Metropolitan Jonah participates in blessing of new OCMC building honoring Archbishop Anastasios and Archbishop Demetrios
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, participated in the dedication of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center’s new Archbishop Anastasios and Archbishop Demetrios Missionary Training and Administration Building May 20-21, 2009.
The new building was named in honor of His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania and His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, who lead the ceremonies. The Holy Blessing service was held under a tent at the entrance of the new building. Archbishop Demetrios presided at the service with with Archbishop Anastasios and Metropolitan Jonah.
“This day is very significant for Orthodox Christians; this new missions building is a witness to Orthodoxy, because Orthodoxy is always offering herself to everyone; and this is a visible sign of this very character of Orthodoxy: to share, sharing what we have with all the people of the world,” said Archbishop Demetrios regarding the new building. “This place is also important because it is a product of a pan-orthodox unity and cooperation, the faithful working together in the spirit of promoting the Gospel and the faith, which is a basic function of a true Christian. Our gratitude belongs to the people who made this a reality.”
Archbishop Anastasios said that “the dedication of this building is a milestone for all Orthodox missions and the evangelization of God’s People,” and added that “it is impossible to think of a dynamic Orthodoxy without world wide missionary work.”
Attending the blessing ceremony — under a strong downpour — were about 300 people, including hierarchs of SCOBA or their representatives from all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions in America, members of the OCMC board of directors and staff, missionaries and mission team members, benefactors and donors who made the capital campaign to fund the project such a success, and Orthodox clergy and faithful from across the country.
Earlier the same day, His Eminence, Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta presided at the Divine Liturgy in Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, St. Augustine.
Archbishop Anastasios brought as a gift, a small silver reliquary containing relics of Saint Kosmas Aitolos, known for his missionary work in the 18th Century. Metropolitan Jonah also brought a small container with relics of Saint Innocent Veniaminov of Alaska. Archbishop Demetrios presented to the OCMC board an icon of Saints Cyril and Methodios, missionaries and evangelizers of the Slavs.
The new 12,000 square foot building, situated just north of St. Augustine on a wooded 20-acre site near I-95, now serves as OCMC’s headquarters. The two story building has space for worship, training and meeting rooms, overnight accommodations for visiting missionaries and mission team members, a kitchen, and administrative offices and work areas. State of the art technology infrastructure is installed throughout to support communications with OCMC’s missionaries around the world. The facility is the first permanent building designed, constructed, owned and operated by a SCOBA agency. The Orthodox Christian Mission Center is the foreign mission and evangelism agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas. It maintains missions in many countries, including Albania, Romania, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Argentina, Uganda, Indonesia, and others. OCMC traces its origins back to the early 1960s to the Lenten Self-Denial Club of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Lancaster, PA, which soon became the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Missions Committee and later, the Missions Center in St. Augustine. In 1994, it became a pan-Orthodox initiative under the aegis of SCOBA. In addition to Archbishop Demetrios, who serves as SCOBA chairman, and Metropolitan Jonah, other SCOBA members include His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, SCOBA vice chairman; His Eminence, Metropolitan Christopher, Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America, SCOBA secretary; His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA, treasurer; His Eminence, Archbishop Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas; His Eminene, Metropolitan Joseph, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church; His Eminence, Metropolitan Constantine, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA; His Grace, Bishop Ilia of Philomelion, Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America; and the Very Rev. Alexander Abramov, acting representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA.