Dear friends of the Mission, Hail in the Lord. It is with great pleasure that I am contacting you, firstly to thank you for your continued support for our humble missionary ministry and secondly to inform you of the progress of the two holy temples, the financing of which you have undertaken. The first one, the Church of the Holy Archangels, in the Diego area is nearing the end of its work and perhaps by Christmas at the latest it will be finished so that it can be opened. As I have mentioned to you many times, here in this country, all the work is done manually, with primitive means and with many obstacles that delay its completion. In addition, adverse weather conditions, such as torrential rain, often prevent continuous work. The second church of the Transfiguration, smaller than the previous one, is already ready and waiting for us to do the inauguration. Because of the long distances, it was impossible for me to send you photos of the churches. I hope to respond to your request soon.
See the evolution of the Holy Church of the Holy Archangels Diego in Madagascar
See the evolution of the Holy Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour Fort Dauphin in Madagascar
We praise God and thank the donors for this blessing in the midst of crisis, to rebuild temples for the glory of the Triune God and the salvation of people. Our struggle continues in all directions and despite great difficulties many people come to Orthodoxy and after the canonical catechism we proceed to the first sacrament of our Church, baptism. This year there were many group baptisms in a river. Also, with the blessing of our Most Reverend Pope and Patriarch Theodore, there were ordinations of graduates of our seminary, some to the first degree of priesthood and others to the second degree of Presbyterian, thus filling some of the many gaps in our parishes. The seminary is operating normally with new and old students. We continue to visit the villages for catechesis, celebration of sacred services, monitoring of projects and, most importantly, communication with the people who need it so much. People are hungry to hear God’s word, to learn more about God and about our Orthodox faith in general. I am particularly impressed by their unstinting participation in the holy services as well, no matter the effort, walking long hours under the hot sun and barefoot through paths.
Also, the charity work continues, but not at the original pace. Some activities have been stopped due to the well-known financial problem. New institutions will be open very soon, since they were inaugurated with the visit of our Patriarch. Such buildings are Holy Churches, the Orphanage, the new wing of the Clinic and the University. We praise God and thank the people for the blessings they have bestowed upon us. I would like to ask you, if possible, to help us with the interior fittings of the new Holy Archangels Church so that it can be open for Christmas, as well as the Holy Church of the Transfiguration. The equipping of the orphanage wing, which was donated by an anonymous lady from Thessaloniki through your Brotherhood, will cost about 15,000 euros. In addition, I would very much like to ask you to plan to send a container of useful items, which we are in great need of, such as food, second-hand household equipment, as well as school supplies. By this act you will help our work substantially, as you have done in the past. Thank you for everything, wishing you good strength. God be with you.
† Ignatius of Madagascar
