Welcome to the official site of the Orthodox Apostolic Ministry.
We are Orthodox:
Orthodoxia is a Greek word meaning right belief or right worship. This word defines us as the Church whose primary call is to faithfully preserve and dutifully transmit the faith in Jesus Christ as it has been entrusted to us to every nation, people and tribe. We hold fast the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed; we honour the Seven Ecumenical Synods of the Universal and Undivided Church. We hold fast the 49 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament as scriptures inspired by God and worthy of our study and constant reflection. We venerate icons, chant hymns, intone Sacred Scripture and through these actions are always remembering that God took flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, born of Maria the Virgin, who lived for 33 years upon this earth, taught, healed, forgave sins, and who ultimately died on the Cross for the “crime” of being the Son of God. But death could not hold Him who is the Author of Life and on the third day after His crucifixion He rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven and we further believe that He will come again to judge the living and the dead at the dread Second Coming. With the early Church we cry out to Him: Maranatha! Come Lord!
Second, we are Apostolic: We are the Ancient Church, planted by the Holy Apostles themselves. Our people still live in the lands where by God’s grace the Christian Gospel was first planted: Corinth, Athens, Thessaloniki, Philippi, and countries like Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Modern Turkey, Cyprus, North Africa, Modern Israel. These are the lands that first received the Good News (Evangelion) of the Incarnation of the Son of God and these are lands that still contain vibrant Orthodox Communities in unbroken continuity with our Apostolic founding. We still speak the language of the New Testament, Greek, and because of that the Sacred Scriptures are often read in Church in the original language as well as in translation into the language of the people. We are faithful to the full Gospel as entrusted to us by our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are ever vigilant to neither add nor to subtract from the Holy Sacred Trust (the Parakatatheke) that has been entrusted to us. To remain faithful to the revelation which we have received from on high we struggle every day to live by God’s Holy Spirit and so we invoke His presence in our lively daily and many times each day.
Third, we are a Ministry: The Greek word for ministry is Diakonia. That is also a word for service; the word Diakonos (Deacon) means servant. The Orthodox Apostolic Ministry exists to serve. Our goal as the Orthodox Apostolic Ministry is to not only share the Holy Church and Gospel of Jesus Christ within the Island nations of Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, but to also reach out in support to the people of these islands and, according to our strength, to lift them whether from poverty or from hard circumstances, or for those who are able, to give them the encouragement and confidence to serve the Church and the people in each place on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Christian Church in Oceania. As ministers, diakonoi even, we understand that we come to each new place and to each unique person in humility of service as Christ Himself gave the perfect example.
We ask our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to bless you this day and always.
