About the Missions Institute

Mission Statement

?The overall objective of the Missions Institute is to promote a vibrant mission consciousness, especially within our Orthodox Christian Theological Schools and Seminaries in the United States. The primary focus is to instill an understanding of international cross-cultural missionary work. The Institute will also engender a missions consciousness for the local setting through understanding evangelism and promoting participation and support for international and domestic cross-cultural missions.

The History of the Institute

The Missions Institute of Orthodox Christianity was established on April 29, 2010 as an Institute of Hellenic College Inc., which includes Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, when the Endowment Fund for Orthodox Missions (EFOM) offered a generous one million dollar endowment.??

The Board of EFOM, a non-profit 501(c)3 charity established in 1981 by friends of Father Alexander and Presbytera Pearl Veronis on the occasion on their 20th year of ministry to the Annunciation Church in Lancaster, PA and in honor of their work in missions, is devoted to the promotion of the spirit and understanding of the Orthodox Christian missionary endeavor. An essential and effective way to guarantee the growth of a proper missionary vision within the Orthodox Christian community is to focus on missiological education for seminarians and collegians, the future leaders of our Church. Such an educational experience will inspire our future leaders to promote the Gospel beyond ecclesiastical boundaries and throughout the world, to provide our faithful with an Orthodox Christian understanding of the missionary effort, thereby gaining their involvement in this noble undertaking.?

?The Board of EFOM seeks an educational program and experience which inspires, educates and challenges the faithful to understand the universal vision of the missionary imperative and to gain a sense of responsibility and urgency in helping to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ beyond currently established church boundaries. This means preparing people to follow Christ’s command to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) by sharing the Good News of our Lord across cultures and among non-Christian peoples throughout the world who have never heard of the Gospel. Simultaneously, the Board of EFOM hopes to positively impact future clergy and laity who will serve the local Orthodox parishes in America with a strong vision for mission and evangelism in and beyond their parochial setting. This implies teaching skills and offering expertise in reaching the growing number of un-churched and non-Christians in America.