To all the Clergy and the Laity of the Holy
Orthodox Churches in the Americas
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this day, the Sunday before the commencement of
Great and Holy Lent, we greet you in the grace and
peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We offer to each
of you our prayers and blessings for a beautiful
season of spiritual growth and illumination
through prayer, fasting, worship, and service to
those in need.
As Orthodox Christians in America it has been our
tradition to join together on this day of
Cheesefare in observance of Mission Sunday. We do
this as a united and visible affirmation of our
sacred commission to preach the Gospel in all
nations (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8). We have been
called by our Lord to offer the good news of
salvation to everyone in every place. Each day, we
are sent into the world as witnesses of the grace
of God and His life-transforming presence so that
through our lives, others can experience genuine
love and saving faith, they can see and hear
Christ, and they will be given the opportunity to
believe.
Each and every person in this world needs this
encounter with Jesus Christ. But, as the Apostle
Paul affirms in his letter to the Romans, people
cannot believe unless they hear; they cannot hear
unless there are preachers; and there will be no
preachers unless they are sent by us as the Church
to share the good news. This task of “sending” is
one that we have been accomplishing through the
Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) in St.
Augustine, Florida.
For more than three decades the Orthodox faithful
in America have contributed their time and
resources to sending and supporting priests,
missionaries, teachers, mission teams, and medical
workers around the globe. OCMC, as the foreign
mission agency of our Standing Conference of
Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, has
been the focal point of this work, uniting all of
us in our sacred calling to missions and
evangelism. Through your prayers and contributions
this work has grown substantially over the years.
In 2004, OCMC supported 269 mission priests,
trained 157 future Church leaders, built 6
churches, sent 13 mission teams to 8 countries,
offered medical and dental care to over 9,500
people, trained 450 to teach and do youth
outreach, and distributed over $350,000 for use in
mission lands. These accomplishments are just a
few from among the many ongoing programs that are
fulfilling our task of “sending.”
However, our calling to send preachers and
missionaries of the Gospel is not finished, for
there are many in our world who have neither heard
nor believed. The task of sending is inherent to
our identity and work as Orthodox parishes in
America, and our work must continue to increase
for the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
This is why we ask on this day, Mission Sunday,
that our parishes and our faithful affirm and
increase their commitment to the work of the
Orthodox Christian Mission Center. Through your
contributions you are participating in the global
missionary effort of the Orthodox Church. Through
your offering of assistance or time to the work of
missions, you are providing someone with the
opportunity to hear the good news, and you are
giving a beautiful gift that will lead someone to
believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we enter into this holy season of Lent, we ask
each of you to use prayerfully this time in
strengthening your relationship with God and
deepening your commitment to His divine will. We
also exhort you to see each day as one in which
you are sent into the world to share the good
news. Through your lives, others will see and
hear; they will believe, and they will join us in
offering unending praise to the One who gives us
life eternal.
With paternal blessings and love in Christ,
+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North
America
+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada
+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the
USA
+Metropolitan HERMAN
Orthodox Church in America
+Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and
Canada
+Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA
+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America
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