> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://uoj.news/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# OCA Announces Stewardship Sunday and Launch of 1794 Society
- URL: https://uoj.news/news/oca-announces-stewardship-sunday-and-launch-of-1794-society/
- Published: 2026-11-13T20:25:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T20:25:37.000Z
- Description: Metr. Tikhon has called on parishes to take up a special collection on Nov. 22 and invited the faithful to support the Church’s missionary work through a new annual giving program.
- Author: Victor Boldewskul Jr.
- Tags: #Category: News, Met. Tikhon Mollard, Fund-raising, OCA

**WASHINGTON, D.C. —** Metr. Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has designated Nov. 22 as [Stewardship Sunday](https://www.oca.org/news/headline-news/metropolitan-tikhon-announces-stewardship-sunday-2026-and-the-establishment-of-the-1794-society) and announced the establishment of the 1794 Society, a new initiative to support the Church’s work across North America.

In an archpastoral message to clergy, monastics, and the faithful, Metr. Tikhon asked parishes and institutions to take up a special collection on Stewardship Sunday and encouraged individuals to contribute as they are able.

The offering will support Church-wide programs, including mission planting, assistance for clergy and their families, youth and young adult ministry, liturgical music and translation, and Christian education.

[![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/08/new-oca-grant-supports-missions-outgrowing-their-worship-spaces-image-676a94cf5e71.jpg)On this topicOCA Opens Applications for 2027 Church Planting Grants](https://uoj.news/news/oca-opens-applications-for-2027-church-planting-grants/)

The Metropolitan also announced the creation of the 1794 Society, named for the year St. Herman of Alaska and other Orthodox missionaries arrived in Kodiak. The society succeeds the Fellowship of Orthodox Stewards and the Stewards of the OCA, introducing a renewed structure centered on annual giving and fellowship.

Members of the society will help fund the work of the OCA’s primatial office and Chancery, including coordination among dioceses, Church-wide programs, safeguarding policies, and relations with other Orthodox churches.

Metr. Tikhon said the initiative builds on the stewardship already practiced in local parishes. “This support should grow from the stewardship we already practice in our parishes,” he wrote, “extending our care to the missionary responsibilities we bear together.”

In his message, issued at the beginning of the Nativity Fast, the Metropolitan connected charitable giving with the missionary example of the first Orthodox missionaries in Alaska. He recalled their hardships and the work of St. Herman, who spent decades in prayer and service, caring for orphans, and defending Alaska’s Native peoples.

The OCA now includes 14 dioceses and more than 750 parishes, monasteries, and institutions. Metr. Tikhon said the Church’s missionary work continues through the establishment of new communities and the preparation of clergy and monastics.

Participation in the Nov. 22 collection is open to all, whether or not they join the 1794 Society. More information about the society and ways to contribute are available [here](https://www.oca.org/1794). 

Previously, the [UOJ reported](https://uoj.news/news/new-oca-grant-supports-missions-outgrowing-their-worship-spaces/) OCA created a grant meant to support missions outgrowing their worship spaces.