established monthly gathering of the members of our Brotherhood on the 13th of last June was honoured with the presence of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Central Africa. The President Mr. Vaios Prantzos briefly described the beginning of the Orthodox Mission in Congo by Fr. Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos and its successive development from Fathers Chariton Pneimatakis, Amphilochios Tsukos, Fr. Kosmas Gregoriatis to the current Metropolitan Ignatius who founded the Orthodox University. The Metropolis of Central Africa includes the two Congos (the former Democratic Republic of Zaire and the former French Congo). Two southeastern regions were detached from the Metropolis in recent years and became dioceses, the Province of Katanga and the countries of Burundi and Rwanda. Moved, His Eminence Ignatius, with a direct and graceful speech, described his experiences with Fr. Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos, who was his spiritual director, and Fr. Chariton Pneimatakis since he was in the Congo in 1981. First and foremost, however, he thanked the Brotherhood for the many and varied aids offered to the Metropolis of Central Africa, such as the construction of part of its Academy, the Student Residence, a farm car for the transport of products, Holy Churches, schools, financial aid for the drilling of drinking water wells. He did not fail to mention the construction of the second floor of the medical school which is to start functioning soon. His main observation was that the data on the development of Orthodoxy in Congo is very positive. The proof of this observation is that in the 80s nobody knew them, whereas now everybody knows them. This was helped by some kind of memorial service, which was held on the date of the commemoration of the assassinated President Kabila. Around 2000 people attended St Nicholas Church in Kinshasa, including many ministers and senior Congolese government officials, and the ceremony was broadcast by many television crews not only in the vast Congo but also in twelve neighbouring countries. The Congolese were left with the best impressions. He said that Orthodoxy in Congo today has its doors open. He has been impressed by the turnout of young and old Congolese, who attend the catechisms with great interest, embrace them and discuss them among themselves. In the city of Kanaga they have two thousand baptisms every year. The third largest Orthodox church in all of Africa is currently being built there to serve the thousands of believers. He recounted an event: one Saturday he and a group of students set out with a group of students for a large village to celebrate the Sunday Mass. Halfway through the journey the car broke down and they had to spend the night in the adjacent village. In the morning they celebrated the Divine Liturgy in a makeshift shelter. The whole village gathered and watched them. After the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence distributed candies and cookies to the children and spoke to them in the village square.
A venerable villager then stood up and speaking in the local Chiluba dialect said that it was no accident that the car broke down next to an unknown village. He said that it was like the Macedonian (he did not know that His Eminence was from Edessa) who called the Apostle Paul to help them, and asked for their address to go to Kanaga. After four years it became known that everyone in the village was baptized Orthodox and built a church. On many occasions His Eminence distributed candy to the children, because candy is scarce, although it is necessary for health. He referred extensively to the University, which started with a Faculty of Theology and now the Faculty of Medicine is being built. The second floor of the Medical School is being built with a donation from the Fraternity. There is a project to erect a Faculty of Agriculture. Recently one of the professors a former Protestant preacher was baptized along with his entire family, a total of 13 persons. Also the Rector of the Faculty of Theology of the Protestant University enrolled his two children in the Orthodox School. The University in Kinshasa provides a free five-year course of study. It has forty-eight students, is highly esteemed, and is well known throughout the country. The clergy of the present Metropolis of Central Africa amounts to forty-two priests and the flock to one hundred thousand faithful. In describing the northerly icons of his missionary work, His Eminence conveyed intense spiritual emotions.
