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Mission Sunday 2023 | Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

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Thursday, January 19, 2023

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Mission Sunday 2023

For so the Lord has commanded us ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’
– Acts 13:47

To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful
of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the United States:

On Sunday, February 26, just prior to Great Lent, our Orthodox Christian churches throughout our nation will be observing Mission Sunday, a time to recall our own mission as the People of God within this world.  As we begin our Lenten preparation for Pascha, throughout these days we will affirm “the Light of Christ illumines all” (at each Presanctified Divine Liturgy), culminating in receiving the Light as we proclaim and glorify the Lord’s Resurrection. 

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center is the agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States that coordinates our international missionary service by:

  • Sending Missionaries – Currently, 24 OCMC missionaries and their families – from diverse professional backgrounds – are serving in Albania, Fiji, Guatemala, Mexico, Romania, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere around the world.
  • Supporting Mission Priests – Almost 500 local priests, mostly in Africa, receive monthly financial assistance to minister – often to multiple parishes.
  • Training Church Leaders and Clergy – In Albania, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere OCMC sends missionaries and/or funds to help train future clergy and church leaders who share and teach the faith to people in their native language and culture.
  • Funding Missions Initiatives – In 2022, just over $1 million was sent to Orthodox missionaries and dioceses around the world so that the church could minister to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people.

Therefore, on Mission Sunday, on behalf of OCMC and our Assembly of Bishops, I hope that each of us will support the Holy Church’s most central mission by one or more of the following:

  1. Pray for the missionaries and mission priests around the world who, like the apostles, preach the Gospel of the Lord’s salvation to all peoples.
  2. Give a financial gift to OCMC in support of its ministries to make more mission work possible.
  3. Engage your communities and youth in this important work throughout Great Lent by ordering special missions Coin Boxes and Sunday School Lesson Plans to help spread the Light of Christ.

May your Lenten journey be blessed with good strength and may the call to share Christ’s triumphant Resurrection fill our hearts. The world needs the light of Christ. You are needed to take the Light to the ends of the earth!

With Blessings in Christ,

Bishop Demetrios
Episcopal Liaison to OCMC

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