Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If the Church is a hospital, I have begun to think of OCPM as being the Emergency Room. Let me explain. Recently, I spoke to a woman whose husband had committed a serious crime. When she learned about the crime, she was absolutely shattered and afraid. She felt she […]
Madeline Cano served as OCPM’s first Social Media Intern from 2024-2025. When she was asked to write a culminating essay on her experience, we were so moved by her reflections on the heart of prison ministry, that we asked to share her thoughts with our greater community. Serving as a Social Media Intern at Orthodox […]
“Of Thy mystical supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant. For I will not speak of Thy mysteries to Thine enemies, neither will I give Thee a kiss, as did Judas, but like the thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.” (from The Communion Prayer of […]
From the outside, there isn’t much a prison facility shares in common with an Orthodox Church. But for Subdeacon Herman (Almasy), these two places have always been closely connected. From his conversion to the Orthodox Church in 2010, Sdn. Herman has been volunteering in prisons. His parish priest was looking for volunteers, and he jumped […]
It all started with one priest writing letters to just one man behind bars. Now, sixteen years later, 21 Orthodox clergy and laity serve 69 people in four different prison facilities across Michigan. The growth was small at first, almost non-existent for nearly the first decade of his ministry and coming to a complete standstill […]
Juwann stands at the front of the prison chapel, dressed in the same jumpsuit he has worn for the past ten years as an inmate of the Pennsylvania state corrections system. But this is no ordinary day. Beside him is Rassophore Monk Michael, a monastic of the nearby St. Tikhon’s Monastery, and soon to be […]
Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM), the national prison ministry of the Orthodox Church, is very pleased to announce Diana Emry as the organization’s first Director of Programs. To celebrate this appointment, OCPM sat down with Emry to hear what this position means for her and the future of the organization. OCPM: Can you describe your […]
Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) has many exciting speaking events coming up this season. Check out our scheduled events across the United States, and if we are coming to your neighborhood, click on the link provided to learn more. Make sure to check back throughout this season, as more events are still being set! Saturday, […]
Whatever mixed feelings each of us may have about New Year’s resolutions, the instinct persists; with a new calendar year always comes some desire for a restart: new goals, new intentions, new ways of seeing the world. For those of us at OCPM, these redirections often come from men and women behind bars, whose hard […]
“Your ministry has truly been a light shining in the darkness behind these prison walls! May the Lord, Our God, Jesus Christ, bless you and store up treasures for you in Heaven for all the love and help you have shown to me and others.” -A Letter from Travis in Prison We received this letter […]