More than 4 billion people around the world are ignorant of the Gospel of Christ. They have never heard the words of the God-Man and have never had the opportunity to accept an invitation to repentance. The numbers are enormous, but the power of God is unlimited. That is why a few dozen people today are continuing the missionary work that began on the day of Pentecost. With very few resources, they travel vast distances to meet every fellow human being and invite them into the Body of Christ. 2014 was the 52nd year for the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Fraternity. And it was by God’s grace a year full of love, vitality and progress for our holy cause. In 2014 alone, we raised from your donations the sum of €711,228.49 for foreign mission and funded in whole or in part more than 30 missionary projects and programs. From this money:
- An amount of 436.661,00 € was made available in the form of remittances to the missionary echelons.
- An amount of 98.809,48 € was allocated to support the missionary echelons in kind.
- An amount of 18.885,49 € was allocated for social aid to Orthodox students studying in Greece with the prospect of working as missionaries in their countries of origin.
- An amount of €111,056.66 consists of donations given for a specific purpose that is scheduled to be fulfilled in 2015.
- The remaining amount was allocated for the promotion of the missionary work and operational expenses of the Brotherhood.
Projects
Holy Temples
In the year 2014 the following projects were started or completed construction of eight Holy Temples in African countries, with funding from the Brotherhood. In total, during the year, 183,600 € were given for the reconstruction of Holy Churches to meet the worship needs of young Orthodox in African countries. Specifically, the Holy Churches are: of the Holy Archangels in Madagascar, of the Annunciation in Gungu, Congo (DRC), of St. Cosmas and Damian Nkhuwala, Malawi, of Saints Constantine and Helen Bombo Uganda, of Saints Luke of Crimea and Holy Archangels in Burundi, of St. Charalambos in Cameroon, of the Assumption in Uganda & Saints John the Baptist, Demetrius and George in Burundi. In this way, the newly converted Orthodox will now have their own church to gather, pray and build themselves up spiritually.
Water projects
No one can live without water. That’s why millions of people in developing countries travel more than 10 kilometres every day to bring clean drinking water home. To help our suffering fellow human beings, missionaries set up drinking water supply projects such as wells, tanks and water pumps in countries where drinking water supply is interrupted. In 2014, with your love we built 7 wells in Madagascar, Malawi and Kenya. 2,500 people now have access to clean water!
Clinics
The most common wish among people is health, whether they are in rich or poor countries. The Orthodox Mission builds clinics and dispensaries in various countries to provide medical care free or at affordable costs. In 2014 we financed the equipment of the “Panagiotis Papadimitrakopoulos” Health Centre in Bombo, Uganda and the “Theotokos” Hospital in Medan, Indonesia with the amount of 15,000 €.
Natural Sciences Workshop
Build a science laboratory in Larteh, Ghana. 50,000 € were provided for this project, of which 20,000 € were disbursed in 2014. The laboratory will serve the educational needs of the students of the city’s Orthodox schools.
Programmes
Soup kitchens
Most missionaries stop in countries where hunger is a daily visitor. For this reason, they organize soup kitchens for the people of these countries, where people can come and get a plate of food, regardless of their origin, gender or religious beliefs. We supported these soup kitchens in 2014 with €60,250.
Baptisms
The primary task of the Mission is to meet our distant fellow man, to reveal to him the mysteries of God and to invite him to His Church. And this year, you participated in the Baptisms programme with the amount of 16,200 € and enabled our missionaries to do more missionary work.
Educational adoption
With the educational adoption programme, you give young African students the opportunity to study. Thus, again this year, more than €23,000 was given to educate young people in Congo, Indonesia, Nigeria, Uganda, Sierra Leone.
Humanitarian aid
In 2014, with your help, we sent 3 containers of humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone and Madagascar. The total cost amounted to 98,809.48 €.
Emergency assistance
Earthquakes, plagues, earthquakes and landslides occur every day around the world. Two of the biggest risks were the epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone and the devastating monsoon in Sumatra, Indonesia. For these needs, and thanks to your immediate response, our Brotherhood sent €14,200 to Medan, Indonesia for damage restoration, while in Sierra Leone we sent €16,500 and a container of food and protective items against the virus.
Other needs
In addition to all this, the daily life of the missionary teams generates other needs. Thus, the sum of 65,361 € was given for purposes such as the salaries of clergy in Kenya and Korea, the purchase of land in Katanga, DRC and Congo Brazzaville, the new missionary opening in Sudan and the needs of the boys’ orphanage in Impfondo, Congo.
Our amazing supporters
None of this would have been possible without our 1514 supporters from 22 countries who care about the Orthodox Foreign Mission and contributed from their surplus or savings to promote its work with a median donation of 100 €.
Countries
For another year, we have been active and offered the help you have entrusted to us in 21 countries where the Orthodox Mission is carried out. The aid was distributed as follows:
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By God’s grace and despite the financial crisis, our Brotherhood continues to convey the rich support you offer for Orthodox missionaries. In the last ten years alone we have transferred almost 8 million euros for the development of missionary work.
Conferences
Nine months a year, on the second Sunday, we meet at the Holy Church of Timios Prodromos in Thessaloniki for corporate prayer and concelebration. Immediately afterwards in our Brotherhood Hall, 6 Mackenzie King, there are monthly informative meetings on Foreign Mission with the participation of Orthodox missionaries. In 2014 we hosted. Bishop of Burundi and Rwanda, Bishop Innocentius, Bishop Themistocles Adamopoulos from Sierra Leone, Bishop Polycarp Ayannanitis from Madagascar and Bishop Hermolaos Iatrou from Malawi.
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Thank you all for another great year! We immensely appreciate your support, your trust in us and your passion for spreading our Orthodox Christian faith around the world. . Let us all pray that 2015 will be a better and more fruitful year for the Foreign Mission and for all people.
