Springfield, Virginia, November 20, 2025
St. Nina Mission in Orlando. Photo: oca.org
The Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Evangelization has announced the recipients of its 2026 Church Planting Grants, with three missions across the southern United States receiving financial support to advance their ministries.
St. Catherine Orthodox Mission in Columbus, Mississippi, will receive a first-year grant of $40,000. The mission, founded in 2018, serves an area of Mississippi with limited Orthodox presence. Under the leadership of Fr. Herman Garrison and a dedicated group of lay leaders, the mission aims to serve both cradle Orthodox Christians seeking a parish home and individuals from other traditions exploring Orthodoxy. The grant will enable Fr. Herman to transition to full-time pastoral ministry.
St. Nina Mission in the greater Orlando, Florida area has also been awarded a $40,000 first-year grant. Established just three years ago by St. Stephen Orthodox Church in Longwood, the mission has developed a significant ministry among recent Slavic immigrants. Archpriest Andrey Syrkin, originally from Ukraine, has worked to build a community that includes both the local Slavic population and people from diverse backgrounds. The grant will allow Fr. Andrey to serve full-time for the first time since arriving in America and to expand the mission’s outreach in the Orlando area.
St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Mission in Palm Coast, Florida, will receive a third-year grant of $24,000. Originally founded in 1995, the mission experienced gradual growth before gaining momentum in recent years. Led by Archpriest David Rucker, St. Alexis is entering its final year of grant support after thriving with the program’s assistance.
Archpriest Justin Patterson, project manager overseeing the Department of Evangelization, explained the selection criteria. “A healthy mission needs to have a strong vision for outreach, an optimal geographic location for growth, energetic clergy and lay leadership, as well as robust liturgical and social calendaring,” he said. “The two new missions selected for 2026—St. Catherine and St. Nina—certainly show great promise on all of these fronts.”
The Church Planting Grant Program provides financial assistance for full-time resident priests’ salaries, with participating missions required to match the funds. Grants can be renewed for up to three years, with support decreasing from $40,000 in the first year to $32,000 in the second and $24,000 in the third. The program has operated for 30 years, with more than 40 parishes graduating and over one million dollars distributed through contributions from major donors and the Stewards of the OCA.
Two missions, Archangel Gabriel Mission in Hickory, North Carolina, and St. Ambrose Mission in Roanoke, Virginia, will graduate from the program at the end of 2025.
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