The Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Mission is a support organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Orthodox missionaries around the world. It is a charitable association officially recognized by the Greek state, spiritually subject to the Church of Greece, administratively independent and the legal management of its finances is audited every year by the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
It was founded in 1963 under the name “The Friends of Uganda” by the ardent missionary Fr. Chrysostomos Papasartopoulos. (1903-1972), who in 1961 paved the way for modern missionary work in Africa by travelling to Uganda. The unprecedented experiences and the urgent needs he faced compelled Fr. Chrysostomos to write to his spiritual friends:
“Help me. The people here are thirsty for Orthodoxy, for Christ, and at the same time hungry.”
A group of his friends responded to this call and formed the first missionary association in Greece in order to support him morally and materially in the fulfillment of his missionary work. From the beginning, our main activity was the collection and sending of money for the needs of the mission, but also the spreading of the message of the mission in Greek society.
In 1978, our Association took its present name and with its expanded purpose continues to offer moral and material support to Orthodox missionaries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and America. The first and foremost aim of the Mission is to spread the Gospel, the joyful announcement “Christ is Risen”, and to lead every soul, regardless of race and language, to its final destination, the Heavenly Kingdom. It is the very same goal that the Church has. This is because, as has been rightly said:
“A Church without a mission is a Church without a mission”.
Alongside missionary activity, however, missionaries also do charitable work in the countries where they stop, relieving poverty and suffering of the needy, setting up orphanages, schools and medical centres, organising soup kitchens, digging wells, or organising other forms of aid, as appropriate. In all of this we have been complicit from the very beginning, and for this reason the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Missionaries and its prominent members have been honored by the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa for their service. The most honoured and distinguished person is the late Panagiotis Papadimitrakopoulos, a great benefactor of the Brotherhood, who was awarded the Grand Chartularum of the Ecumenical Throne by Patriarch Bartholomew and the Cross of St. Mark by Patriarchs Nicholas and Peter of Alexandria. Honorary distinctions have also been awarded to Mr. Konstantinos Daoudakis, President, founding member of the Brotherhood and for half a century worker of the mission, Vaios Prantzos, former President of the Brotherhood, and Nostis Psaras, Vice President. All members of the Board of Directors and the Brotherhood offer their services voluntarily, without any remuneration. After all, the best reward for us is to know that with your help, Orthodox missionaries save souls. Let us continue to support them.
