Dear friends of the Mission,
It is with an overwhelmed heart that we thank and praise Almighty God for all the good and achievements that have been brought to our Province of Uganda during the recent twenty years. Likewise, on behalf of all the co-workers, clergy and lay members of the body of Christ here, we thank the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood, especially the donors and donors and the respected members of the Board of Directors, for their moral, financial and spiritual support of the missionary work in Uganda. We affirm that it is mainly thanks to the fatherly and brotherly care that we have been able to give birth to the second Holy Diocese of Gulu and Eastern Uganda, where, by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, was installed the first Bishop, the Most Reverend Silvestros (in his world Maximos Kisitu), a beloved elect and a true son of the Orthodox Church of Uganda.
With this new situation, the Diocese of Gulu and Eastern Uganda contains the following Christian population: 30 priests, 19 Churches (district churches, of which 7 are consecrated), 8 primary schools, 6 secondary schools, 5 high schools and 6 dispensaries. While the Holy Metropolis of Kampala, Central and Western Uganda contains: 47 Priests, 36 Churches (regional, of which 17 are consecrated), 22 Primary Schools, 12 Secondary Schools, 8 High Schools and 12 Dispensaries. In almost all of these schools there are nice facilities for relevant boarding schools for girls or boys, and function rooms for apprentice youth.
As you can easily understand, the new Holy Diocese will have various shortcomings, both direct and indirect, while the old one must also expand westwards, where Orthodoxy has not dared to go for so many years. For this reason, we ask you, according to your ability and with enthusiasm, to contribute to the support of the expanded work of the Orthodox Mission in Uganda, as we do not forget that you have been the true “Friends of Uganda” from the very beginning, may the Lord Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, who has progressively revealed to us in the Holy Spirit the eternal mystery of God, may he direct the preaching of Orthodoxy to Uganda and the entire African continent.
†Kambalas Ionas
