Dear Friends of the Mission,
From May 27 to June 3, 2022 we had the great joy and blessing of the Pastoral visit of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, to our Missionary Diocese of Arusha and Central Tanzania, particularly to the city of Arusha, the seat of the undisputed capital of the Union of East African countries. This is the second time that our Patriarch has visited this area, since the first time he came was in 2016, while in 2019 he also visited the region of Iringa.
On the day of His Beatitude’s arrival, an official reception and doxology was held at the Sacred Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Arusha, where the Patriarch spoke with words of paternal love to the clergy and readers of the Diocese, saying that those young people were the promising future of Africa, of whom the Church had great expectations.
On Saturday, May 28, HDB visited the site of the new multifunctional Mission Center in the city of Arusha. Crowds of believers reserved a warm welcome for their spiritual father, holding tree branches and chanting joyfully the resurrection paean “Christ is Risen”. In an atmosphere of emotion, his Beatitude performed the Blessing of Water service for the foundation of the Sacred Church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, a fact that marked the official start of work for the achievement of a great vision. The Patriarch revealed to those present that since the day of his ascension to St. Mark’s Patriarchal Throne, he had been planning the creation of a large Mission Center in this area, so that the city of Arusha would become a reference point for all the Dioceses of East Africa, as is the case with the countries belonging to the homonymous Federal Union.
On the Sunday of the Blind Man, May 29, His Beatitude officiated at the Matins service and celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Sacred Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Arusha, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Axomi and their Graces Bishops Chrysostomos of Bukoba and Agathonikos of Arusha, during which he awarded the Order of the Archimandrite to Hieromonk Nikiforos Ilomo and of the Elder to the Priest Matthew Nziku and by the laying on of his hands, he appointed Archimandrite Marc Kalinga as a confessor. It is worth mentioning that Archimandrites Mark and Nikiforos received the monastic tonsure and the Priesthood at the seat of the Patriarchate of Alexandria in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, where they served for two consecutive years by His Beatitude. The Patriarch, deeply moved, during his speech once again referred to his personal vision for the city and the Diocese of Arusha, saying to the faithful: “whatever works will be carried out, will be done by the Church with love in Christ for all of you, the inhabitants of this blessed city and for your children, so that the light of Orthodoxy may radiate eternally in this region, in which the pioneer missionary of Tanzania, Archimandrite Nicodemus Sarikas, worked sacrificially “. After the Divine Liturgy, in the courtyard of the Sacred Church, a festive event was held in honor of the Patriarch, with the participation of young people from the Diocese of Arusha and natives of the Maasai tribe. The Primate of Alexandria thanked all the coordinators and participants in the event and distributed to everyone various blessings as a souvenir of the Patriarchal Visit to the city of Arusha.
The next day, May 30, the Patriarch and his entourage were received at the State House of the Arusha Region, where His Excellency Regional Commissioner Mr. Mongella thanked His Beatitude for the multifaceted work performed by the Orthodox Church in the city and the wider area of Arusha and expressed His full support for the works to be performed by the Diocese. Immediately after that, they visited “St. Constantine’s International School” of the Greek Community of Tanzania, where they received a warm welcome from both teachers and students.
On Thursday, June 2, His Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II officiated at the Matins service and the Divine Liturgy of the Despotic feast of the Ascension of our Lord and Savior in the Sacred Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Arusha. Afterwards, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Axomi and His Grace the local Bishop Agathonikos of Arusha, he performed group baptisms of 25 catechumens in the open-air baptistery of the aforementioned Sacred Church. The Patriarch, deeply moved, welcomed the newly-illumined brothers to the great Orthodox family, urging them to love the Church and to preserve the treasure of the Grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received at their baptism. On the afternoon of the same day, the Primate of Alexandria visited the central orphanage of the city, where he was warmly welcomed by the administrative staff, the employees and the children. He had the opportunity to talk with them, listen to their problems and assure them that the Orthodox Church in Tanzania would always be by their side.
Closing this article, I wish to express my earnest and heartfelt gratitude and love to the President of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity Mr. Charalambos Metallides, Mr. Nostis Psarras, as well as all the members of your Fraternity for your warm and continued support towards our humble ministry in the Diocese of Arusha, because you are great benefactors of our diocese. My brothers and sisters, with the blessings of His Beatitude, ahead of us is a difficult struggle for the creation of the Mission Center, which will consolidate over the centuries the Orthodox presence in Arusha, in the heart of Tanzania, in the capital of East Africa. In this gigantic endeavor we need your prayers as well as your financial support. Let us all put our little stone in this blessed effort, so that the vine of Christ may take root in the city of Arusha and bear spiritual fruit until the end of time. May God Almighty bless you all.
With the love of Christ and infinite gratitude,
† Agathonikos of Arusha
