The flame of the Orthodox Apostolic Mission has been lit in Oceania and the fire is growing and spreading. Two thousand years after the resurrection of Christ we bow in reverence to the God of Love Who wants “all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the Truth”. (Timothy 2:4)
St Tabitha Children’s Home & Safe Home in Fiji was built in 2013-2015 next to our Holy Trinity church in Saweni, Fiji, we have also established an Orphanage/Children’s Home dedicated to St. Tabitha which since 2015 has operated in cooperation with the Fijian Ministry of Social Welfare. Over the last five years, over fifty children have been looked after by us in St. Tabitha Home. We currently house around twenty-five children, in a modern, fit for purpose, fully staffed facility. Our aim is to do more than simply house these children. We want to provide them with an education and a loving and supportive environment in which they can flourish and grow. The ongoing costs of running the Children’s Home are around NZD 6,000 per month.
This sum covers the direct day to day expenses: food, electricity, clothing, schooling and the cost of payment for staff and tutors. The nuns who care for the children do so unpaid, and dedicate themselves to this mission out of love for Christ and for the children.
You can sponsor children from St Tabitha Children’s Home. By setting up a monthly donation of NZD 170/month you will not only provide for the daily needs of one child but also offer some stability in the lives of all our children.
Since 2009 with help of God, across the Oceania, we have baptised hundreds of people, and many are being catechised. Our Church has purchased properties throughout the pacific, in the two main islands of Fiji and in the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga, Tongatapu; and in Apia the capital of the Samoan Islands. We have built and established six churches, so far, for the Liturgical assembly of the locals: Four in the Fijian Islands with two more churches planned in the near future. Two churches in Kingdom of Tonga in Nuku’alofa. In Apia, Samoa we have purchased a plot of land and the church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John is scheduled for the future.
St George Church, Nuku’alofa, Tonga (Building in Progress)
Building started in 2016. NZD 35,000 needed for completion.
Arhondariki of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels, Levin, New Zealand (Building in Progress)
Building started in 2015. NZD 40,000 needed for completion.
St Paul Church, Vanua Levu, Fiji (NEW Project)
Foundation stone laid in 2016. NZD 60,000 needed for completion.
St John the Theologian Church, Samoa (NEW Project)
Land bought in 2018. Preparing to start building. NZD 300,000 needed for completion.
St Varnavas Church, Labasa, Vanua Levu, Fiji (NEW Project)
Bigger church to be built in the same compound with Sts Nikolaos and Athanasios Chapel. Foundation stone laid in 2016.
NZD 60,000 needed for completion.
St.Paraskevi Chapel, Sabeto, Viti Levu, Fiji
Building started in 2009. Completed in 2012
St. Athanasios and Nikolaos Chapel, Labasa, Vanua Levu, Fiji
Land bought and building completed in 2010.
Monastery of the Holy Archangels, Levin, New Zealand
Land bought in 2009. Building completed in 2012.
Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Saweni, Viti Levu Fiji
Building started in 2012. Completed in 2013
Holy Trinity Church, Saweni, Viti Levu, Fiji
Land bought in 2012. Building completed in 2015.
Sts Peter and Paul Chapel, Nuku’alofa, Tonga
Land bought in 2015. Building completed in 2016.
Sometimes the work of Apostolic Ministry (Ierapostole) is as simple as extending a helping and loving hand. The Gospel of Christ prompts us to visit the sick, to comfort those who mourn, to clothe the naked, to reconcile those who are in conflict, to visit those in prison and to work for their release, to shelter the orphan, to support the widow or single mother, to help others to find work… Such tasks are the sweetness of the work of mission. There is no greater blessing than to serve our beloved brothers and sisters in their need. Do you feel called to join us? Love is best expressed in person, face to face, hand to hand, arm in arm. We are always looking for those who feel called to a life of service in Christ. Could it be Christ is calling you right now?
☦︎Orthodox Apostolic Ministry 