Missions and Evangelism

"The Orthodox Church is not only for one nation, one civilization, one continent. It is like God Himself, for all and for every place."

_{^{Patriarch Ignatius IV, February 6, 1987}}

"I feel strongly that our best gift to America will be a stable Christianity that is rooted in the Bible, holy tradition and the Fathers of the Church."

^{Metropolitan PHILIP in Christianity Today, March 13, 1987}

"Our Fathers brought Orthodoxy to America. Now it's our responsibility to bring America to Orthodoxy."

^{Fr. James Meena}

The Department of Missions and Evangelism was established in 1988 to "Make America Orthodox," in the words of His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP. To fulfill that dream, the Department endeavors to:

1. Build new missions in North American cities of over 100,000 population which have no Orthodox Church of any jurisdiction.
2. Respond to invitations of lay groups of Orthodox Christians who desire an English-speaking parish.
3. Cultivate relationships with independent (generally Protestant) communities which desire to become Orthodox.
4. Work with non-Orthodox pastors who desire to be Orthodox.
5. Cooperate with the Department of Campus Ministry to develop mission parishes adjacent to major college campuses with no English-speaking Orthodox Church nearby.
6. Train and encourage Antiochian priests and lay leaders to promote Orthodox Christian evangelism in their communities and begin new missions in nearby localities.

Since Metropolitan PHILIP founded the Department, 108 missions (excluding Western Rite) have been established by the Antiochian Archdiocese. Of these, 55 have grown to full parishes. At present we are developing missions in 7 cities across the United States and Canada, and are exploring possibilities in several more.

New missions and parishes founded by the Antiochian Archdiocese

(map version)