Today, in a time of searching, a time of so many trials and calamities on a global scale, after more than four decades that I first set foot on this blessed land of the African continent, I reflect upon the extreme forbearance and condescension of our philanthropic Lord.
I still remember vividly the first exploratory expedition to the region there inhabited by the Turkana tribe and my meeting with them. They saw a white European for the first time – how could they know where I came from- exactly one month after his graduation from the University of Oxford, dressed in a London suit and a fancy tie, with a diplomat briefcase containing all the necessities for this trip: shaving tools, bed sheets, towels and others, which in the end I did not even have to use. How could I possibly know that at that time I was in the most remote area with primitive inhabitants, where the children called me “animal”, since they imagined that I had come down from another planet!
Now, I cannot remember exactly for how many days I stayed there in these conditions and experienced the culture of these primitive creatures of God; it must have been at least fifteen days. I am not criticizing or complaining. I would say that I lived with them the best moments of my life, because they were early missionary days. The Word of the Gospel was heard for the first time. I still keep a whole notebook of a seminarian who recorded the catechetical lessons I gave them and then the questions they asked and the answers they received. One day, this will constitute a historical relic, an authentic source of Mission Outreach in theory and practice for the future researchers and historians. We are still in the 20th century.
After four and a half decades, we are now in the 21st century, with the same Turkana tribe but on the other side of the country, near the border of Ethiopia, in the vast desert. The setting remains the same though, as then, so the inhabitants of this tribe live even now in this traditional way with their ancient customs, dress and rituals, culminating in the discovery of their one true God and Creator. Of course, here one needs to deal specifically with their deep religious tradition and habits that are directly connected to the divine, as they perceive it and live it, no matter how much the Western “civilization” tried to absorb them without success.
A quick look confirms to us that like other tribes, this one still deeply preserves the faith of their fathers and the ancient traditions, which are indirectly related to Christianity, since the old customs summarize in a way, values and principles, emphasizing the infinite love of God to His Creation and of man to the Creator. From conversations that I had with the elders of the tribe, what they regard as very important is the presence of the sacred mysteries seen through their own perspective. The pleasant thing – which is what unites them with our faith and makes them feel more familiar with us – is that they see many things from our mystagogical manners, customs and practice coincide with their own.
In these shocking days that all people on our planet live, I noticed that the Turkana act so deeply and live their Orthodox faith with reverence and awe, participating in all the sacred mysteries of our Church, especially that of the Holy Eucharist. I tried to interpret their movements and actions to make sure that everything they do is felt deep inside. Their participation is not external and frivolous but an internal, deep need and certainty of the presence of God Himself in their lives. The church is suffocatingly full, overcrowded, especially with young people and children, and throughout both the Matins service and the Divine Liturgy they all chanted together in the Turkana dialect. And of course, they all passed and tasted the immortal medicine of the Body and Blood of our Lord! After so many years, so many sacrifices and toil, deprivations and trials, with the five priests of the same tribe the work of the Gospel is promoted and is continuously becoming part of the very life of the Turkana people to such an extent that the ancient beauty of the local tradition blends beautifully, smoothly and consciously with the mystagogical and sacramental life of our Orthodox faith. This is a fact that we cannot overlook.
This is the reality, and what we experienced with them is a confirmation that the future priests- who came and studied at our Patriarchal School and now serve the faithful people of God- transferred their knowledge and the cultivation of Orthodox manners and morals to the inhabitants of this primitive tribe and worked hard and admirably for the seamless continuity of the Word of the Gospel in the souls of these innocent creatures and creations of the Great Architect of the universe.
† Makarios of Nairobi
