When as a child I read about the agonizing and arduous effort of the missionaries who, with the help and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, introduced the Gospel word to the vast African continent, I did not suspect that one day I would be blessed to share in this experience and even under the responsibility of the Episcopal ministry. Impfondo: a town of 20,000 inhabitants in the region of Likouala, in the north of the country of Congo. There, under the unswerving care of Fr. Theologos Chrysanthopoulou, Father Sergius Mabelemo, Parish Priest of St. Mark’s Parish, and the indigenous catechists Marius and Joachim, managed to establish the first Orthodox nucleus in this remote corner of the country. The congregation, in addition to city dwellers, includes fifty Pygmies, who, refusing to adopt the modern way of life, live in the bosom of the rainforest.
After many efforts, due to the difficult transition to the region, my first pastoral visit to the region was finally organized for Friday, June 7. The reception we received from the faithful was moving. On bicycles (the most common means of transport in the north), they formed a crowded procession to the entrance of St Mark’s Church, a small house where the largest room is used as a place of worship. In the afternoon, in the same Church, we celebrated the Petition to the Blessed Virgin Mary and preached. Saturday, June 8: ten new souls will shine with the illumination of the Grace of the Holy Spirit and join Orthodoxy. Since sunrise they have been waiting patiently on the banks of the Oubangui River for the great moment. A pirogue served as a platform from which I was moved to perform the baptisms of the new Orthodox Christians in the peaceful waters of the river, praising in my heart of hearts the Most Merciful God for the early Christian experience I was living. Noon of the same day in the city market. With the all-willing and fraternal financial support of the Brotherhood of the Orthodox Foreign Mission, the Holy Diocese bought essentials for the Pygmies, to help them materially in their difficult struggle for survival in the forests. Cutlasses, axes, tools, knives and files were what they prioritized as necessary for their subsistence in nature and the hunting lifestyle. Sunday, June 9: from dawn the church and courtyard is packed with the faithful waiting patiently to participate for the first time in an Archpriestly Mass and to receive the Bishop’s blessing, discreetly touching the high priestly vestments.
Altar an old table, a smaller one the Scout. The psalms and the pulse of the young people’s voice overwhelm this blessed place and transport you to Apostolic times. Taking this opportunity, I preach on the life and spiritual legacy of Apostle Mark, the Illuminator of the Church of Alexandria and ultimately, through the unbroken Apostolic succession of the martyred Patriarchs of Alexandria, I conclude with the present day much-needed ministry of our “Mother Church”.
In the afternoon of the same day visit to the camp of the Orthodox Pygmies. Crossing the dense vegetation of the rainforest, we reach the first houses. As if we have gone back in time… Around the brick houses, children are climbing trees or tending the land, copying the movements of their parents. On the cooking pots, on the pile of burnt wood, the goods offered by the forest through the wisdom of the forest’s Creator are roasted. The kindness of the ninety-year-old orthodox village chief is characteristic. The always proud Pygmies, who are certainly unaware that Homer and Herodotus speak of them in their famous works, spoke to me mainly about their life and less about their problems, since they know how to accept and enjoy life as God’s most precious gift. They expressed their gratitude for the mercy and unconditional love of the Orthodox brothers and sisters. As night fell, we were at the hospitable residence of the Governor of the region, who formally asked me to build a peristyle Orthodox Church in the center of the town of Impfondo, on land that the Diocese already legally owns. And if our Church can also provide them with a school, then “the joy is paid”!
Monday 10 June: it’s time to say goodbye. As we return to the country’s capital, Brazzaville, I review the trip. Praising God, reflecting on the weight of pastoral and missionary responsibility, I envision the Orthodox Church, built only of the traditional red brick, prominent inside and out, with a beautiful tiled roof and early Christian low wooden iconostasis, carved by the skilled hands of the locals. The mind was filled with beautiful images and the soul with spiritual joy and strength for the continuation of the pastorate of the diocese, which geographically covers an area 2.5 times the size of Greece and which God entrusted to my lesser mind.
+ Brazzaville Panteleimon
