With the blessings and the blessings of His Holiness Pope and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa, on Saturday 30 May I flew to Malawi, in order to make a pastoral visit to the Blantyre region, where for 3 years the π. Hermolaus Iatrou , a clergyman of the Holy Metropolis of Mytilene, posted to the Holy Metropolis of Zimbabwe with the blessings and blessing of Mons. He is now living in Zambia with the blessings and blessings of Metropolitan Iakovos of Mytilene and the approval of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
α) Reception in Malawi
I was greeted at the airport by the Consuls of Cyprus and Greece, Fr. Hermolaos with Sr. Chrysanthi and their four cute children, Fr. Nektarios Justin and the native catechists. In the afternoon we celebrated the Vespers service at St. Nektarios Cathedral and then I was updated by Fr. Hermolaos on the progress of the missionary work.
b) Ordination of a deacon and foundation stone of the Church of St. Anna
The Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, during the Th. I ordained the catechist Nicodemus Chilembwe as deacon. Thus, by the grace of God, the Orthodox Church in Malawi gained its second indigenous clergyman. In the afternoon, in a modest ceremony, the foundation stone of the Church of St. Anne was laid in the presence of the local tribal leaders and a number of catechumens, especially young children who had rushed to the entrance of the village to welcome us, singing and holding flowers they had collected from the fields. After the ceremony we distributed food, toys and stationery, promising that soon the deserted area will be transformed into an Orthodox oasis. c) Visit to the Kabozi Missionary Center In the morning of Monday, June 1, we went to the Kabozi area where the Holy Church of St. George is located, with Fr. Nektarios Justin as our pastor. And there we were warmly welcomed by a crowd of people including
100 children attending the kindergarten built under the care of Fr. Hermolaos next to the church. After the morning prayer we distributed toys, food and sweets and then we toured the newly built rectory, the two classrooms of the kindergarten, the library, the aqueduct and the baptistery, all projects that were made with the financial support of friends of the mission and the care of Fr. We then visited the orphanage in Dirante where more than 150 orphaned children are housed and distributed food, sweets, toys and stationery. Once again we witnessed the greatness of Orthodoxy, as its light and glory reached the depths of Africa, in places isolated in the tea and sugar plantations, in villages where the inhabitants live in primitive conditions, people forgotten by their fellow human beings, but their goodness and their innocence have made it possible for them to come to know Christ through Greek Missionaries, always having as companions and supporters the friends of the Mission from Greece and Cyprus.
With the love of Christ,
Metropolitan George of Zimbabwe
