The inauguration ceremony was interrupted several times, as the choir of the Church, singing in the language of the Ibo tribe the psalms of the Sequence accompanied by traditional African instruments, literally stirred up the faithful, who insisted on asking the Patriarch to come down to the main church to touch and bless them.
In the context of the first official visit of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria and All Africa to the Holy Metropolis of Nigeria, the inauguration of the newly built I. On Friday, February 17, 2012, the new church of St. Christopher the Great Martyr in the town of Awo-Idemili in eastern Nigeria, which was dedicated to the Orthodox people of Nigeria by the Brotherhood of the Orthodox Foreign Mission. The church is located in Imo State.
On Friday, February 17, the feast of Saint Theodore Theodore of Tiron, His Beatitude arrived under strict security measures at the Church for the inauguration ceremony and the first Divine Liturgy. Although it was a working day, about four thousand faithful had flooded the Church and the surrounding area and greeted the celebrating Holy Primate with unbridled enthusiasm. The inauguration ceremony was interrupted several times as the choir of the Temple, singing in the language of the Ibo tribe the psalms of the Sequence accompanied by traditional African instruments, literally stirred up the faithful, who insisted on asking the Patriarch to come down to the main Temple to touch and bless them. After the inauguration ceremony, the first Eucharist followed, in a climate of devotion, and hundreds of faithful patiently and under unbearable heat, waited to receive “the new birth of the vine” from the hands of their Patriarch.
After the Divine Liturgy, a meal followed in the courtyard of the church, with traditional dances by groups of young people and women. The ceremony was attended by the local lord (king), representatives of the political authorities of the region and other officials. Before his departure, His Beatitude met privately with the clergy of eastern Nigeria whom he thanked for their contribution to the consolidation of the Orthodox faith in the country and their struggles, admonishing them paternally and offering all of them blessings and souvenirs.
His Beatitude, both publicly and privately, expressed his admiration for the Holy Church and his thanks for the important offer of love made by the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Missionaries to the Patriarchate and the Metropolis of Nigeria.
May the Lord always strengthen the lives of all those who work quietly and consistently for His Church and may He always guide their footsteps on paths of new missionary witness.
From Holy Mother of Nigeria
