Some people believe that the Orthodox Mission is limited to Africa and Asia, but the reality is that today Latin America is as open to Orthodoxy as ever. The biggest problem that our western society lives in, lies in its very weak interpretation of the holy scriptures, which led them to get lost in their own thoughts and discussions. Patrology is unknown to most people.
This is the reason why today in Colombia and Venezuela, as in all of Latin America, we seek Orthodoxy as the only spiritual answer to our own existential problem of faith. So today, as you read this article, over 800 people are being prepared and catechized to embrace Orthodoxy.
When I was ordained Bishop a year ago and His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Mexico appointed me to Colombia and Venezuela as his assistant, I did not expect to see here a thirst for a spiritual life different from that offered by Western Christianity to this day. Every day, we receive requests from people all over the vast geographical region of Colombia, but also from the neighboring country of Venezuela. The strange thing is that most people who seek Orthodoxy are educated, and if this is happening because they only heard about our work, imagine what would happen if they read the works of the Ecclesiastical Fathers!
Unfortunately for us, there is a huge shortage of priests. The nearest journey takes two hours, while other parishes are more than ten hours away. We travel by public transport, since we do not own a car.
Today, with God’s help, we are building a church on the border of Colombia and Venezuela dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This church, however, is made with donations from abroad, because the people of Colombia have an average salary of € 250, while the prices of goods are almost the same as in Greece. It is impressive that the members of the parish sell pastels ( a kind of local cheese-pie) for this project, as, besides the church, we need to buy the adjacent plots to build a language school. The poor children of Cucuta do not have the opportunity to learn any language other than Spanish, which hinders them in their professional development. In this area, a Roman Catholic priest, watching the charity work we are doing, invited us and donated to our Church a 14-hectare farm with the corresponding buildings, so that we can establish a theological school, a Greek cultural center and a technical agricultural school!
The Orthodox Church has been providing humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the Venezuelan immigration crisis, assisting refugees from Colombia who are seeking better living conditions. Here, we see the grace of God, which inspires in the Orthodox youth in all our parishes a special call to run to the front line and offer a helping hand to their fellow human beings, despite the covid-19. Pandemic.
In Bogota, the capital of Colombia, until recently, we had only one Orthodox community at the Cathedral of the Assumption. Some time ago, more than 400 people along with their religious leader asked to join the Orthodox Church. Today, we are going on with their catechesis and with the grace of God, we are slowly accepting them to the Holy Mysteries. Under the protection of Saint Anthony, the Great, in rented space, their leader was baptized and ordained Orthodox priest so as to meet the urgent need of these brothers for pastoral ministry. Now we need to build a church for them so that they can live their own liturgical life.
Alban is a village two hours away from the Colombian capital. There, Father Panteleimon, with great missionary activity, has been serving a parish for a year now, and this parish, like the previous one, came to Orthodoxy. There the people are farmers living scattered in the mountains. Father Panteleimon walks for hours from farm to farm, to serve the faithful. Unfortunately, we do not have our own church there and we are forced to operate in a rented space.
In Copacabana City, Antioch, Colombia, nine hours from the capital, is one of Colombia’s largest Orthodox parishes, that of St. Michael the Archangel, which is home to more than 400 faithful and as many from other county villages. In Yarumal, four hours away from Copacabana, we have a large Orthodox parish served by Fr. John Paul, an outstanding missionary, who unceasingly ministers to the vine of Christ. The need to buy plots for churches to be built there is great, too.
In the city of Pereira, nine hours away from the capital, is the Orthodox parish, served by Fr. Chrysostomos. In the rented house where the services take place, we also take care to offer housing and educational support to dozens of children from the surrounding villages.
Finally, we leave 17 hours away from the capital of Colombia, where we have our own plot of land but without a church. Orthodoxy in the area is growing thanks to the ministry of Fr. Raphael. There are also new Orthodox parishes in remote areas and cities, such as Valledupar, La Guajira, Bucaramanga and San Agustin.
Our needs are many; we need churches, liturgical items, support for our distant missionary journeys, vestments, icons and various books, catechetical as well as liturgical.
† Timotheos of Assos
Auxiliary Bishop of the Holy See of Mexico for Colombia and Venezuela
