“…And the LORD said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and go second unto the land, which I shall show thee…”
A voice sent from heaven, a sign given by God, was sent suddenly, but unexpectedly and uniquely in the life of Patriarch Abraham. A voice of sweetness, a voice of exhortation, a voice that resounds as a call, and as an opportunity for total devotion, in the vaults of the Patriarchal heart of the Patriarch Abraham’s Forefather Abraham.
And the response, as if from the depths of his soul: “Thou servant of the Lord, forgive me according to thy word… Kiss me as thou wilt and as thou wilt. I will not, nor will I not…”
Which means: don’t ask the how, don’t ask the why, don’t think about the after, don’t try to explain, but nod with the heartstring, the graceful but so beneficial “be blessed”.
And God has…
This voice you also heard, my sweetest and beloved spiritual father, now blessed, Metropolitan Nikephoros of Kinshasa, and so you followed from soft dreams, the sovereign Bridegroom of your soul, longing for the monastic life and complete dedication to Him.
But give me a blessing at this holy time, from where you are, to speak of you to the people, as an expression of gratitude and honour to your venerable face, although I know well in my heart that you would not want me to write the following words.
I remember the moment when I first met You on Mount Athos, in the garden of Our Lady, blossoming with piety and fragrant with holiness and asceticism, in this blessed corner of our Motherland, when as a young boy I came with a holy desire to study sacred letters in the famous and glorious Athonite School of the famous and glorious personalities.
That is where I first remember you, standing as a beacon of ever-glowing light as a Professor and later as a Headmaster, a bright signpost for all of us, a spiritual father for the young students of the School, a Professor with a Greek Orthodox spirit, transmitting Christ and Greece to our young hearts.
I bring you to my memory, to always speak to us with love, to face everything with patience, to tell us with emotion the Athonite stories of the old elders you met in your beloved eagle’s nest in Mikra Agia Anna, but also in all of Agionymos Athos.
And from there, from the Athonite State, you heard a voice again in the depths of your soul, information that reminded you of the word of Christ: “Going forth, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things that I have inspired you.”
The sweet sound of the bell of our holy Orthodoxy was now inviting you to another spiritual meteorite. To another sacred mission. To carry the message of the Gospel, the word of hope and resurrection to the depths of the universe. We saw you in the Church of Albania, ministering with self-denial in order to consolidate the Ecclesiastical School there as well, and then in the Theological School of Kinshasa, in Central Africa, first as Professor and Coordinator of the educational program and then as Metropolitan of Kinshasa, spreading the word with youthful zeal and militant enthusiasm, like Joshua.
There in Central Africa, your footsteps were destined to be engraved in gold letters and to leave indelible signs of your presence. Whichever Congolese we ask who knew you, they will all confess, in one mouth and one heart, that you were a man of God sent from heaven to beautify our world, an angel whose wings of love embraced every aching and suffering brother.
What I am writing about you today, venerable old man, my dear Metropolitan Nikephoros, I did not just hear them, nor was I told them, I lived them myself, as a personal experience, in 2012, a milestone year for my course and my life. At that time, you invited me to come to the missionary diocese of Kinshasa, unknown to me, and to minister with you. I remember you saying to me with a complaint-plea, “Of all my students (at Athos School), not one came here to the mission. You come to me…”. I wonder who knew the will of God? What was His plan? There, with mixed feelings, I came to you, to taste the rich results of your fruitful and noble ministry in the missionary continent of the future, as His Beatitude, His Beatitude, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa, often and often calls Africa.
Every day, all the time, you ran to build Temples in the vast continent, to worship the Triune God. You fought for the youth of your diocese. You coordinated the catechisms of young Christians. You gave your all for the Theological School, which you considered the nursery of the young cadres of the Church. You were constantly talking to the young students of the School about Christ, solving their questions, teaching them, indoctrinating them with the teachings of holy Orthodoxy. And they, the young African Christians, listened to you and drew from your mouth, words of life eternal.
You were particularly involved in the establishment of Schools and Health Centres, so that all those in need of medical care could be treated. You have always been by the side of the suffering of the people, close to the suffering brother. You held the hand of the sad mothers who lost their children to various diseases and conveyed to them the hope of the Resurrection, so that they could find comfort and story-telling. You didn’t want anyone to hurt. Their tear was your tear. Their joy, your joy. Their smile, your smile. Sacrifice for all, you were a sacrifice for all, without self-interest or self-interest. Only one thing concerned you. Glorifying the name of the Triune God.
Great importance was also attached to the liturgical life and the ritual of the Holy Sequences. First in the Sequence, humble as a true monk, always praying in your pew, you taught us all with your graceful silence and your source of humility. How many times did we not see you going to church in secret and lighting candles for people who asked for your prayer. You were a great believer in the power of prayer. You spoke on all subjects: “God has it.” This was evident in your light heart and bright eyes. Faith genuine and sincere was flowing from you and that was felt by all.
You were imbued with a genuine monastic spirit and that is why you gave weight to the foundation of the first Holy Monastery in the name of the “Virgin Mary of Help”, to house the first Monks. Unfortunately, your being taken from the world and dying did not let you complete this project. Blessed be the name of God.
You had, and you transmitted this to all of us, a genuine ecclesiological spirit, in obedience to our Missionary Patriarch, who loved you so much and wrote about you after your demise: “The late Hierarch Nikephoros was a holy figure and one of the most important members of the Alexandrian Throne”.
Blessed Metropolitan of Kinshasa, Nicephorus,
We thank God for giving you to our land and to the Alexandrian Church.
We owe you a lot!
Thank you for being in our lives.
Thank you for welcoming us into your fatherly embrace.
Thank you for standing by us in times that were difficult and critical for our lives.
Thank you for watering the tree of Orthodoxy in the African continent and especially in the Holy Metropolis of Kinshasa with your humble presence.
The children of your diocese thank you for baptizing them as Christians. For giving them bread to eat.
Your Clergy thank you, for having surrounded you with such fatherly affection.
The young people of the School of Theology “St. Athanasius the Athonite” thank you.
We all thank you, young and old, young and old, because you were and will always be the Metropolitan Nikephoros of our hearts!
Thank you for everything.
From where you are we ask you to pray for the success of the missionary work of your Metropolis and for all of us, your spiritual children, that God may strengthen us in our spiritual struggle.
In conclusion, I dedicate to you these words which were once rightly written about the Priest who dedicates his life to Christ and which certainly have an impact on you.
Tiberias sea, there has been your heart.
Galilee of the Gentiles, thy soul.
Garden of Olives, your being.
Pentecostal hyperbole, your existence.
Bloody Calvary, your hands are holy.
The tomb of life, your fiery blessing.
A bloodless sacrifice, your crusade.
And, you may be surprised, but it is!
“Every Priest, and in this case, the High Priest Nicephorus, was the sacrifice of a man who prayed to the sacrifice of the God-Man”.
Your eternal memory!
Your wish!
† Theodosius Kanagas
Superintendent of the Diocese of Kinshasa
