Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, By the grace of God our Father and your prayers, I am in the Congo’s Anassa, the blessed Kinshasa of fourteen million. The metropolitan here, as you know, is His Eminence, His Eminence Nikephoros, an Athonite monk from Little St. Anne. He is highly charged because of the size of the Congo and the number of Christians he pastors. Besides, he is also the rector at the University here, which has already received permission from the state for five faculties: Theology, Agriculture, Computer Science, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Of these, two, Theology and Computer Science, have already been developed and are functioning properly. In fact, the Rector and his associates have the discretion to select the freshmen. In particular, the Faculty of Theology admits only baptized Orthodox young people of faith, morals and conscientious Christian life.
His Eminence is young and strong, quick, versatile and agile and, by God, he is coping. He works, you see, with priests, the faithful, students, teachers, visitors, workers for the various construction sites. These days, the second wing of the School of Information Technology is being completed. At the same time, four schools and four Churches are being rebuilt. Worshippers are being moved for hours on Sundays in trucks or on foot to attend services. In the Iziro area they ask to be baptized. They have been sending letters to adults, young people and children for seven years, but so far it has been impossible. First, because catechesis, to be correct, takes time. Secondly, because, to get there, you have to travel by plane, then by train, then by truck and finally by motorbike! And third, because for each trip the fare alone costs 5,500 dollars!
Moreover, only recently, it was possible to make a tour of the Metropolitan with two priests in the east – Uvira, Maniola, Goma, Vatira – where there are many Christians and churches. They ministered and baptized with great difficulty, for until recently they had been in guerrilla warfare and it was impossible to visit them. The war left behind them orphans and many wounded, wounds that do not heal quickly. This week we had the start of the university year and it was admittedly difficult. Selecting and filling all the faculty positions that will be needed is a struggle every semester. Many classes are delivered via videoconferencing. Professors from Sydney, Brussels, Strasbourg and of course Congo and Greece! How many arrangements need to be made. Not to mention that the amount of expenses is out of reach, especially the one concerning philanthropy!
We must not relax at all. A lot of work, brothers, efficient but a little underestimated. Reminds me of Acts. Let us wish for one another! With all my respect and love,
elder Chrysanthi Perissoglou
