The Orthodox Missionary Fraternity is a supporting organization dedicated to assisting the Orthodox missionaries all over the world. It is a charitable association officially incorporated in Greece, registered in the Special CSO Registry of the Greece, administratively independent, spiritually belonging to the Church of Greece and audited yearly by the municipal authorities of Thessaloniki. Its Greek name is Αδελφότητα Ορθοδόξου Εξωτερικής Ιεραποστολής.
The Fraternity was established in 1963 under the name “Friends of Uganda” by the zealous missionary Saint Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos (1903-1972), who first pioneered the Eastern Orthodox Mission to Sub-Saharan Africa, when in 1960 he settled in Uganda. The unprecedented experiences and imperative needs he faced were thus described to his spiritual children in Greece:
“Help me. People here quench for Orthodoxy, for Christ, and they are hungry at the same time”.
Some of his spiritual children responded to this appeal and formed the first missionary association in Greece in order to support the missionary cause both materially and morally. From the very beginning, our main activity has been raising funds for the work of the Missions, as well as spreading the message of the Mission in Greece and the world over.
In 1978, our organization got its current name emphasizing the expanded and renewed purpose to support all Orthodox missonaries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and America.
First and foremost, the Orthodox Mission aims at spreading the Gospel, the joyful message “Christ is Risen”, and leading every soul regardless of race or language to their final destination, the Heavenly Kingdom. It is exactly the same purpose of the Church. For as it has been said:
The Church without the Mission is a church without purpose.
Alongside the missionary activities, though, the missionaries also do a charitable work in the countries they serve, providing relief to those suffering of poverty and pain, founding orphanages, schools, clinics, setting up soup kitchens, drilling for water and variously sharing the love of Christ.
In all these, we have been supporters since the beginning and that’s why the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity and some of its prominent members have been honored by the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa for their work. The most honored and distincted one was late Panagiotis Papadimitrakopoulos, a long time president and great benefactor of the Fraternity, who was awarded the Holy Cross of Saint Mark by the Patriarchs Nikolaos and Petros of Alexandria. Similarly awarded were late presidents Vaios Prantzos and Konstantinos Daoudakis, the former president Dimitrios Sotirkos, as well as some of its current board members.
All members of the Fraternity and its board of directors are volunters and receive no remuneration. After all, the biggest reward for us is knowing that with your own help the Orthodox missionaries are leading souls to salvation. Let’s keep supporting them.
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