Dear brothers in Christ, with the grace of Christ and the blessings of the Pope and Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa, the objectives have been completed, on the basis of which you have given two very important donations for the missionary effort in the region of Iringa Tanzania of I.M. Irinople. My humble humility, who has been ministering for the longest time in this region, is well aware of the importance of your two monetary offerings, viz:
- 10.000 €, with which a car was purchased, which provides great service on missionary tours, and
- 5.000 €, for the equipment of the primary school in Igogo Iriga.
As is well known, the children of this village had to walk 15 km every day to go to the primary school in the neighbouring village of Magubiki, risking their lives due to the often difficult weather conditions. And to give you a better idea of the extent of the help being given to them, I need only point out that the opening of the school, which took place last month, was attended by the Minister to the Prime Minister, who expressed his great thanks and the great gratitude of the Government to the ardent Missionary Metropolitan Demetrios for the great work he is doing with the help of his associates, and especially for the great relief which the people of Igogo have received from the operation of the school.
Brethren, in the most solemn period of our Church, the Holy and Great Lent, I would like to remind all the dear readers in Christ of your prestigious magazine that in these difficult economic days we are living through, the offer of love to our brothers and sisters in Africa and especially to those of the Holy Metropolis of Irinople is an application of the Word of our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ: “Whatever you have done for my brothers and sisters of the least of these, you have done for me”. We humbly hope that all workers in the field of the Foreign Mission, clergy and laity, as well as those who offer their love from behind the scenes, may deserve to hear these words from the very mouth of our Lord in the dreadful day of the Last Judgment. God grant.
Archim. Photios Hatziantoniou
Protosyg. I.M. of Irinople
