By the grace of God and with the help of our generous supporters, especially the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Mission, the Holy Diocese of Sierra Leone was honoured to receive the visit of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore II.
Accompanied by the Rev. Accra Metropolitan George, our Patriarch arrived on Wednesday 22 February at the Sierra Leone Airport, where he was warmly welcomed by representatives of the Government and the Mayor of the capital Freetown. The City Council met in an extraordinary session to award him the Golden Key of the City, an honour reserved for the first time for an Orthodox Hierarch.
The following day, the President of Sierra Leone Ernest Koroma received the Patriarch at the Presidential Palace, where he spoke with him and praised the charitable and developmental work of the Orthodox Church during its four-year presence in Sierra Leone.
The same afternoon, His Beatitude visited the Disabled People’s Village in Waterloo. He was welcomed by the children, parents and teachers of our school, the entire community of disabled people cared for by the mission, and our priests. There, His Beatitude pronounced blessings, preached to the large and enthusiastic congregation and celebrated the foundation of the Holy Church of the Resurrection, a donation from the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood. He then toured the site visiting the Brotherhood’s clinic, the homes of the disabled and their workshop.
On Friday, the historic first Patriarchal Mass was celebrated at St. Liberty Cathedral, which dominates downtown Freetown. There, our Patriarch ordained two deacons and celebrated the foundation and dedication of the Church, and thanked the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Fraternity, which saw to its construction.
After the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude was greeted with cheers from the students and staff of the Freetown Orthodox School in the two-story Phalademy Hall, donated by Mrs. Panagiota Faldami from Athens through your Brotherhood, and inaugurated the building .
On Sunday morning, he came together with Mons. In the morning, he accompanied the Bishop of Accra to the crowded Cathedral, where he presided over the sacred sacrament and ordained two new presbyters.
The visit of His Beatitude our Patriarch to our Holy Diocese continued in the country of Gambia, where he arrived on the morning of February 28.
Among other things, the Patriarch went to the Presidential Palace, where he met with the Ministers of the Presidency, Agriculture, Finance and Public Works, to whom he spoke about the spiritual and charitable vision of the Orthodox Church for this country and the African continent in general. He even pleaded with the State to grant the Patriarchate land for the construction of a Cathedral and other charitable institutions to support the poor.
The Ministers, in turn, thanked the Patriarch, stressed that this is the first time a Christian leader has visited The Gambia, a 90% Muslim country, and pledged to respond to his request as soon as possible.
Leaving Gambia, His Beatitude installed the native Fr. Mark as the person responsible for the launching of the first missionary cell in the country.
Archimandrite Themistocles Adamopoulos
Patriarchal Commissioner
