Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America

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The Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA) is an organization whose mission is to proclaim, share, and reveal the Orthodox Christian Faith through service, fellowship, and example. It has been recently proclaimed an official organization of the Orthodox Church in America.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius is the Spiritual Leader of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America.

The organization has two divisions, a senior division for ages eighteen and beyond, and a junior division for youth ages ten to seventeen.

History

In early twentieth century new immigrants were rarely welcomed in America, so many, for cultural and economic survival, banded together into ethnic fraternal societies. These brotherhoods of mutual aid helped build and support parish churches. They also came to serve as the social, cultural, linguistic, patriotic, and spiritual clubs.

In 1927, Fr. Vladimir Prislopsky and many laymen and clergy organized the Federated Russian Orthodox Clubs (FROC) as a national organization uniting the Orthodox Christian clubs in faith, fellowship and service. The local clubs were known as “R