Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry sends thousands of icons, Bibles, books to prisoners throughout pandemic

New York, March 4, 2021

Photo: theocpm.org Photo: theocpm.org     

The Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) has distributed more than 2 million prayer cards and more than 1 million of its publications, including prayer books, catechisms, and more, to Orthodox and spiritually-seeking prisoners throughout its many years of service.

And while prisons have been on lockdown throughout the ongoing pandemic, OCPM’s ministry has continued as strong as ever. “The impact through the year was immense during this time when OCPM was largely the only outside contact for thousands of hundreds of prisoners,” according to the ministry’s 2020 activity report.

This contact included thousands of letters, icons, Bibles, and other spiritual literature:

  • Mail and replies sent: 16,384

  • Packages of spiritual materials sent: 871

  • Catechism study guides sent: 390

  • Icons sent: 10,978

  • Postcards/weekly letter sent: 13,773

  • Bibles and books sent: 1,252

“Thanks for writing me; it makes me feel good, because I pray to God to show me if He is listening to me. And I know that He does because your letters show me that,” one prisoner responded.

OCPM defines its mission as “Shar[ing] the love of Christ and His Church with those who are incarcerated and their families so that lives are transformed and God is glorified,” and “Serv[ing] those who are incarcerated and their families, and provid[ing] resources, training and support to our ministry partners.”

“We celebrate the fact that eternal life and hope are available to all people due to Christ’s birth and ultimate sacrifice. We also celebrate the fact that as a Church we are able to bring this hope to those who are incarcerated and their families no matter the difficulties placed before us,” reads the 2020 report.

OCPM was founded in 1991 by Fr. Duane Pederson as a ministry of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, later becoming an official ministry of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops.

It ministers to nearly 1,000 men and women who have embraced the Orthodox faith, either through conversion or through finding their way back to the Church. Moreover, five men have been tonsured as Orthodox monks in prison, and several more have become iconographers.

For more information on the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry, including how to get involved and how to support the ministry, see the OCPM site, and watch the video below in which Director of Training and Spiritual Care Fr. Stephen Powley shares the inspiring story of how he first got involved in prison ministry, and his several decades of serving, bringing the love of Christ to many.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, Parler, MeWe, and Gab!

3/4/2021

See also
Latvian man baptized after Orthodox faithful in New York help free him from Mexican prison Latvian man baptized after Orthodox faithful in New York help free him from Mexican prison Latvian man baptized after Orthodox faithful in New York help free him from Mexican prison Latvian man baptized after Orthodox faithful in New York help free him from Mexican prison
Dmitry Sukharov was born again unto new life in Christ on the feast of Theophany, just a few days after being released from a Mexican prison.
Russian Church holds iconography, art competition for convicts Russian Church holds iconography, art competition for convicts Russian Church holds iconography, art competition for convicts Russian Church holds iconography, art competition for convicts
Thanks to an annual competition held by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federal Penitentiary Service (FPS), prisoners have the opportunity to speak about their Orthodox faith and reveal their inner world through iconography and art.
Polish Orthodox Church donates books to support resocialization of prisoners Polish Orthodox Church donates books to support resocialization of prisoners Polish Orthodox Church donates books to support resocialization of prisoners Polish Orthodox Church donates books to support resocialization of prisoners
The books were donated as part of the Freedom Through Literature project, started at the initiative of Chaplain Fr. Andrzej Lewczak, to support the resocialization of prisoners through the enrichment of the institutions’ libraries with spiritual literature.
Fr. Stephen Powley and the Prisoners Who Stole Paradise Fr. Stephen Powley and the Prisoners Who Stole Paradise
Fr. Stephen Powley
Fr. Stephen Powley and the Prisoners Who Stole Paradise Fr. Stephen Powley and the Prisoners Who Stole Paradise
A presentation on the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry
Fr. Stephen Powley
Fr. Stephen Powley talks about how he became a prison chaplain, and how men whom society had written off entirely as unreformable became deeply believing and practicing Orthodox Christians—some of them even became monks, right there in prison.
The Story Of The Two Criminals The Story Of The Two Criminals
Fr. George Calciu
The Story Of The Two Criminals The Story Of The Two Criminals
Fr. George Calciu
Fr. George speaks of the conversion of criminals to Christ in the terrible prisons of Communist Romania.
Comments
Phillip Fox4/22/2021 1:14 pm
It warms my heart to see that the church is caring for those in spiritual need within pprison
Here you can leave your comment on the present article, not exceeding 4000 characters. All comments will be read by the editors of OrthoChristian.Com.
Enter through FaceBook
Your name:
Your e-mail:
Enter the digits, seen on picture:

Characters remaining: 4000

Subscribe
to our mailing list

* indicates required
×