With the help of God Almighty, the blessing of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Mr. Theodore, and the loving and caring pastorate of Mons. Under the loving and caring stewardship of the Bishop of Irinople, Mr. Demetrios, the number 30 has been completed, as far as the Churches built in our God-given Metropolis are concerned.
Jesus, it’s one thing to listen to the situation remotely and another to be present! Overwhelming indeed were and are the experiences that my humility has lived through during my eight years of working in Tanzania.
What should I remember first? The little children with shiny eyes when they wait to receive the soup kit, or the AIDS-stricken when they receive medical care in the beautiful churches?
Diseases, my brothers, plague a large portion of people of all ages, even the tenderest. Poverty in all its splendor creates many consequences for a large percentage of the population. Some of these are the lack of clean water and health care.
However, the loving mother called the Orthodox Church, apart from drilling wells, building clinics and many other charity projects, also saw to the construction and operation of thirty Holy Temples, mainly in the region of Iriga, but also in the regions of Morogoro, Kimaba and Taga. This is because the Church is the Ark of Salvation that our brothers and sisters there have been waiting for twenty centuries.
What is God great as our God? Wonderful are your works, O Lord. In recent years, three Holy Churches have been consecrated: of St. John the Baptist in Nzihi, of St. Panteleimon in Ilalasiba and of St. Paraskevi Epibatini in Indodi.
However, our Metropolis also performs inaugurations of other Holy Churches:
Saint Sophia in Magubiki, Saint Basil in Niamihu, Saints Constantine and Helen in Kipera and Kalega, Saint Paraskevi in Magalali, the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Ipuasi, the Virgin Mary in Niamahana, the Holy Archangels in Mloa, Prophet Elijah in Mafrouto, St. Philip in Kibebe, St. Nectarios in Isakalilo Iriga are some of those that dominate the region and are in constant operation.
They are offered absolution and eternal life; also medicine, medical care, AIDS aid and schooling for children.
In the last period of time we also have a new increase. Thus, churches such as St. John’s in Tukamalega, St. Stylianos in Kitisi, St. Athanasius in Kitapilimua, St. Barnabas the Apostle in Ueda and the holy and righteous Theopatriarchs Joachim and Annie in Ugwatsanya, are solid evidence of the decisive presence of Orthodoxy in the above mentioned region.
It is worth noting that the last two of the aforementioned Temples have been erected on the international route to South Africa and are a point of reference for the thousands of people passing through there. Recently, His Eminence blessed the celebration of the service of the opening of the doors in Ugwatsanya and the opening of the St. Peter and Paul Clinic in Ueda.
So the harvest is too much. But the workers are few. We are grateful for all the help you offer us, including through the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood. But pray, dear readers, that the Lord will also raise up suitable mission workers, who, after passing through Tanzania, will help us for His glory. May the Lord grant.
Archim. Photios Hatzinikolaou
Prot. of I.M. Irinople
