The welcome of the first Bishop of Burundi and Rwanda was particularly warm at the airport of Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, on Thursday 14 January 2010. The monk Fr. Damaskinos Gregoriatis with a group of Orthodox Christians and a few Greeks had organized the reception of the new Bishop. Then we headed to the Holy Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary where the indigenous Orthodox Christians had prepared a reception with traditional African dances and songs, a praise service was held at the end of which Fr. Damaskinos, in charge of the missionary team in Burundi, welcomed the Theophilos and thanked the Alexandrian Primate His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodore for the creation of the Diocese. The theophilos countered by thanking the Most Merciful God and the Patriarch of Alexandria for conferring this honor on him and the Greeks and Burundians for the reception, promising that he would be devoted to the missionary and social work of the Patriarchate in the Black Continent. Afterwards, the Bishop, in a meeting with the missionary collaborators, thanked from the bottom of his heart the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore II, for the honor of entrusting him with the task of pastoring the countries of Burundi and Rwanda. He also thanked the Missionary Brotherhood of Thessaloniki for their moral and material support. Among other things, the Theophil said: “We are, from what I can see, in a very difficult and troubled country where the cost of living is very high compared to other African countries, the road is long and we are still at the beginning. The love offerings of our Christian brothers and sisters from Greece must be used with respect and wisdom and the money must be used where and how it is needed to pay off the social and missionary work. What we should try to do is to establish our headquarters in the centre of the capital and show everyone that we are here in Bujumbura and from here we start our struggle for man, for our African brother who needs us and is waiting for us to ease his pain. I saw disabled people on the streets, children with scabies, people who lack what we take for granted and who are asking us to help them, they are waiting for us. I ask all of you to work, work and work and with the blessings of our Patriarch accompanying us and the love of our Greek brothers and sisters of the missionaries by grace we will be able to glorify the Name of the Most Holy God here in the heart of the African Land.” Finally, the Theophilos agreed on the details of the enthronement which will take place on February 7 and on the Visits to Rwanda and Eastern Congo.
