Forty-four years ago I humbly served, by the grace of God, the Orthodox Mission in Zaire, now Congo in central Africa. I asked for God’s help and composed this hymn, which is short but deeply meaningful…
We crossed Pepe’s foot with the piece of holy wood, which the Athonite brother Sava has, with the relic of the Holy Apostle Barnabas and the icons of the Virgin Mary, the Evangelist John the Theologian and other saints, saying their troparia. The next day Pepe came again, telling us that he was no longer in pain, and running down the steps of the courtyard…
