MISSIONS BENEFIT DINNER

Fr. Paul Patitsas

Our guest speaker, Fr. Paul Patitsas, served as an OCMC missionary in Oceania in the Metropolis of New Zealand (Ecumenical Patriarchate) with his Presvytera Katerina and their three children from 2010 to 2020.

Fr. Paul developed an interest in mission from a young age, primarily through the preaching and teaching of Fr. Alexander Veronis, the zealous teaching and faith of Metropolitan Maximos Aghiorgoussis, and Fr. George Bartz’s living example of faith—these were unforgettable men who have now all departed this life and who left an indelible mark on Fr. Paul’s soul.

Once in seminary, our speaker helped to form the Holy Cross Mission Committee with future missionaries Fr. George Liacopoulos, Fr. Dominic Gonzales-Garaboa, Pamela Barksdale, Presvytera Stacey Dorrance and others and the renowned Fr. Martin and Presvytera Renee Ritsi. It was an amazing time full of love, zeal and vision for sharing the Orthodox faith throughout the world.

While still in seminary, Fr. Paul was blessed to be part of a small two person mission “team” to Kenya sponsored by the Mission Department of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese under the direction of the (then) Bishop Dimitrios Couchell. The two and a half months he stayed in Kenya, traveling the country’s length and breadth, only deepened his desire to serve as a full time missionary someday.

Later, as a married man and ordained priest, he was blessed to visit Calcutta (now known as Kolkata), India and he arrived on the day of the funeral of Mother Teresa of blessed memory. There he served with a small mission team and under the supervision of the now Metropolitan of Madagascar, the then Archimandrite Ignatios.

But it was not until 2009, and having been already a priest 17 years, that he had the opportunity to meet and serve with the great missionary, teacher and spiritual father, Metropolitan Amfilochios Tsoukos, who was serving the Sacred Metropolis of New Zealand, which includes Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Inspired by the charismatic, mystagogic and ierapostolic ministry of the Metropolitan, he and Presvytera Katerina answered the call to join this fledgling mission in Oceania.

While Fr. Paul served primarily in New Zealand, he also visited Fiji, Tonga and Samoa where he helped establish Orthodox Christian churches and learned much. Ierapostolé, or mission, is not incidental to Orthodoxy but is essential.