The International Covenant of Pentecostal Orthodox Churches

02/02/2026

Subject: Regarding the Consecration of Dr. Maisha T. Bryant

Beloved in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We write to you with both transparency and pastoral care regarding the consecration of Dr. Maisha T. Bryant. After prayerful discernment and consultation, we have made the decision to postpone the consecration service due to ongoing health concerns. This decision is rooted solely in our shared desire to ensure her full strength, wellness, and peace, and to avoid placing any unnecessary physical or emotional burden upon her during this sacred season.

We want to state clearly and without reservation that Dr. Bryant has done nothing wrong. This postponement is not corrective, disciplinary, or procedural in nature. Rather, it reflects our commitment to honor the human body as a gift entrusted to our care, and to proceed with holy orders in a manner marked by wisdom, patience, and love.

At this time, we anticipate rescheduling the service for late March or April, with specific details to be communicated as soon as dates are finalized. We are confident that this brief pause will allow the consecration to be celebrated with the fullness of joy, reverence, and communal strength that such a moment deserves.

We ask that you continue to hold Dr. Bryant in your prayers, praying for restoration, endurance, and peace. We also invite you to pray for the Church, that we may remain attentive to the Spirit’s timing and faithful in our care for one another.

Thank you for your gracious understanding, your continued support, and your steadfast prayers.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Dr. Christopher S. Bryant
On behalf of the
International Covenant of Pentecostal-Orthodox Churches

01/04/2026

Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you.

As we cross the threshold into the year of our Lord 2026, we do not enter quietly. We enter with a holy resolve, a unified spirit, and a mandate from heaven. As we look upon the horizon of this new year, the Spirit of the Lord has impressed upon us a singular, defining identity for this season:

We are The Determined Church.
Advancing the Kingdom: No Matter What

The image of the burning flame atop the chalice serves as our visual anchor this year. It reminds us that we are the keepers of the ancient faith (the Chalice) ignited by the fresh fire of the Holy Ghost (the Flame). But fire requires oxygen to burn, and the Kingdom requires determination to move.

We live in an era of shifting cultures and uncertain times. Yet, our directive remains unchanged. We are called to advance. Not to retreat, not to maintain the status quo, and not to apologize for the Gospel. Our determination is not born of human will, but of divine necessity. We are advancing the Kingdom no matter what opposition arises, no matter what societal tides turn, and no matter what obstacles stand in our path.

Our scripture for 2026, Matthew 11:12, declares: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

This is not a call to carnal violence, but to spiritual vigor. It is a call to a holy aggression against the powers of darkness. The "violence" speaks of an energetic, forceful determination to seize what God has promised.
• Where there is sickness, we are determined to preach healing.
• Where there is confusion, we are determined to offer the sound liturgy of truth.
• Where there is emptiness, we are determined to bring the fullness of the Spirit.

To every pastor, leader, and member of the ICPOC: I charge you to let your determination be stronger than your hesitation. Let this year be marked by a refusal to settle.

If the door is closed, we will knock until it opens. If the way is blocked, we will forge a new path. We are a Covenant people, bound by history and propelled by prophecy. Let the fire on the altar of your heart burn brighter than ever before.

Welcome to 2026. Welcome to the year of the unstoppable, unshakeable, Determined Church.

In His Service and Covenant,
✠ ✠ Christopher S. Bryant, DMin, PhD
Presiding Prelate
The International Covenant of Pentecostal-Orthodox Churches

12/24/2025

A Christmas Missive to the International Covenant of Pentecostal-Orthodox Churches

Beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,

At the Feast of the Nativity, the Church gathers around a mystery that never exhausts itself. The Word who took flesh continues to give himself, here and now, in bread broken and cup shared. Christmas therefore does not rest only in memory. It arrives again at the Table. In the Eucharistic presence of the Lord, the Advent of Christ is not concluded but continually given, a coming that presses into the present tense of the Church’s life.

This is why the manger and the altar belong together. The Child laid in swaddling cloths is the same Lord who says, “This is my body.” The Incarnation does not pause at Bethlehem. It extends through the life of the Church as Christ gives himself sacramentally, sustaining his people in time, forming them into one body, and drawing them into the life of God. Each celebration of the Eucharist stands as an Advent renewed, a present arrival of Emmanuel who comes without spectacle yet with full self-gift.

At Christmas we also recall the Church’s responsibility to guard this confession. The tradition remembers Saint Nicholas of Myra, not as a figure of sentiment, but as a bishop formed by prayer, charity, and doctrinal fidelity. At Council of Nicaea, Nicholas represents a generation of pastors who recognized that love for Christ requires clarity about who Christ is. His defense of the faith was not driven by rivalry or control, but by pastoral care. What the Church confesses about Christ shapes how the Church worships, prays, and lives.

For a Pentecostal-Orthodox people, this witness speaks directly to our vocation. We confess Christ with the whole Church, drawing from Scripture, the councils, and the lived faith of the saints. At the same time, we expect the Spirit to make that confession alive in worship and mission. Eucharistic presence and orthodox confession belong together. Where Christ is truly confessed, Christ is truly given. Where Christ is truly given, the Church is drawn again into faithful confession.

Christmas therefore calls us to hold together wonder and discipline, devotion and doctrine, Spirit and sacrament. The Table keeps the Church grounded in the humility of God’s self-giving, even as the Creed keeps the Church steady in the truth of God’s self-revelation. Nicholas’s witness reminds us that defending the faith is never abstract. It is always about preserving the Church’s ability to receive Christ rightly and to proclaim him clearly.

As you gather this Christmas, may your celebrations of the Eucharist renew in you the expectancy of Advent and the courage of the saints. May the presence of Christ among you deepen communion across jurisdictions and cultures, strengthen your common life, and send you out as witnesses to the Word made flesh. And may the peace of the Incarnate Lord, given again at his Table, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

In the joy of the Nativity and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

The Most Reverend Christopher Bryant, PhD, DMin
Metropolitan Archbishop and Primate
International Covenant of Pentecostal-Orthodox Churches

12/04/2025