Dear blog followers,

Christ is risen, the demons are overthrown, the angels rejoice, and life reigns!!! +

 

In a few weeks (May 21-June 8), I will have the amazing opportunity to participate in a three week adventure entitled The Missiology of Archbishop Anastasios. This is simultaneously a summer class, a mission trip and a pilgrimage. It is a one week class at Hellenic College/Holy Cross, and a two week practicum of mission work in Albania and pilgrimage to Albanian holy sites. Our instructor and mission team leader will be Fr. Luke Veronis, Adjunct Instructor at HC/HC, and renowned former long-term missionary to Albania. Here is a little background on Orthodoxy in Albania from the website of the Orthodox Christian Missions Center: 

 

In the 20th century, Albania fell under a communist regime and suffered the most severe religious persecution in the world. From 1967-1990, all forms of religion were constitutionally prohibited. By 1991, more than 1600 churches and monasteries had been destroyed, no Church infrastructure existed, and only 22 elderly clergy remained.
 
Today, under the guidance of Archbishop ANASTASIOS of Tirana and All Albania, the Church has been resurrected. Since 1992, OCMC Missionaries and Mission Teams have worked with the Orthodox Church in Albania to rebuild infrastructure and grow the Church.

 

I believe that missions is an important part of the life of the Orthodox Church, and am greatly honored and very excited to be a part of a short term mission team. My two previous experiences in the missions field were trips to Browning, Montana in July 2009 and to Tijuana, Mexico in June 2010, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am excited to continue short-term missionary work this summer by going to Albania.

We will be learning about the missiology of Archbishop Anastasios, we will meet the archbishop and his co-workers, we will witness the amazing resurrection that has taken place there over the past 20 years, and we will participate in the mission through some programs with the orphans at the Children's Home of Hope, with seminarians at the Resurrection of Christ Academy, with some youth groups, and with the University Ministry.

As with everything, there are expenses for this trip. While I am thankful that the Missions Institute for Orthodox Christianity will be subsidizing a large part of the cost of this trip, I do need to raise some money on my own. I am humbly asking your assistance in this latter task. You can send a check made out to “Orthodox Christian Missions Center” with “Emmanuel Maginas – Albania” in the memo line, either to me or to the OCMC, 220 Mason Manatee Way, St. Augustine, FL 32086. If you prefer, you can donate online by visiting the OCMC website: http://www.ocmc.org/login/index.aspx?LoginType=Donation&TeamAppId=644. When it asks you to log in, skip that by clicking “continue” at the top of the page, and follow the instructions on the next page.

So that you are all aware, after the conclusion of this class/mission trip/pilgrimage awesomeness, I plan to fly to Greece, spend the summer traveling around the Thessaloniki area and Mount Athos, and then make my way to Athens where I will study abroad during the fall semester. This trip to Albania is the beginning of what promises to be a very long and exciting adventure.

Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions about donations, about the trip or about my life.

Thank you for your support!

With love in our Risen Lord,

Manoli Maginas