By the grace of God, Orthodox Christianity is spreading across the prisons of the United States. The Journey newsletter, which OCPM publishes to send to those in prison, is being passed around cell-to-cell and our Prisoner Relationship Managers are now receiving letters from inmates introducing themselves and asking how to start being in contact with The Orthodox Church. But what about people who were baptized Orthodox Christians before they were incarcerated?
“I’m so tired. I’m done!” Those are the words of Anastasia, a daughter, wife, and mother, who was baptized Orthodox Christian as a baby but fell into a life of drug addiction. “I have been using [drugs] for most of my life,” she says, “but I can say I am fully open and willing to receive God and become the woman He wants me to be.”
After receiving a letter from Anastasia, OCPM has worked to find and train a priest near her prison to visit face-to-face, ultimately to give Anastasia access to the Sacraments. “I am truly thankful for getting your letter today,” she says. “It came on the perfect day! I am trying to rebuild my relationship with God right now and would appreciate everything the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry can do for me! Please send me all the materials you can.”
Being baptized into Christ never guarantees an easy life–quite the opposite, if we beckon Our Lord’s words to take up our crosses with Him. Incarceration will bring its own challenges and burdens in Anastasia’s life. But now, she doesn’t have to go through it alone. No one is beyond the reach of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the ministry of His Church.
Illustration by The Brave Union, LLC
As you may have seen illustrated on the cover of the 2023 Annual Report (shown above), OCPM aims to grow the life of the Church wherever Christ is working, connecting Orthodox clergy and parishioners to people behind bars. Indeed, like Anastasia, each of us are rebuilding our faith in one way or another. But this is why God has given us the grace of the Church. He has given us each other.