#9 • DECEMBER 2014
Orthodox mission QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE ORTHODOX MISSIONARY FRATERNITY
orthodox mission
Founded in 1963 Honored by the Patriarchate of Alexandria #9 October-December 2014 (gr227) Editor: Nostis Psarras Ss. Missionaries Cyril and Methodius
In this issue 04 Patriarchal pilgrimage 10 Pacific Islands 13 Indonesia 14 Cameroon
Authors are responsible for their own articles. Owner
Orthodox Missionary Fraternity
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19 South Sudan
http://orthodoxmission.org.gr
20 Uganda
ierapostoli@hotmail.com
23 Busoga Children
Recognized charitable, philanthropic, not-for-profit greek corporation.
26 Madagascar 31 Sierra Leone
Aim: Moral and material support for the worldwide Eastern Orthodox Mission
36 Congo (DRC)
Spiritual founder : Archim. Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos
43 Fr. Callistrate Lyrakis
Founders
45 Columns of Gratitude
Great Benefactor : P. Papademetracopoulos
41 Container for Sierra Leone
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Board of Directors Constantinos Daoudakis Chairman Nostis Psarras Angeliki Arnaouti Demetrios Sotercos Constantinos Metallidis Evangelia Traicoudi Nicoleta Modiotou Peke Azariadou Angelos Voyatzis
Vice chairman Secretary General Τreasurer Secretary Assistant Treasurer Assistant Member Member Member
Holy Christmas 2014 We pray that the grace of our born Christ covers you and the Nations in the new year 2015 3
Patriarchal pilgrimage to the cradle of sub-Saharan Orthodoxy On the morning of October 12th His Beatitude Patriarch of Alexandria arrived at the international airport of Kenya. During the day, the patriarch had a long cooperation with His Eminence Metropolitan Makarios of Kenya over the course of the Orthodox Church in the country. On Monday, October 13, 2014 His Beatitude, accompanied by the local prelate, visited the second largest slum in the world after that of Brazil, the well known Kibera. His Beatitude was shown around the premises where the Metropolis runs a Kindergarten and a Primary School, a clinic and the sacred 4
church of St. George. The pupils, boys and girls, had reserved, along with the priest and the teachers, a very warm welcome with songs and dances. Deeply touched, His Beatitude thanked for the warmest welcome and then distributed sweets and small icons to all the children. Then he visited, just behind the slum area, the very recently completed orphanage, where he toured the premises of the ultra-modern building complex. Then he visited three other primary schools and kindergartens in the regions of Kawaguare Rironi and Kereita. In all schools, His Beatitude thanked and distrib-
uted gifts to the children. On Tuesday, October 14 His Beatitude visited the sacred church of St. Titus in the Moukoui village with the adjacent Orthodox Middle school and kindergarten, and the parishes of St. Panteleimon in Kerwa, St. Seraphim of Sarov, where there is a Middle school for the boys of the same parish, and that of the Transfiguration in Kamangou, where the parish runs a coeducational middle school and a medical center. Returning late in the afternoon, His Beatitude visited the sacred church of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene in Thogoto, where he held a memorial service over the tomb of the late Bishop George Gathuna of Nitria, the first
African Bishop in Kenya. He also visited the nearby health care facility of the parish. In the evening, he attended a formal dinner hosted in his honor by the Russian Ambassador at his official residence. That was also attended by the Ambassadors of Greece and Egypt. The next day the Egyptian Ambassador organized a formal dinner in honor of His Beatitude as well, which was attended by all the Ambassadors of the Muslim states. On October 16 His Beatitude visited Archbishop Makarios III Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School. There the seminarians of the Patriarchal School in a most melodious manner chanted the
Priest ordination by HDB the Patriarch of Alexandria
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doxology and sang praises to the Patriarch’s name and fame in Greek. His Beatitude expressed his great joy for being present at the start of the new academic year at the Patriarchal School for the first time. Addressing the seminarians, he urged them to benefit from their schooling there in order, on returning to their countries to be able to serve the ethos and splendor of Orthodoxy with all the knowledge they will have gained. This year the first grade is being attended by twenty seminarians from African countries except Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi, who His Beatitude laid readers. In the end, His Eminence Makarios offered as a gift an icon of the Virgin
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Mary surrounded by small African children, with the inscription in Swahili “Mother of the Orphans’. After a short break, His Beatitude visited the sacred church of St. Makarios, where he attended an assembly of clergy and laity representatives of the Church and of the surrounding parishes. Metropolitans Gregory of Cameroon and George of Guinea spoke to the attendees, and His Beatitude replied to questions asked by clergy and laity. The day of October 18, 2014 was a historic day for the Metropolis of Kenya. At 11 am there was a scheduled graduation ceremony for the students of the Orthodox College of Africa. The presence of the Primate of the Alexandrian Church gave
Tomb of the missionary Stavritsa Zachariou
special honor and glory to the whole program, since it was the first time the Spiritual Leader of the African Orthodoxy Theodoros II had attended the ceremony. The program of the whole ceremony included speeches, prayers, songs performed by various choirs of the Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School and of the Orthodox Teachers’ College, by talented Orthodox singers, as well as by primary school children. His Beatitude congratulated wholeheartedly His Eminence, who has been striving to support and promote the work of education in Kenya all these years. He was glad once more to see the progress made in all the fields and promised to continue, as always, his assistance in the efforts made for the develop-
ment of the Church in the blessed country of Kenya. Addressing those who had finished the Orthodox College, he wished them all the best in the new course of their lives and gave them his patriarchal blessings. In the end, His Beatitude as well as the other officials handed the diplomas to the graduates. During his visit to the premises of the Metropolis of Kenya, our Patriarch did not fail to conduct a memorial service over the tombs of the late Archimandrite John Eko, a Finnish missionary, whose threedecade work in Kenya was exemplary, first as a teacher and then as a priest, the late “mamma� Stavritsa Zachariou, who also worked tirelessly until her repose, the late pioneer African priest Fr. Eleftherios 7
Ndwaru. On the morning of October 19 HDB Theodoros II Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Unmercenaries in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. His concelebrants were His Eminence Metropolitan Makarios of Kenya, His Grace Bishop Innocentios of Burundi and Rwanda and a large number of African priests. During the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude ordained as a deacon the second-year seminarian of the Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School John Karakasia, who comes from the tribe of Luhya. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, he expressed his joy for the opportunity given to him to start the second decade of
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his Patriarchate from the Metropolis of Kenya. He characteristically said, “Here is the center of our mission in Africa.� In the early morning hours of October 22, HDB Theodoros II Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa having successfully completed his pastoral visit to Kenya, departed for the headquarters of the Patriarchate in Alexandria. Overwhelmed with feelings of love and gratitude, His Beatitude thanked His Eminence Makarios for his successful and blessed visit to Kenya. In his turn, His Eminence expressed the boundless gratitude on the part of the clergy, the people and himself for that visit, so rich in spiritual support for the multifarious work being done in Kenya.
"Macarios III" Theological School
This was definitely not a typical pastoral visit of the Patriarch. It was an unparalleled, profound and rich in spiritual messages visit, revealing the behavioral standards and summarizing the character of the Spiritual Leader of the Black Continent. The Africans were waiting to be close to him in order to see him and kiss his hand, as they only knew him from the photos and wall calendars issued by the Metropolis every year. His visit to Colleges, Seminaries, clinics, schools at all levels of education and Sacred Churches was a magnificent mosaic decorated with the virtues of the Primate of love, humility, acceptance of everyone as they are. His good and simple heart, his warm smile of kindness and innocence, his bright face, his movements, even the way he walked, all of them revealed the greatness of his
mental strength and endurance‌ Undoubtedly, though, the most impressive of all was the fact that for the first time a Primate had visited the slum of Kibera, where people, especially little children, live despised and forsaken by people. He spent time listening to them, sharing their pain, anxieties, sorrows and sufferings, holding their hands in his own and meaning to instill a sense of hope in them. A Father of infinite kindness who wanted to share their concerns and problems, walked along with them and got a taste of their daily Calvary, clasped their bony hands and promised to carry them always in him, in the depths of his heart, and be their companion and fellow traveler on their difficult road of life. †Makarios of Kenya 9
PACIFIC ISLANDS
Fire of the Spirit Dear brothers in Christ, members and associates of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, may the blessing and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In the book of the Acts, chapter 16, we read that when Paul and his missionary team were in a region called Mysia, near Adramytteion and Pergamon, they thought of heading to Bithynia for the propagation of the Gospel. However, they were prevented by the Holy Spirit, “But the Spirit suffered them not”. Therefore, they went down to the city of Troas, where Apostle Paul was shown in a vision a man from Macedonia begging him and telling him in Greek “Come over into Macedonia, 10
and help us.” (Acts, 16, 9)Therefore, after this vision, Paul got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called them to preach the gospel there, so he went to Philippi (near the city of Kavala today), where he started his missionary work in Greece.. Apparently, the Holy Apostles preached the Gospel being inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. Such things happen in the life and work of the missionaries in all ages, since the Mission may be carried out by people but it is a work of God. As we speak, I would like to talk to you about the Head of the Orthodox Mission in New Zealand and Fiji, Metropolitan Amphilochios, who, until recently, with the
to erect there an Orthodox Saagreement of our Venerable Shepcred Church of Saint George the herd His-All-Holiness Ecumenical Great Martyr with money sent by Patriarch Bartholomew and the adthe Orthodox Missionary Society vice of a pious physician and mis“Saint John the Theologian” from sionary, had decided to submit his Aspropyrgos, Greece. resignation from his position for health reasons. “But God works in 3. Because a newly illuminated but zealous Orthodox Christian, Mr. mysterious ways.” Silouanos Vea, baptized in MelNow Metropolitan Amphilobourne Australia, came from chios has decided not to carry out Tonga, the other island of Oceahis decision for several reasons: nia, and asked us to go to his 1. Because by the grace of God and homeland in order to propagate after a special treatment he unOrthodoxy there and build a saderwent, his health has greatly cred Church. improved, and now he is in a position to continue his humble 4. Because in Sydney, on the initiative of the pious priest Father ministry. Nicholas Marketos and the bless2. Because so far no plot of land ing of His Eminence Archbishop has been found in Fiji in order
Baptisms in Viti Levu, Fiji
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Stylianos, the Greek Orthodox people offered enough money for the erection of the Sacred Church of St. George in Tonga; this way, the Orthodox Mission will take its first steps there. As for Silouanos, we have appointed him to the position of catechist on his island. On October 21 we saw him off at the airport where he would fly to his country, and there we met a fellow traveler of his from Samoa, the third island near Tonga, who also wants Orthodoxy to spread in his homeland; therefore, after Tonga, it is Samoa awaiting us. Naturally, after such overt intervention s on the part of God, it would not be possible for His Eminence to think about resignation
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and things like that. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke, 12:49). This is the fire of Pentecost. The fire of the Orthodox Mission in Oceania is growing bigger and bigger! A gift of the Divine will granted to us. We cannot do otherwise but bow in reverence to the God of love who wants “all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth “(Tim 2: 4), repeating the words of St. Job the Much-Suffering : ” The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord now and to the ages. Amen” From the Holy Metropolis
INDONESIA
Disaster in Sumatra Dear brothers in Christ, With the help of our good God, we are doing well. Our ministry is operating smoothly and the two fathers here are very helpful indeed. However, the problem is that I cannot send them off to distant places (like the island of Nias), because we cannot afford to pay for their fares. Apart from that, I have not been able to pay their salaries on a regular basis so far. Therefore, my dear brothers, I made an effort to raise some money in order to meet the needs of our mission here by creating a chicken farm. Chicks grow quite fast, so they could be sold within 35 days. 2 months ago I constructed a large chicken coop made of bamboo with a capacity of 10,000 chickens. This cost us about 13,000 â‚Ź, which we had
painstakingly managed to gather. However, a week ago heavy rain and strong winds made the coop where we kept the chickens collapse. Immediately, we rushed to gather what was left. Unfortunately, only 30% of the (building) materials could be reused. As you can imagine, the damage caused is great, and honestly speaking, I have no idea how I will be able to pay the priests and the employees of our institution. Naturally, we have to rebuild it, but the amount required is at least 10,000 â‚Ź. As a result, once again we are obliged to ask for your help, even at the risk of becoming burdensome. I am convinced that in this difficult time for our mission in Indonesia, you will stand by us and support us. Fr. Chrysostomos Manalu 13
CAMEROON
Findings and Dreams of 10 years in the Tropics With the help of God, on November 25, 2014, ten years have been completed since the unfathomable and infinite mercy of our Lord appointed me as a bishop to the Holy Metropolis of Cameroon to minister in this field of the work of the Apostles. I do not think that the ten years of my ministry are enough for me to extract conclusions and be regarded as a specialist or take them as a reason for celebration. I believe though, that it is a great opportunity for reflection and self-criticism upon which the steps of the next five –maybe, by the grace of God, even ten- years should be carefully planned. The experiences of this decade 14
are plentiful and condensed. Some articles that occasionally saw the light of publicity in various missionary magazines could be described as "decompression efforts� of these experiences and mostly as efforts to create a dialogue towards all the ecclesiastical and non- ecclesiastical directions. Thus, I believe that all this has remained within the boundaries of a monologue with a charm that stems from the harsh beauty of the African landscape, the raw reality of all-surrounding death and the image of the priest going from place to place, striving to preach the Word of God. Throughout this decade there have been individuals or people or-
ganized in associations and charities who have supported the missionary work with faith and trust and are worthy of the Church’s praise, which they will receive from the Impartial Judge and Great Gift Giver Lord. However, my ultimate goal in life was not to become either a writer of travel impressions or a research scholar in anthropology, but to define to the Church that sent me here the “size” of my “field” and the unique opportunity given to us in our chaotic era to preach Christ, to penetrate into a primitive soci-
ety and its principle of formation based on the European model and to lay Christ as its basis and foundation, embodying in all its splendor the silent and apparent love of the Good Samaritan" and correcting the indifference and superficiality of the "priest" and the "Levite", which always carries the bitter taste of bitterness… In these ten years, God has filled me with events and gestures of touching love coming from simple people, but always and continually, with bitter flavors- with very few exceptions- from people who
HE Gregorios giving out stationery to students
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are still believed to serve the same purpose, namely the Gospel, maybe expressed in a different way, which persistently eludes me... It is an undeniable fact that modern societies are tired and ageing because of time compression and modern life’s over-consumption which they have imposed upon themselves due to their long indifference to the public affairs... Some unashamed professional demagogues increased and exploited this indifference, ravaged and devastated "what belonged to the people� causing all this global chaos, the consequences of which we are experiencing as a crisis and dis16
ease, awaiting the recovery, or some divine intervention in the form of financial assistance‌ What I find it totally inconceivable, though, is the 'lethargy' of the Gospel guardians and their alignment with the demagogues of the time! The help on the part of soup kitchens and social grocery stores is unquestionably immense, but it is not the solution to this problem... The charity work which a missionary division offers is necessary, but it cannot be regarded as its primary purpose ... The purpose is solely Christ and His will, that is, the Gospel, and this is not the dissemination of an idea or a world
view ...It is "the light "and" the truth "and" the way "and" the life of the world�, and this is the way we should talk about Christ and live with Him. Christ always spoke to people in such a way that no one had ever spoken before, and he virtually opened people’s eyes into another morality and not into another moralistic life form. This is the reason why he did not hesitate to criticize any form of authority or faith in His time as well as any type of world hierarchy‌ I would say with certainty that the Lord tried to instill this critical look into the world in his contemporaries, that is, in the ordinary
people and not only in His disciples, wishing to make them smarter against the secularization of the religious people and the greed of political demagoguery .. . Of course the reaction on the part of His society was to send Him to the Cross ... but then the Cross was followed by the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Pentecost and the tangible blessings that stem from all this for believers and unbelievers... Conveying the Gospel means conveying the will of God, which is the reason why we go around the African Continent, wearing out ourselves to the extent possible, 17
thinking that what we do, aims at the glory of the Church and might be heard by God after our own crucifixion... But how many wonderful things could be done if the Church that sent us here out of brotherly love leaned over us in strengthening and support of our humble work? How many wonderful miracles would we live if some clergymen had the courage to come out of the "National monism" of their faith and stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the streets of nations and in the ends of the earth where our poor brothers give their struggle for survival?
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How different would the image of our Church in the world be if we believed in “the work of the Apostles to all nations”? This is what I dream of on the long, rainy, tropical nights, and from the beauty of those dreams I draw courage and hope to continue this largely solitary journey knowing deep down that probably after many years, some workers of the Gospel of another generation can fulfill them and live them... Thanks be to Thee, O Lord! With undivided love unto all those longing for the coming of our Lord. † Gregory of Cameroon
SOUTH SUDAN
Children of South Sudan With the blessing of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, another five children from South Sudan were baptized after their catechesis was completed. These children come from a country that suffers various ills: civil war, refugeeism, famine, cholera epidemics and recently the Ebola epidemic. Within this turmoil, survival is a major achievement. Their baptism today is a silent statement to the western society of conformism and indifference towards the Church of Christ that life is more than mere survival and goes beyond the biological instinct; it achieves that by drawing strength and courage from the Source of life, which is none
other than Jesus Christ Himself. Their patience in suffering in conjunction with their testimony through their baptism proves indisputably their struggle for spiritual life, which God made me worthy to witness and as such, I convey the facts to you. Dear friends of the Mission, You as well as the members of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity are the companions of these children in this struggle. In times of sickness and sorrow, anxiety and danger, labor and effort, you are with us, we do not feel lonely. May God bless you and fill you with His Grace for your valuable support to Overseas Mission. With love in Christ, †Narcissus of Nubia 19
UGANDA
The critical period for Mission in Uganda is Now The seed of Orthodoxy has germinated in Uganda and the Orthodox Church has started growing in this African country despite the innumerable difficulties and obstacles it was confronted with. This is already an undeniable fact in people’s thoughts and in world history. As regards the constitutive relation of each Orthodox member with the Triune God, this is a question which belongs to those mysteries that remain inaccessible to objective research and experience. However, what follows this agonizing growth? What comes next? How will it continue its 20
existence and survival among contemporary global changes? How will this Church in Uganda become self-sustaining and growing? Such and other similar questions make this period the most critical in the history of the Orthodox Mission in Uganda. Besides, it must be consciously accepted that the work of the Orthodox Mission in Uganda has been much delayed too. Historians are required to describe the reasons for this delay in admonition of future generations. Now as regards us, the questions we have concern issues and problems encountered in our living reality. Despite the contradictory state
of events, we believe that God's plan is actually being unfolded, particularly for Uganda. However, we never stop worrying about the whole of our mission, especially the poor priests serving in Uganda during this critical time. This is so because when the current economic crisis emerged so abruptly, the flock was not yet mature enough to bear material, social and spiritual fruit for self-sustenance and perpetuation of the missionary work. Therefore, the priests in Uganda will have to exceed their powers in order to continue preparing the flock so that it attains
maturity and self-sustenance. This means that for as long as we have to live and face this financial crisis and our Orthodox congregation is not yet mature enough to promote and continue the apostolic work, the heavier load will have to be carried by the priests. For Uganda, from the entire flock of the faithful, after the priests, another group that bears a great deal of responsibility is that of teachers and catechists. While the priests primarily serve the churchbased cycle of the Sacred Mysteries, teachers and catechists primarily
Breakfast beverage for students
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serve the school-based cycle of education. We try to make this clear to everybody that the priests are also responsible for the life and proper operation of the schools. Naturally, teachers do not want to understand this because for them, school employment is more advantageous than church employment. The schools here are somewhat productive and financially selfsustained while the churches have not reached that level yet. Church work is voluntary and does not involve too many restrictions. School work is done under more pressure due to the social system.
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That's why at the present time the schools must help the churches financially until the churches reach the point of being able to help the schools in the future. This will be achieved provided the same members-parents view spiritual progress as a primary need‌ This dialectic of the most critical period for the Orthodox Mission in Uganda could be extended to other groups of the flock as well. However, the ArchShepherd Christ has His own plans for the course of events. We hope for the best. From the Holy Metropolis
Solidarity for the Busoga children Dear Brothers in Christ, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I would like to inform you that we have received the donation you sent us for feeding the poor children and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your money came at a time when hunger was a major problem in our schools. Thanks to your donation, we were able to buy food (maize flour, beans, sweet potatoes, etc.) for children studying in our Orthodox schools. In each school, children number as follows: •Nakyaka Middle School 210 students
•Nakyaka Primary School 384 students •Nawango Primary School 178 students •Nawango Kindergarten 76 children The total number is 848 students, who get free soup kitchen food for the academic year 2014. For this reason we appeal to your Fraternity for continuation of this help so that we can provide free soup kitchen meals to our poor children. May God bless and sanctify the holy work of your Fraternity. Thanking you in advance. With love in Christ, Fr. Stephen Lunagula Vicar, Nawango, Uganda 23
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Mass bapisms in Congo (DRC)
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MADAGASCAR
Orthodoxy: the Expectation of Nations By the grace of God and the blessings of our Venerable Primate Pope and Patriarch Theodore, we continue our missionary work. I cannot say that there are no difficulties, problems or temptations, though. No matter how hard we try to overcome them, there is always a temptation that will not allow us to continue our work unimpeded. Especially now, during the economic crisis, things are definitely more difficult and we are striving to cope with the current expenditure. However, we are not disappointed, but we hope in God, since the missionary work belongs 26
to Him. And indeed God has not abandoned us. There are people who can hardly make ends meet; yet they send us their small contribution, giving us this way hope and strength for the work which we have undertaken. How could I not mention the unreserved support of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, through which generous persons appear out of nowhere and undertake the funding of a church construction, or some other specific project? I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and sincere gratitude for everything you do for the work of the Church. Currently
there are four ongoing construction projects: five sacred churches, a small school (where we add classrooms since the existing ones are not enough) and an extension to the clinic in the region of Tulear. All these buildings are donations of anonymous sponsors from Greece and abroad. As for the room additions and the extension of the clinic, it indicates that by the grace of God these institutions work very well and people prefer them Longing for a Sacred Church for the good quality of their work. We praise God for all the blessings He grants unto us in our humble ministry. Naturally, our lack of both human and material resources is immense. A large number of people in many villages have been longing for a sacred church of their own for
years. It is their fervent desire but also our responsibility to satisfy their material as well as spiritual needs. There are about 20-25 villages lacking a church, and on our visits there we always hear the same earnest requests for acquisition of their own church building. On our part, we hope in the grace of
Baptisms in Madagascar
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God and in the presence of a new sponsor, who will fund a church building project. We feel great joy and praise the name of God when the sweet sound of the church bell is heard in the remote villages and dense forests, inviting our faithful to get together for a joint prayer. What is even more touching, though is to see people- young and old as well as mothers with young children on their backs- running like the thirsty deer to quench their spiritual thirst in the clear waters of the Orthodox Church, without considering time and effort. And if one watches them during the conduction of the sacred services, it is impossible not to notice their undivided attention and active
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participation in chanting the wellknown hymns of our Church. What if they are not educated and have no degrees or credentials? They hold another treasure in their heart called Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Resurrected. This grace of Christ inside of them gives them pleasure and wings to overcome the various obstacles and find what they should truly love and worship. Such thoughts come to mind many times when I am walking along the paths in the forests until I reach the villages where the Mission car has no access. I meet people and I attempt to penetrate into their souls and understand them. We often do them an injustice judging them by their outward appearance.
Clothing distribution in an Orthodox village
Indeed, how far we are from reality! Our humility is only in words but theirs is in deed. That is the big difference. The high cost of conversion to the Truth About a month ago I visited speaking to them about our Church a remote village where the young and explaining many things about priest had begun to catechize people the differences between Orthodox in the Orthodox faith. These people and Roman-Catholics, we gave were former Roman-Catholics them our humble gifts- books, who experienced Orthodoxy in crosses and icons- and left for the a remarkable way and delivered missionary center. Their request us the sacred church which they was that we built them a new church themselves had built. We visited and a school because the Catholic them and everyone gathered -where school does not accept Orthodox else- inside the church. A very old children. My earnest request to all church, which was anything but of you reading this article is that a church! Yet these people were you help us build a church and a proud of their church and even school so that the name of the God prouder because they offered it of the Orthodox Church is glorified to the Orthodox Diocese. After and souls are saved. 29
Acquaintance with Orthodoxy Such cases are numerous. Mission life holds many surprises and miraculous events. Once we were passing through a village located in the main street, in a barren and rocky area where there is not a single tree and people live on charcoal production, we stopped to give them food. After finishing our mission, we asked if there was a church in that area. The answer was positive. We were told that some of them attended the nearest Orthodox Church located two hours away from their village and that they occasionally went there
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on foot. The priest who was with us promised to go there regularly in order to catechize them, and we promised to build them a small church. Unfortunately, until now we have not managed to fulfill our promise. We see that the grace of God precedes and prepares the ground, no matter how difficult it is. However, it is absolutely essential that we follow Him and continue caring for this harvest before the seed is lost or trampled by people or temptation. The Mission is a great art and science, too. †Ignatius of Madagascar
SIERRA LEONE
Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and the Orthodox Mission It is very early morning here in Freetown. It is dark. Everything is quiet. Only a few hours ago the whole city was experiencing bright lightening flashes with earth shaking thunder. The rain was torrential. This is the rainy season here in West Africa. While we do need rain here for the nation’s water supply fore the forthcoming dry season, nevertheless it comes at a bad time, in the midst of the worst Ebola outbreak in history. You see the Ebola virus survives very well in fluid. So the risk of Ebola contaminated water rises. Once the dry season sets in I believe that the rate of Ebola infection will to some extent diminish. That will be around January 2015. Sierra Leone Becoming the Epi-
centre of Ebola Outbreak The news here in Sierra Leone is unfortunately not good at the moment. Ebola is rapidly advancing and in a very real sense the epidemic is out of control. It is now increasing at nine times the rate of two months ago. Freetown the nation’s capital is fast becoming the global epicentre of the infection . Our situation here can be described as a full blown crisis. Our neighbour Liberia was the worst affected. It is now starting to steady. International medical help has been very slow in coming to Sierra Leone the new epicentre of the global Ebola outbreak. They are now expecting that the death toll could soon rise up to 1000 per week. This epidemic must be stopped 31
right here in West Africa. There is no other solution. Otherwise this epidemic could easily threaten Europe, North America and even Asia and Australia. Abandoned Corpses The dead body of an Ebola sufferer represents the most infectious period of the victim. Unprotected contact with an Ebola infrected corpse is suicidal. Consequently family members out of panic and fear may throw the victim’s corpse in the streets where they remain threatening the health of the neighbourhood. We had an incident in Aberdeen a suburb of Freetown, where an Ebola infected body remained lying in the street without being collected by officials. This resulted in a huge demonstration by locals until eventually the body was collected.
Near our compound in Waterloo, where we shelter and feed over 100 poverty stricken people, a family died of Ebola. Most of the neighbours ran away in fright. However the bodies of the children remained in the house for several days. It was our Mission’s call that eventually alerted officials to pick up the corpses. Part of the rapid spread of the infection is due to these bureaucratic rapid response lapses. The local medical infrastructure is simply unable to cope. Ten years of civil war has ensured this. Consequently the Ebola outbreak is now out of control here. It is only through an immediate and momentous international intervention that some light will be seen at the end of the present dark tunnel. And this is very slow in coming.
The International Community and the Ebola Crisis in SL The international community has let Sierra Leone down. Too little, too late. The World Health Organisation has even admitted recently that it underestimated the outbreak when it first began. So a lot of time has been wasted by the world community in coming to our help. In fact the issue was only taken more seriously when isolated cases of Ebola began to occur in Europe and North America. Ebola is the most frightening of all plagues that has now been unleashed upon the West African region. But, I repeat, the local medical infrastructure is simply not equipped to handle it. Orthodox Mission and Ebola However, in the midst of this nightmare I can convey some good
news. None of the Orthodox Christian flock and workers here in Sierra Leone have been infected with the virus. And our people here are continuing to partake of Holy Communion without any fear of contamination. This is the level of faith here. Of course, this absence of infection among the Orthodox is the result of the grace of God, in addition to the Mission’s hard work and the assistance of our international supporters and sponsors in Greece and Australia. In this context I would like to express my gratitude to the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity for their financial support during this time of crisis as well as for the forthcoming the shipment of a much needed food container organised by the charity volunteers of their warehouse in Filiron. 33
The most vulnerable segment of our Mission’s flock is the disabled community that we are housing and feeding in our Waterloo Compound (St. Moses the Ethiopian Orthodox Village) on the fringes of Freetown. A person with disability is in a higher risk category for infection because of reliance on the help of others for his or her mobility. Since infection by Ebola is primarily from close body contact a disabled person is in a serious disadvantage. Add to this their propensity to beg in the streets of Freetown over the weekends then you have a lethal possibility of contamination. If only one of our disabled residents becomes contaminated then our entire Waterloo compound residents could become Ebola infected – that is well over 100 people (including our nursing staff, clergy security guards and construction
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workers). Thankfully, for the time being we have managed to stop them from begging in the streets of Freetown. In a sense we have quarantined them. We have achieved this through education, the distribution of protective items (gloves, face masks, chlorine etc.) increasing our financial assistance and providing them with rice supplies. The forthcoming container from Thessalonica will really help us in this situation. Personal Reflection Living right in the epicentre of the global Ebola epidemic is of course quite challenging. The slightest mistake in one’s daily routine can be fatal. Sometimes I wake up in the morning with a cough, or any other unusual symptom and I think to myself: “This is it, I have Ebola.” But then I realise to my re-
lief that the true symptoms are not there – no fever, no vomiting, no diarrhoea etc. People from abroad constantly call me and ask me: “Father, why don’t you leave and save yourself from a potential infection and even death?” The answer is very simple. For the present time God has placed me here in West Africa. As the shepherd of the flock in Sierra Leone it is my duty to stay with them, to care for them, to instruct them, to console them, to guide them and to protect them from an evil that kills without pity. Furthermore our Lord Jesus Christ instructs the Christian shepherd not to abandon the sheep when danger comes It is only the hireling who abandons the sheep in moments of crisis (St. John 10.12-13.) We are relying on Christ’s protection. “Yes, though I walk through the valleyof theshadowof death, I will fearnoevil; for you Lord are with me…” (Psalms 23.4).
A Note of Gratitude Once again I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of our Mission’s friends in Greece and especially the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity for the continual support. You were among the first international groups to send assistance here in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis. Bravo! We now await with great anticipation and gratitude your container of emergency food. We ask for your prayers and continued support as we enter the most critical and dangerous period here. Respectfully in Christ Fr. Themistocles Adamopoulos 35
CONGO (DRC)
Responsibility Tour to the far ends of the Congo
Lately the Most Merciful God has made us worthy to live special moments: the ceremony for the new graduates of our Theological School, the seminars that had been organized in Kananga and Buzimai for priests, constituent mission members and young people, the scientists’ association in Kinshasa, the missionary tours across the Metropolis and the operation of new schools. The end of the academic year for the Orthodox University was celebrated with a grand feast, attended by a representative of the Ministry responsible for higher education; after that, the seminars were launched first for the priests of the Kasai region, then for the constituent members-catechists of the parish in Kananga, and finally, the 36
seminar for the young people in the Buzimai region. Indeed, all these conduced to the spiritual progress of our Church members. In the summer we were particularly engaged in the preparation of the new schools that would operate in various parts of the Congo. It took great efforts on our part to have the construction of four classrooms completed and then and get them ready to operate. There was a blessing service held at the official opening for the new academic year and, thank God, everything started operating properly. Everybody worked hard. First of all His Grace Bishop Ignatius of Pentapolis, who, despite his old age, organized the seminars in Kananga and strived for the construction and operation of the school in Mikalayi,
a generous donation of the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi. In this task he was helped not only by certain priests of Kananga, but also by the devoted to God sisters from Greece who work as missionaries beside him. The Bishop and his mission partners worked laboriously for the seminar organization in Buzimai, the scientists’ association, the reconstruction and operation of the schools in Gungu, Kikwit, Mbanza Ngungu, Bibua near the N’Djili airport of Kinshasa, Kasangulu, and also, for the maintenance work at the Theological School and the School of Informatics. Everyone was present and worked with enthusiasm, and their joy was immense when after their laborious effort, they saw the schools filled with happy students. Immediately after the opening
of the schools, the Metropolitan and his partners Fr. Jacob and Fr. Claudius left on a mission trip to Goma, Bukavu, Uvira, Kamila, 1540 km away from the capital, at the east end of the Metropolis. The first stop was in Goma, a city next to a volcano, evidently affected by its last eruption. At the airport we were welcomed by the catechist Mr. Emilio and a delegation of young catechumens. It was an emotional moment seeing those young people with a fervent zeal for Orthodoxy without a priest, struggling all alone. We had a short conversation at the airport and arranged a meeting on our way back from Ouvira. The speedboat would be leaving soon, so we departed for the port. They escorted us until there. We embarked and sailed
First Divine Liturgy in Ss. Archangels Church, Kinshasa
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Youth seminar
across Lake Kivu. The lake was so large that it took us four hours to cross it by speedboat. It was worth it, though! Really beautiful! It reminded us of landscapes in Greece. With the small islands, the lush vegetation, the high mountains around ... it did not really look like Africa. Finally, we disembarked at Bukavu, a city characterized by a European architectural style. There we were received by a catechumen who took us to the hotel where we would spend the night. In the morning the priest of Uvira, Fr. Demetrios, arrived there with Kosmas, a young man who had attended theology courses at the Orthodox University. They had been travelling all day and all night in order to come and meet us. 38
We set off for Uvira via Rwanda. We chose this path because it was safer; otherwise we would have to travel for long hours in rough mountains through dangerous, narrow and steep roads. Uvira, a town built on Lake Tanganika, is a place where we have the sacred church of Saint Basil the Great and a school. There we were warmly welcomed by faithful brothers who had come from Baraka and other parishes and villages for us. It was already afternoon. There was a doxology in the church, where the young men’s choir sang beautifully. It was really moving to see the congregation so happy. What followed were school visits and meetings with commissions for the resolution of several issues. In the morning there was a Di-
in Kananga
vine Liturgy held in the same church. The happy congregation chanted really beautifully. At the end of the service we met with the young parishioners. They hosted a dinner for us, and then we got ready for our way back to our base, following the same route. Once more we spent the night in Bukavu and the next morning we departed for Goma. There we were met by catechumens, several young people with their catechist, who had gathered in a school that belonged to one of them. These people have no priest, no church. They rent a classroom in a school where they gather every Sunday in order to chant and read the New Testament, to be given a talk about God and Orthodoxy by the catechist, who is also a catechumen that learned about Orthodoxy dur-
ing his stay in Kinshasa. They have zeal of God and a fervent desire to be baptized and have a priest, a sacred church, a school. We talked to them, strengthened them and advised them to look for a plot of land in case a kind sponsor enlightened by God appeared. Then, we would be able to build the church and the school for them. We were also invited to speak to the children of the school which they rent. The children sang and thanked us for visiting them. We left for Kinshasa with plenty of thoughts on our minds, deeply concerned about all these people, praising God for keeping them close to Orthodoxy. We came back to our base and continued our struggle. During this period presbytera Chryssanthi Perissoglou came from 39
Greece and diligently engaged herself in catechizing the women and in teaching the Greek language to a group of young people who had urgently been asking for Greek language classes. On Saturday, November 8th, the Feast of the Archangels was celebrated at the church near the airport. Our faithful brothers came on buses from the other parishes of Kinshasa as well. The Archangel schoolchildren were sitting on their seats quietly and solemnly. Their first Divine Liturgy: everyone’s joy was manifest, Saint Mark’s school choir would not stop chanting, and after the dismissal it went on to sing. Then we were all gathered at the school, where the parish president
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and the official attendees spoke and thanked God and sponsors. We all remembered that a few months before, on the Sunday of Thomas, we had gathered here again, and once we chanted the Resurrection service, we conducted a blessing service and laid the foundation stone of the school. Well, by the Grace of God the school has already been built, and it is now smoothly operating with three classes full of happy children. Another new sacred church and another new school have opened, and are already operating smoothly in the heart of Africa, in Kinshasa DR Congo. This is why we praise God and thank the sponsors, who we mention constantly in our prayers. From the Holy Metropolis
Annunciation of the Theotokos Church and our school in Gungu
3 types of love • 1 container for Sierra Leone God's love for mankind The quality and quantity of God's love toward man is overwhelming and unparalleled. God not only created man out of love but also made him in the image and likeness of Him. God gave man a mind, a companion and a beautiful place to live in and socialize with Him. But man, disobeying God's law and apostatizing, was deported from Paradise. However, it is thanks to the intervention of the divine forbearance that his relationship
with the Creator was not interrupted. St. John Chrysostom stresses, “Through His death Christ granted us more than those we had lost." He took human nature, was born in a stable, was chased by earthly kings, had His preaching challenged, was thought to be performing wonders with the help of spirits of darkness, was betrayed and tortured to death on the cross. And all this happened out of His excessive love for us. His sacrifice and resurrection made us potential partakers of His kingdom.
Man's love for God Once a Pharisee, and actually a jurist, trying to embarrass Jesus asked him: "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and most important commandment.”Elsewhere St. 41
John the Apostle stresses, “For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.” For the man of God, his love for Him is a need, an urge of the soul. Our love should be
like that of Jesus Christ, sacrificial love until the end, which is of course not revealed in words and big promises but in practice, by observing His commandments.
Man's love for his fellow man Finishing off the Lord says to the Pharisee jurist, “The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” And John the Theologian exhorts us, "My sons, we should not love in word nor tongue, but in work and truth.” ••••••• Our Fraternity, honoring God’s commandment which says that “the love to God is manifested through the love for the fellow man” and trying to make the most of the ability granted from above to offer ministry to the needy, shipped a container with humanitarian aid to the much afflicted and suffering people of Sierra Leone; that aid included rice, milk, pasta, salt, clothes, toys and religious items. Finally, we would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to our brothers from Australia and Florina, Greece, for the financial aid which they sent us, as well as to all the volunteers who ministered in various ways to the shipping of the triple love container. Constantine Metallides Theologian
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Fr. Callistrate Lyrakis
A valuable contribution to the Mission On hearing of the repose of Fr. Kallistratos Lyrakis on June 2nd, 2014, the members and the Board of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity deeply moved bid him farewell. The late elder was a bright ray of the inexhaustible spiritual light until the end of his earthly life. Constantine Lyrakis was born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1929 and graduated from the School of Theology in 1951. The grace of God led him to devote himself to preaching the Divine Word, by joining the Brotherhood of Theologians "Life" and later the Brotherhood "The Saviour ". He became a monk in 1957 and was named Kallistratos. He served as a preacher in the Archdiocese of Athens for several decades. His inquisitive mind as well as his humble spirit led him to spread the Orthodox faith. He received from the Triune God the gift of writing and he used that talent in order to penetrate into the deepest mysteries of the human soul. The dozens of his writings were published in Greek, French and English, and bear the stamp of the Holy Spirit. The proceeds from the sale of his books were used for the erection of sacred churches in Africa. Our Fraternity had the
honor of being his partner in this exceptional deed. His swan song, his book titled "Why the Pain in our Life?”, was released in French by our Fraternity (French title “Pourquoi la Douleur dans notre Vie?”), was published and was sent to all the Holy Metropolises in francophone Africa. May the Lord award his worthy athlete the crown of justice and grant him repose in the land of eternal life. 43
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Our Fraternity published the French edition of Fr. Callistrate's book "Why is there Pain in our Life?"
Columns of Gratitude and heartfelt thanksgiving Donations from 8/1/2014 to 10/31/2014
For God loves a cheerful giver
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Attributions 4 Diana Robinson 10 Maria Rosaria Sannino 13 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth of Australia 14 Jaime Olmo 45 Vishal Patel 46 Rodney Campbell 48 Panagiotis Demetroglou
As the birds of the sky bring the necessary food to their young... in the same way your cordial love brings your donation to starving children. 47