Missions and Evangelism
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 become Orthodox; 5) cooperate with College Ministry to develop mission parishes adjacent to major college campuses with no English-speaking Orthodox Church nearby; and 6) train and encourage Antiochian Orthodox priests and lay leaders to promote Orthodox Christian evangelism in their communities and begin new missions in nearby localities.
Since Metropolitan Philip founded this department 108 missions (excluding Western Rite parishes) have been established by the Antiochian Archdiocese. Of these, fifty-five have grown to full parishes. At present the department is developing missions in seven cities across the United States and Canada, and is exploring possibilities in several more.
New missions and parishes founded by the Antiochian Archdiocese (Word Format, updated Sep. 2009)
Order of St. Ignatius Offers Travel Reimbursements for Mission Priests
The Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch is accepting applications for reimbursement from mission priests for expenses incurred in travel to Parish Life Conferences, the Archdiocese Convention or the Bi-Annual Clergy Symposium. Please note that reimbursement of these expenses is for first pastors of small parishes and missions only, and that relevant receipts must be saved for six months. All requests must be submitted to Sameh Khouzam and received at the Archdiocese Headquarters no later than August 31.
Fr. Kenneth DeVoie appointed to the Department of Missions and Evangelism
His Eminence Metropolitan Philip has appointed Fr. Kenneth DeVoie to the Department of Missions and Evangelism as a full time mission priest. Fr. Kenneth was formerly the pastor of Emmanuel Antiochian Orthodox Church in Warren, Massachusetts. Fr. Kenneth has significant experience in “church planting” and the establishment of new church communities, and his expertise will certainly benefit the missionary efforts of our Archdiocese. We welcome Fr. Kenneth to the missions team of the Archdiocese.
Mission and Evangelism Conference Audio Available
Fr. Joseph Huneycutt and Dn. Gregory Norris at conferenceHow do we communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to those around us? On January 20-22, 2012, the Dallas/Fort Worth area hosted a Missions and Evangelism Conference that examined how the historical Church approached evangelism, and discussed how to put ancient proven methods into modern practice locally.
Audio for the conference is now available on Ancient Faith Radio.
The lineup of speakers included author and missions expert Fr. Peter Gillquist, Antiochian author and speaker Fr. Joseph Huneycutt, and Fr. Evan Armatas, a Greek Orthodox mission priest from northern Colorado.
