"Our Apostolic Voyage"

In his primatial address to the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America at the All-American Council in July of 2022, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon began by asking a fundamental question; one which his ancestor, Silas Pickard asked his family almost a century and a half ago: “What will you do to make lasting and significant this family in which we all have such just pride?”

His Beatitude stated: “These mannered words from a family gathering in late nineteenth-century New England may at first sound like nothing more than a curiosity from one family’s history, but I believe that they can easily be translated to apply to us who gather in the year 2022 here in Baltimore. Each of us is a member of the family that goes by the name of “Christian.”  And each of us has received great gifts. It is now our turn to take hold of what has been given to us and put it to work, not for personal gain, but in the fulfilling of the apostolic work by which we make ourselves worthy of the name ‘Christian.’”

The All-American Council in 2022 was held with the special commemorations of two significant events in the history of the OCA: the glorification of St Herman of Alaska and the granting of the OCA’s autocephaly. These two events are the outcome of the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church’s faithful in North America for over the past 225 years. The prayers and labors of holy men and women starting missions, building churches, teaching, preaching, founding monasteries and schools, and raising families and building communities, all of us today have received the rewards of their labors. In so many ways, this is what we Orthodox call “Tradition” but, as His Beatitude also pointed out, it is also linked to stewardship. We have been entrusted with continuing their labors, which are nothing short of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the faithful of the Church.

Two sister parishes

One way in which we can commit to answering His Beatitude’s question, “What will you do to make lasting and significant this [Church in North America] …?” is to realize we have inherited the True Faith from our mother diocese of Alaska and in return uplift them in prayer and tending to their various needs. One church we aim to support spiritually, financially, and through providing other various resources is the parish of St Nicholas in Juneau, Alaska. Their current priest, Fr Maxim Gibson, is originally from the Diocese of the South, but heeding the Lord’s call to serve the peoples of Alaska, moved with his family to serve this community.

On the main page of their parish website, you can make an immediate donation directly through a link provided: Click here!

Lastly, on the other end of the North American continent, there is a mission outside of Mexico City with which a relationship has already begun. Fr Jason Foster and various members of Holy Nativity and St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Shreveport connected with Fr Antonio Vera of the Orthodox Parish of the Holy Cross in Ecatepec, Mexico. Fr Antonio diligently leads the faithful of Holy Cross Church, albeit with limited resources. Through the efforts of generous benefactors in Shreveport, Fr Antonio and his parish were able to begin construction on much needed facilities, but there is still much more to be done. You can view videos and pictures of Holy Cross church on Facebook by clicking here!

Immediate financial support to these two deserving churches is appreciated and necessary; the long-term aim, however, is to establish deep and fruitful relationships with the churches of St Nicholas in Juneau and Holy Cross (Santa Cruz) in Mexico City, by extending our sense of family beyond the confines of Holy Nativity Church to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Alaska and Mexico. We hope the Lord will continue to give us the means and resources to support them spiritually, financially, and creatively to the glory of God!

Diocese of Alaska: Full forum, July 2022

Diocese of Mexico: Full forum, July 2022