Mr. Bobby Maddex: Welcome to Ancient Faith Presents…. I’m Bobby Maddex, station manager of Ancient Faith Radio, and today I will be speaking with Michael Jones, Fr. Paul Patitsas, and Fr. Meletios Pantic. These three interesting individuals are involved in missions work in Oceania, the geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Michael, Fr. Paul, Fr. Meletios, welcome to the program!

Mr. Michael Jones: It’s very good to be with you.

Fr. Paul Patitsas: Thank you, Bobby. Glad to be with you.

Archimandrite Meletios (Pantic): Thank you. Nice to be here with all of you together.

Mr. Maddex: All right. Well, let’s start by getting to know you three. Fr. Meletios, let’s begin with you. Tell me about your background and your involvement with the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Meletios: Well, I was born in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia, in the time when the environment there, the education was atheistic under the Communists. It was a time when no one was going in the church; nothing was spiritual around us, no one was speaking about God. So even though my parents were baptized in the Church, I was not brought up in the Church. Church was something strange to me, even though through history we would touch upon certain elements of Church and spirituality, but not enough to be interested to go to ask to speak.

By the providence of God, I found myself in Greece, in island Rhodes, and there in the Monastery of Holy Archangel Michael, I was introduced into the Church and into monastic life. I met there my spiritual father who became my geronda, Amphilochios. I was baptized there, and I remained there as a monk. I lived almost ten years there under the guidance of Geronda Amphilochios who was appointed eventually as the archbishop, metropolitan of New Zealand and Oceania, and he invited me to come here to help him with establishing the monastery here in New Zealand and in the work of the Pacific mission, and I’m here now for more than ten years as the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels and in charge of the mission. I’m here with the help of God trying to work now without Geronda who returned back to Europe, to continue his path of apostolic ministry that he established. And essentially the whole work here in New Zealand and Pacifica is apostolic.

Mr. Maddex: Very good. And you, Fr. Paul? Tell me about your background.

Fr. Paul: Well, I grew up in America. I grew up in Akron, Ohio, actually, and had a beautiful upbringing in the Church with my family. I have four brothers and a sister, and my parents are very pious, God bless them. My mother has passed to the Lord already. But it was a great place to grow up, with Fr. George Bartz, who was our parish priest. We had a love for the Church from a very young age. Then at some point, when we were very young, Mama Stavrouitsa, who had been a missionary in Kenya, she came to visit us there at the church, and I think that was really maybe the beginning of my interest in mission. My brother, Fr. Philemon, he kind of more than I took an interest in mission, and I sort of followed in his footsteps at some level.

So when I finally graduated seminary and I married my beautiful wife, Katerina, and we started to serve the Church, I had missions always in my mind, but I never knew if an opportunity would arise. Finally in 2009, I had the chance to meet again Metropolitan Amphilochios. He was not my geronda at the time. I met him in Fiji. I remember his very warm boula, and he welcomed us to the island. I think from that moment on, I felt this was my place to come and help and serve. I really did enjoy my time there. I’m no longer serving in Oceania; I’m now in the United States serving in Troy, Michigan, but those almost ten years that I was there were and are still very treasured, and I’m happy and proud to have been a part of it.

Mr. Maddex: Michigan? Well, you’re just right down the street from us here in Chesterton, Indiana, Father!

Fr. Paul: [Laughter] That’s right! A lot closer than I was when I was in New Zealand.

Mr. Maddex: We should have had you come to our studio. That would have been fun. [Laughter]

Fr. Paul: Next time, next time, next interview.

Mr. Maddex: All right. How about you, Michael? Tell me about yourself.

Mr. Jones: I grew up in upstate New York, and my family was part of the Christ the Saviour Brotherhood group that became Orthodox in the mid ‘80s, so I was baptized when I was about ten and came in the Church, like Fr. Paul, I think, grew up with a real love for the Church, now, looking back on it. My oldest brother left the house at 19 and went to become an Orthodox monk, and he’s still in the monastery now at Vashon Island. My brother Christopher is Orthodox in the Church, and my mother is spending six months in a monastery now, actually. My father passed away a couple years ago, so my mom has some ability to travel. Church has always been a big part of our whole family, our life, too.

We came to Kodiak, Alaska, right after I was done with college, basically, along with my family. They decided to move up there and be a part of an Orthodox community there. And then I moved away after a time, and then my brother came to Eagle River, Alaska, and got married about nine years ago, and I came up for the wedding and I met my wife who lived here. Her name is Megan. So I just went back to where I was living in Oregon and gathered my stuff and moved up here. So we’ve had since then—we’ve had four kids, and I’ve started a carpentry business, which is the work that I’ve done the most in the last few years. But for about two and a half years I’ve had my own little carpentry business, and then somehow I had never had any intention of doing missionary work or any much thought of it, focusing on raising my family and such, but perhaps we’ll get into it; we could talk about it more, but I got into this work sort of unexpectedly. It’s been a real blessing for me in a lot of ways.

Mr. Maddex: Great! Well, Michael, I’m going to stick with you here for a second. Why don’t you tell me a little bit, since you have kind of fresh eyes on Oceania, what is it like there? What is the general spiritual climate? What are the people like?

Mr. Jones: Well, so I’ve been two times to Tonga, and on the second trip we were able to stop in Fiji. There’s more Orthodox people in Fiji right now, so we visited. There’s a small monastery and an orphanage there, and got to spend some time with the children, just a few hours, but it made a huge impact on all of us, I think, on the trip, that we were received with so much love, and there’s so much joy in that community there. All the people seemed to embrace Orthodoxy very fully, in maybe a very simple way, but just filled with love. In Tonga it’s very different, because there’s fewer Orthodox Christians, but they’re very devoutly Christian for the most part there. Again, a very sort of a simple people in terms of the way that they live.

You hear about the island lifestyle, and it’s really true. Things kind of move slowly, and people focus on spending time with each other and taking care of each other more than anything. So people were always very, very welcoming to us, even a group of us walking from where we were staying over to the church, and there were some kids sitting in the park eating pizza, because it was their birthday. They invited us over and they were asking us questions, and we were asking them questions. They were just very hospitable, and everybody that comes by is welcome to whatever the people have. So I think both times I really got a lot from the people in Tonga just to see how focused they are on taking care of each other and how much more important people are than things.

Mr. Maddex: All right. Very good. So who would like to describe for us the Orthodox apostolic ministry of the holy Metropolis of New Zealand? We’ve touched on it a little bit. When and why was it started, and what sort of work does it do?

Fr. Meletios: Fr. Paul?

Fr. Paul: Well, I’d like to say a little bit about it, and then Fr. Meletios is the most involved presently, and he’s actually essentially in charge of the work on the mission under the direction, of course, of His Eminence Metropolitan Myron. But I want to say that in the 1970s, when they established the Metropolis of New Zealand, the patriarchate had a vision, even back then—and I believe that was Patriarch Demetrios, but it may have been even Athenagoras before him—so they had this vision to establish a metropolis that would be a missionary outreach and a missionary outpost for the holy patriarchate. So that particular archdiocese had a responsibility for the entire Far East. We’re talking about all of China, all of Mongolia, all of India, all of the Far East and Southeast Pacific, and of course also the Pacific Islands and also New Zealand. The only thing it didn’t include from all that territory of course was Australia. So it was this huge, huge metropolis, but very few Orthodox Christians in it.

From that time on, Metropolitan Dionysios of blessed memory really began a vigorous effort to bring the Gospel to all these nation-groups in their own language and with respect for their own culture. The first and very successful effort began with Metropolitan Sotirios (Trambas), who became the first Metropolitan of Korea and who did an excellent job there, and the Church there has progressed tremendously under his care. I think he’s now retired, and Metropolitan Ambrosios is in charge there. I don’t know if he’s still living, to be honest with you, but he did an amazing, amazing work, and that set the stage for many other good things to come.

And when finally Hong Kong was transferred from the control of Great Britain to China, right before that transfer took place, the patriarchate established the Metropolis of Hong Kong, and then Metropolitan Nikitas was placed there, who’s now the archbishop of Great Britain. I think there’s an official name; it’s not Great Britain, but he’s there now—Thyateira. So he did a tremendous job of mission, and now when he stepped down from that position, they broke the Metropolis of Hong Kong into two pieces and gave one metropolis to one brother and another to the other twin, so there was Singapore and Hong Kong. So the patriarchate is at a very active interest at seeing the Far East and the Southeast and of course the Pacific to become—to at least see the light of Orthodoxy, to come to them.

That’s the part I wanted to cover. Fr. Meletios can tell you more specifics about Tonga and Fiji and Samoa, of course, and Metropolitan Amphilochios’s involvement.

Mr. Maddex: Yes, please do, Fr. Meletios!

Fr. Meletios: Yes, when Geronda Amphilochios was appointed as the Archbishop-Metropolitan of New Zealand, the three specific group of islands were added to the metropolis, so the archipelago of Fiji, islands of Tonga and Samoa. And [he] who was experienced in the hierapostolic work, being in Africa as a young priest-monk for years, he was very zealous and very active from the very beginning, and though there was nothing in the islands—no one basically Orthodox, no Orthodox church, no Orthodox people—we now have hundreds of them baptized in Fiji with three active churches; four ordained indigenous priests; two nuns, Fijians who are taking care of about 20 children that we have in the Children’s Home of St. Tabitha. A few of them are coming through the social welfare, and they’re orphans basically, and some of them are from the local families that we’re helping, or broken families or very poor families, and we are taking care of their growing up, taking to school, in general just taking care of them.

The Metropolis of New Zealand was appointed as the hierapostolic metropolis, so even here the work within New Zealand is not focused that much too on the ethnic groups, but on the spreading of the Gospel and the spreading of Orthodoxy as well.

Mr. Maddex: Wow. That’s really extraordinary. It sounds like you are really having a big impact on that region there, and part of that, I understand, is the construction of this new church, the Church of St. George. Michael, you are a carpenter by trade, is that correct?

Mr. Jones: Correct, yes.

Mr. Maddex: So you are helping to work on the church there. Tell me about that project, and when you expect this temple to be ready.

Mr. Jones: So right now, as of our last trip—I went with a small group in March, and Fr. Paul had encouraged us, encouraged me to take a few people, because there was a group of three men from Greece—stonemasons, but they really can do any kind of work—and they had… It was sort of their second tour, as it were, in Tonga, working on the church. And they got it almost to the point where it’s built. The roof is on, but at that time there were no windows, so it’s basically a shell. So it’s at the point at this moment where it’s a two-storey building. The upper storey is the actual church where worship is to happen, and that has… It’s all finished; it’s painted all-white, and it’s got tile floors, but other than that it’s completely empty. And then the downstairs, there’s a meeting hall and a kitchen and a guest room, and that’s just—it’s all empty; it’s concrete: no finish work has been done down there at all.

So in terms of a timeline to get it finished, it’s hard right now. When we were there last, I had sort of a feeling like I’d like to go back, because there’s no one… There’s no project manager currently there. Nobody there to in person run the project on the ground. So I thought my wife and I are pursuing potentially doing that: going back and staying there for a time to get it finished. Unfortunately, we were not able to go back right now because in Tonga they, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they shut down, and they’re only just letting their own people in after about six months. Their own citizens are coming in, sort of one plane at a time and quarantining, so visitors aren’t allowed whatsoever at this point.

So we can’t go back at this time, and it’s unclear when we might be able to. I imagine, however it works out—whether we get to go and stay there or groups of people go—I could see it being roughly around six months’ worth of work. Again, I mentioned that the island lifestyle, things just sometimes move at their own pace. You can’t force it very much. So it’s really hard to put a number. I think we would plan on going for at least a year if we were to go, and have a second year sort of in the back of our mind to see what happens.

Mr. Maddex: Yeah, I was just going to ask about the pandemic. How…? What sort of effect is that having on the area that we’re talking about in general?

Fr. Meletios: We have a major issue because of this pandemic, because we cannot travel. There is not enough people, and we would need to be constantly between the islands. So in the last two years I was traveling basically every two weeks to one of the islands: from New Zealand to Fiji, from Fiji to Tonga, back to Fiji, back to New Zealand, again Fiji, Samoa, like in zig-zag. Now that’s all stopped for many months. So, yes, we have people on the ground, as I mentioned, in Fiji, so it’s a little bit easier, but they need support; they need guidance there near them. It’s been difficult. In Tonga it’s probably the most difficult because at the moment we don’t have a priest there, so when we were going and serving we could do something; now basically there is no one. The small chapel and the church that we are trying to finish, St. George, cannot be finished because, as Michael mentioned, there is no one there to guide the builders. And this small flock doesn’t have a liturgy for months.

Mr. Maddex: Wow.

Fr. Meletios: So, yeah, it is a little bit difficult.

Fr. Paul: If you knew how hard it was for us to start the churches in the beginning and how every step was so difficult, and to think these people came willingly, joyfully to join the Church, and I think in Tonga we have maybe twelve people, maybe another ten people who have expressed interest. It’s a small group, but they so much love the Church, and they saw the church we’re building for them, and they anticipated when they’ll have one of their own to be the priest there. Now to be completely without even a liturgy for all these months and months, it’s been very sad to watch.

Mr. Maddex: And I bet it’s especially hard for you, Fr. Paul, to have to watch from afar out here in Troy, Michigan. Are you able to keep up with the happenings in Oceania? Do you get back there very often?

Fr. Paul: Well, again, with the COVID, I haven’t… I came to Troy in COVID because of COVID, actually. I had to leave. It’s a long, long story, but basically I left New Zealand because of COVID. I was traveling outside of New Zealand, and when COVID hit, I couldn’t return, so I had to find an alternate way to live. [Laughter] So somehow God led us to Troy. But I do hope to go back at some point; I just don’t know when that will be. We’re still holding our breath with the COVID.

But, yes, it is hard to watch from afar, and, no, I’m not able to keep up with everyone to the degree that I would like, but certainly they’re in our prayers. We have… We can see all their faces; they’re written on our hearts, and we want to be with them. And we also just want to send them someone so that the ministry can continue.

Mr. Maddex: Fr. Meletios, do you consider the current pandemic to be one of the primary needs that your ministry faces? How would you characterize or how would you rank the needs of your ministry in Oceania?

Fr. Meletios: Yeah, the needs are many, I would say, but we are limited now, I would say first and foremost, on prayer of everyone for this small church and these small in Christ on the islands. But we still definitely depend economically on help from outside. There is no income. The church cannot bring anything within the islands. There is always something that is important, and this time even more, because we are not there to support. At least we need to maintain the buildings and the activity of the church. The priests themselves are driving and bringing the people in the church every time when there is a service. The 20 children who are there in the orphanage and the nuns depend on our help from outside.

And we are trying to organize them to set up certain facilities, to internet, to make some kind of small classes and small meetings through internet, so there is that extra effort in setting up certain programs and websites so we can try to raise awareness that we exist here, that the Church is growing in the islands in its support, and whoever can help in this moment, even through distance, would be a great help, especially because we are unable to travel there. Michael, with his family, was ready to come, and we were expecting him. At the moment we need to be patient and to try other means to support the church there.

Mr. Maddex: This is actually the third in what’s turning out to be a series of interviews by AFR with interesting church ministries around the world. We have featured the growing Church in Ireland, and we have featured a school that is making quite an impact on its community in Estonia, and now we are talking about the region of Oceania, and our listeners are responding well to these programs and wanting to figure out how they can help, how they can assist. What is the best way or the best avenue for our listeners to learn more about the work going on down there and about how they may assist, and even assist right there and then?

Fr. Meletios: I wanted to mention that small website that we made, and probably that’s the first means to see just a little bit what is happening here and to get in contact with us. It’s a small webpage of the archdiocese focused on the mission. It’s [OrthodoxPacifika.com]. It’s written with a K: Pacifika. One small Facebook page, but also this talk on the radio and what we are doing here is a way to get people aware and to find contact and to help.

Mr. Jones: I also have a little website that I made. It’s a OrthodoxyForTonga.com, so all as if it’s one word; Tonga is T-o-n-g-a. And I have… Some of it’s about my service, but I have a whole page of videos related to the missionary work, not just in Tonga, but all throughout Oceania there, and a bunch of pictures of our last construction trip that we took and some other things. I have it set up so people can reach out to me. For right now, one way to get connected if people are interested… And I also have a donate link, but that link actually goes to the archdiocese directly; it’s not something that I… It’s just funnelling people to that same website that Fr. Meletios mentioned before.

Mr. Maddex: Sure, and you sent me quite a few links in advance of this interview, and my plan is in the description to this episode, to include links there, so that as people listen they can click right there and be taken to more information and taken to places where they are able to donate and help your cause. Does anyone of you three have anything that you’d like to add before we conclude here? Perhaps we didn’t touch on something that you felt was important.

Fr. Paul: I think I want to say I was in New Zealand essentially for almost ten years—nine and a half years—and the most amazing thing that happened, although the parish that I served was smallish, about 70 people on a Sunday, but let’s say about 120 to 150 families, there were at least six or seven persons—some a little younger, some middle-aged, nobody older—who had a sense of calling to the priesthood.

I guess my biggest question or my biggest request to everyone is: Please pray for them. Pray for the callings of those who are being called to the priesthood, those whom I knew personally, those whom I don’t know but God alone knows, that God can move their hearts so that they can step up to the plate essentially, and help us to grow the Church there. They’re amazing people. All of them that I met were so amazing and so kind and so good and would make great priests, but they don’t… It’s a small, small flock, and they need… For them to be ordained, it would take a miracle. But miracles happen. That’s the stuff of mission work. We see them all the time, miracles all the time. So I’m just entreating our listeners, your listeners, to please join us in prayer for those young men and for their spouses and for their children, that God will bless them to rise to the challenge and to help us to serve the pious people of Oceania.

Mr. Maddex: And, Michael or Fr. Meletios, do either of you have anything to add?

Fr. Meletios: I think Michael could say, because he also received a similar calling, and I think it’s interesting because of the radio as well. He did mention that in the beginning, of how he became involved in the mission in Pacifica.

Mr. Maddex: Yeah, go ahead, Michael.

Mr. Jones: So about two and a half years ago, Fr. Paul had done an interview with Ancient Faith Radio that I listened to. I actually listened to it a year after it had happened, as quite a bit of time had passed. Without really thinking much, I was just kind of downloading podcasts to listen to for work, and one of them was the interview with Fr. Paul. Really, my thought was, “Oh, New Zealand! I like their accent in New Zealand. Let’s see what’s going on there.” And that was it. I didn’t think a thing of it. And I was painting a house inside, and I was working on some closet doors and listening to this podcast, and at the end Fr. Paul—you know, at the end, describing all these things… It was interesting to me and fascinating, but, again, lots of things are interesting; that doesn’t change my life all the time.

But this time, Fr. Paul toward the end said, “I’m hoping there are people out there who are listening to this, and you know that I’m talking to you, and we want you to come and help.” And when he said that, it was really as if he was in the room with me. He could have said my name; it felt that way, like: “I’m talking to you, Michael, in Alaska, in Eagle River, painting some doors. You need to come help me.” And that’s it. It really came to me very, very strongly, very surprisingly, because, like I said, I had never felt any specific inspiration to do any kind of missionary work or anything, but shortly thereafter I reached out to Fr. Paul and let him know who I am and where I come from and what I do, and he wrote back and said, “I accept. We want you to come and help build this church in Tonga. The metropolitan is going for a visit in two weeks, and he wants you to come.” [Laughter]

Mr. Maddex: Wow.

Mr. Jones: So I got my passport, which I didn’t even have a passport at this point in time, and jumped on the plane with my wife’s blessing. We were just sort of going step by step, and right now we’re working with OCMC to really have… to discern that process: Are we…? Is it for us to go there and stay there? which we’re open to, but sometimes… We’re trying to let God lead us, little by little, and with COVID we’re just having to be very patient and see where it goes.

But I guess I would just encourage others, too, anyone who is interested, to reach out. And I think not even if… It may not be this mission or this project, but if there’s anything that touches your heart in any way that you… and you feel like you want to be a part of it, connect with it, whether it’s giving a little bit of money, but also staying connected with the people and maybe going to visit. There’s a lot of need, and there’s so many people out there like Fr. Meletios and Fr. Paul who are really out there with very little resources and not nearly enough support, and anything that we can do to hold up the work that they’re doing, it really means a lot. So I just encourage everybody to do what your heart might move you to do.

Mr. Maddex: Well said, Michael. Michael and Fr. Paul and Fr. Meletios, I thank you guys so much for joining me today.

Mr. Jones: Thank you very much, Bobby.

Fr. Paul: Thank you, Bobby. Give our love to your father and mother.

Mr. Maddex: I sure will.

Fr. Paul: And your sister, too! [Laughter]

Fr. Meletios: Thank you for everything, and I hope we will have other opportunity again to speak again and to tell about the new things happening here in Oceania.

Mr. Maddex: Sure. I would love to do that. Let’s make a plan of it.

Fr. Meletios: Thank you.

Mr. Maddex: Once again, I have been speaking with Michael Jones, Fr. Paul Patitsas, and Fr. Meletios Pantic about their work and that of the Orthodox apostolic ministry in Oceania. I’m Bobby Maddex, and this has been a listener-supported presentation of Ancient Faith Radio.