Maria Gallos

Our Holy Orthodox Church has a tradition of sending missionaries, many of whom have become some of our most beloved saints. Consider St. Paul, the Holy Apostles, Ss. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Herman of Alaska. A missionary can be defined as someone who crosses cultural boundaries in order to preach the Gospel or to share the love of Christ. This act of crossing cultures, or leaving home, for God's sake is a theme which runs throughout the Bible.

One of the first mission mandates was given by God to Abram in Genesis 12:

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Before He ascended into heaven, Christ also gave a mandate, known as the Great Commission, to His Disciples:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:16-20).

And in Acts 1:

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

All three of these passages recount commands of God for one to leave one's home and go to another place for His sake. These commands were not only meant for the Disciples who were present and heard them, but also for all Christians who were to come after.

Our missionary saints are some examples of people who obeyed these commands of God. St. Paul has been described as the missionary "par excellence." His missionary journeys resulted in the spread of Christianity outward from Jerusalem to Asia Minor and the Balkans. Others also left home in order to go preach the Gospel. The Evangelist Mark traveled to Northern Africa and the Apostle Thomas to India. Their efforts are valued by our Church and remembered in our liturgical texts, such as the prokeimenon for Thursdays: "Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

An integral part of early Christian mission activity included translation of texts into local languages. In order to spread the message of the Gospel, missionaries must deliver the message in a way that the recipients can understand. Ss. Cyril and Methodius are called "Apostles to the Slavs" because they taught and conducted Church services in Slavonic, bringing a whole people to the faith. St. Nicholas of Japan, a monastic missionary from Russia, was also very prolific in his translation efforts. This accomplishment was made possible through years of language study and working closely with native Japanese speakers.

These are all shining precedents of mission activity in our Church's tradition. But one may ask, "What missionary activities are happening today?"

Many people, both Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox Christians, are not aware that the Orthodox Church still participates in mission work. It seems that many Orthodox do not even know what mission work is, much less consider participating in it themselves.

Why is it that many Orthodox are not aware of the missionary activity of the Church? One reason may be that in some areas of the world, the Church was oppressed for many years. Under Ottoman rule, the members of the Church in the Balkans were simply trying to survive and, in general, not able to participate in mission work. In the 20th Century, the Church in Russia and Eastern Europe suffered years of oppression and was forced to operate in a survivalist mode as well.

What might explain the lack of missionary activity done by North American Orthodox, who, unlike the aforementioned Orthodox, have not experienced outright government oppression? One explanation might be that Orthodox Christians in North America are, in some respects, still living in a mission area. That is, the Church in America is a relatively young body of believers. Although any body of believers can and should be involved in evangelism, a certain level of maturity needs to be attained in order for that body to expand their outreach to other nations. In North America, we now have a number of seminaries and a fair amount of Orthodox texts translated into English. So although Orthodoxy in America is young, it is nevertheless in a position to reach out proactively to other parts of the world.

Orthodox in many parts of the world are currently expanding their mission vision and outreach. Orthodox in countries that were formerly under religious oppression are now able to look outward and carry on the mission work of the Church. Those doing this work range from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to the Patriarchates of both Alexandria and Moscow. Mission Centers also exist in Greece and Finland.

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center, located in Florida, is the official international mission and evangelism agency of SCOBA. The Mission Center's vision is to respond to the Great Commission by sending people to preach, teach and baptize, as well as minister to the poor, hungry, sick, suffering and orphaned. Working to strengthen local churches around the world by helping develop indigenous leaders and providing resources is also a goal of the Mission Center. The OCMC periodically sends out several mission teams, as well as a small number of long-term missionaries, but the requests for help outweigh the number of people who so far have been willing to go.

Christ's command to "go and make disciples of all nations" does not stop with his disciples, the missionary saints, or those Orthodox currently involved in missions. It extends to every Orthodox Christian. We are all called to pray for, support, give to and send missionaries. Some of us are called to go ourselves. There are many areas of the world where there is no Orthodox Christian presence and where millions of people have never heard the Gospel. They might never hear it, unless someone who knows leaves their home to go tell them. Their tomorrow depends on how we respond to God's commands today. Thank God for the missionaries and saints of the Church, whose yesterday made our today possible.

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