OCA Chancery
Syosset, New York
Dearly beloved in Christ,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the newly redesigned and updated web site of the Orthodox Church in America.
Since the site first appeared in December 1996, our web teams have worked diligently to provide a wide variety of resources and features designed to assist our faithful, enquirers, and the general public. By 2004, the site had grown to well over 5000 pages, necessitating major technical upgrades and a thorough reorganization. Many new resources will also be found on the updated site, offering the hundreds of thousands of individuals who visit monthly additional and expanded features in the areas of worship and liturgy; religious education; spirituality; and pastoral, lay, and youth ministries. Our web team also has made every effort to make the site “user friendly” and easier to search.
I wish to thank Mr. John Mindala, web master, for the countless hours he and those who assisted him—the Rev. Joseph Frawley, Mr. David Lucs, Mr. Greg Sulich, Mrs. Tracey Sommerville, and Mrs. Lisa McElearney and the Sandwire Corporation—have devoted during the past year to upgrade the site. Working under the direction of Protopresbyter Robert Kondratick, chancellor, and the Very Rev. John Matusiak, director of communications, the team deserves the thanks of our faithful and many visitors.
I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to Mrs. Alexandra Safchuk, interim chairperson of the Department of Christian Education, and Mr. John Pusey and the department’s other members for their diligent efforts in expaning the department’s web site. The new site features a wealth of new material for a wide range of educational needs and levels. The department is committed to ongoing upgrades and additions to its new site.
I also wish to thank the many individuals and parishes who have supported the Fellowship of Orthodox Stewards through their free-will offerings, so necessary to maintaining and expanding the web site as well as the other ministries of the Orthodox Church in America. May God bless them for sharing their treasures for the building up of the Church, and may God inspire those who have yet to contribute to these essential ministries to do likewise.
It is my prayer that our new web site will not only serve as a practical resource, but likewise serve to spread the Gospel of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Who has commissioned us to teach and baptize all nations. May our efforts be richly blessed!
With love in Christ,
+ HERMAN
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada