Mission Team St. Louis OCMC

06/04/2026

04/26/2026

May God rest their souls!

One came to the Pacific as a sower.
The other grew as the first fruit.

Metropolitan Amphilochios arrived in lands far from his own, carrying the faith as life—building, baptising, ordaining, and planting the Church where it had not been known. What began humbly was nevertheless real, like a seed set into the soil of the Pacific.

That seed, sown through his labours, was received in the hearts of the local people. In time, it began to bear fruit. Among those in whom it took root was Fr. Bartholomew—born of that same soil—who, in his ordination, received the grace of the priesthood and came to embody it within his own people. In him, the Church was no longer something newly received; it had begun to live and grow from within.

And now both have departed.

The one who planted, and the one in whom the planting bore visible fruit, have both been gathered. They have not been taken away from the work, but received into its fulfillment, which we do not yet see as it is.

What we call an ending is not seen in the same way in the Kingdom. The seed disappears into the earth; the fruit falls; both pass from our sight. Yet nothing is lost to God.

We remain, still within time, still unable to see the fullness. But we are not left without witness. We have seen the beginning, and we have seen the first fruit. And now both are hidden with Christ.

The Mission does not belong to those who began it, nor to those who continue it. It belongs to the One who gives life, who calls, who gathers, and who brings all things to their true completion.

So we entrust them both to Him whom they served.

And we remain with a certainty that what has been sown in faith, and lived in humility, will not pass away.

May the Lord grant rest to His servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.

May their memory be eternal.

Christ is Risen.

04/26/2026

May his memory be eternal!

With sorrow, yet not without hope, we announce the falling asleep in the Lord of our beloved priest, Fr. Bartholomew - the first Fijian Orthodox priest. He reposed after few moths of struggle and weeks of profound pain, yet peacefully, surrounded by prayer, having offered his life in faithfulness to Christ and to His people.

On the morning when we came to visit him—one day before the feast of Saint George—though greatly weakened in body, he shared with us something he had received with deep joy.
In the early hours, before anyone was awake, he heard the gentle chanting to the Mother of God - “Agné Parthene”. Then a soft voice spoke to him:

“Do not worry. You are already healed. You will rise, and you will walk again.”

He spoke these words not with confusion, but with peace and quiet understanding, as one who had already begun to behold what lies beyond the visible. We remained with him for some time, and he was filled only with gratitude—giving thanks for all things, expressing it with his familiar gentleness, now made even more tender in weakness, to His Eminence and to all who were near him.

This evening—on the third day after he heard this voice—he peacefully surrendered his soul into the hands of God.

We entrust him to the mercy of Christ, whom he served faithfully at the holy altar for seventeen years - in Fiji from the beginning of the Mission and in Tonga for the last two years.
The promise he received was not taken from him; it has been fulfilled in a manner deeper than we can yet comprehend.

May the Risen Lord grant rest to His servant, in a place where there is no pain, no sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.

May his memory be eternal.

Christ is Risen!

04/13/2026

Have a blessed bright week! 

03/31/2026

We also would like to thank Didi Kafka, who gave a presentation about the year she lived in Korea and what Orthodox life was there. The youth served Korean food after the pre-sanctified Liturgy.

03/31/2026

It was an honor to meet Archbishop Ambrosios of Korea and listen to two different presentations about missions in Korea and Japan. It also happened to be his birthday that weekend!

01/16/2026

If you weren’t able to join us on November 2, 2025, here’s the link to watch the event.

A benefit event showcasing Guatemalan missions especially the Aguacate medical center and the missionaries who serve that region. A brief presentation on the...