The mission in Colombia primarily and then in Venezuela includes a multitude of intense and rich experiences! Upon my arrival in Colombia, the gates were opened by people with rich emotions, warm hearts, directness in communication, much joy and Abrahamic hospitality! And all this to the superlative degree! I was greeted at the airport by Bishop Timothy and his spiritual children, and I immediately felt that I was in their family environment. So simple!
The Missionary Orthodox Church in Colombia was founded 25 years ago and developed by Bishop Timothy, a strong and compelling personality. An inexhaustible source of dynamism and contribution to the community.
Today, after unremitting toil and endless agitation, he is the Orthodox leader-bishop of two huge countries, Colombia and Venezuela. He has many parishes scattered in each of these countries. I cannot fail to mention the great love he has for the Greeks, Greece, its history and its Greek Orthodox culture!
Our missionary activity included the following stations – cities: Bogota as the capital of Colombia, Cucuta, Medellin, Sereté and Tovar, Venezuela.
In Bogotá where I spent most of the days we examined the parishioners of the Holy Church of St. Anthony with the valuable collaboration of Joseph, a charismatic young man. Joseph has already been ordained a deacon and given the name Jerome.
On Sunday, August 4, after the church service at the Bogota Cathedral, we participated as members of the Orthodox Church in the march of protest against the insult to religious sentiment during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, organized by all Christian denominations of Colombia. At the time, the event had taken on a global dimension, with simultaneous reactions in the Christian world.
What I experienced intensely was that about 10,000 of our Colombian brothers and sisters poured into the main streets of Bogota with their families and young children, expressing in this way their strong feelings of faith, peacefully and reverently.
The march ended in the central square of Bolívar with speeches, receptions and musical events. It was like a dream to walk with them in a wave of people and be part of their unity. I could not stop admiring the greatness of this wonderful Colombian people throughout.
The events on this tour followed one another with constant intensity. The distances between the cities are very long, as the country has an area of 1,138,910 square kilometres, so the routes were long, crossing the long Andes mountain range and revealing a beautiful landscape with dense vegetation.
The next destination was Tovar in Venezuela with a short stop in Cucuta, Colombia, which is very close to the Colombian-Venezuelan border. The reason for arriving in Tovar was to meet the Hernandez family for the baptism of all four members of the family, the parents and their two girls. They had waited several years for this day of baptism to come.
The sacrament took place on the river in a wooded area a short distance from their town. We all had an unreal experience! In a matter of hours I met and acquired another beloved family from far away Venezuela! It is a connection unbreakable across distances, borders, nationalities, because what unites us now is the love of Christ! A new life is now projected for the Hernandez family full of strength and light that will accompany them all the way!
Another special and moving day was our visit to the slums of Kookuta. According to Bishop Timothy, we were to meet the so-called “invisible people” in this favela! They are refugees from Venezuela, discredited by their country and not recognized by their new homeland!
They live in squalid conditions in houses made of sheet metal and old car tyres with no electricity and no water.
Living among them, the charge was intense, because they told us that in their previous life they were active citizens with education and social contribution. However, circumstances have violently transformed these facts, so that they unfortunately continue their lives in non-existence!
Nevertheless, these people are distinguished by dignity and cordiality! Their children grow up excluded from the right to education because there is no free education! In the face of this sight you feel shame and doubt as the image of the supposed ‘human civilisation’ is shattered before you. Shame as long as there are our “non-existent” fellow human beings in the slums struggling with hunger and misery!
The Orthodox parish of Holy Baptist of Koukuta under the supervision of the Bishop hosted a meal in their honor, having the opportunity to participate by dining in their own poor but very hearty neighborhood!
We shared intense moments in the community that day examining, communicating, laughing and crying silently.
Our final stop on our tour was Sereté, a city where the Orthodox Mission is developing, with the sacred services being held in an open-air thatched area. In the same place, the local people were given eye examinations, and at the end a meal was provided to all on behalf of the Diocese of Colombia.
We were then delighted to witness the completion of the work on the Holy Church of St. Athanasius, donated by the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Missionaries. Thus we completed our long tour of Colombia, covering part of Colombia with our visit.
I would like to thank deeply Bishop Timotheos and his entourage consisting of excellent spiritual children who strive voluntarily and zealously in the work of the Mission!
They surrounded me with an excess of love and contributed in many ways to the achievement of our mission! Together with them I toured the beautiful country of Colombia and got to know its remarkable and advanced people.
Our brothers and sisters in Colombia, according to the Most Reverend Timothy, are now living a historic period, their own Pentecost! They are building and creating the Body of the Orthodox Church from one end of Colombia to the other. In this joy of reconstruction we are beside them. And they need us beside them!
It is a celebration of our born-again and newly-converted brothers and sisters, which overshadows every other important event in the world, because it promotes the much desired goods such as: peace, progress, prosperity, solidarity among people. And all this in one embrace under the wings of true Love!
We also express our sincere thanks to the Institute Ofthalmica and especially to Mr. Nikolaos Vakalis, who participates in our missionary action program with the donation of glasses, which were sent to Colombia for the needs of our brothers and sisters.
To conclude my narrative I would like to mention one of the future noble plans of Bishop Timotheos. It is the acquisition of a building adjacent to the Bogota Cathedral that can serve as a spiritual and cultural center. The use of this space will be multiple such as: presentations of theological seminars, classes for learning Greek language and history, festive events, a meeting place for parishes, the bishop’s residence and hospitality areas. Through this multi-purpose space, it will be possible to develop the work of the Orthodox Church on a broader spiritual and cultural level!
But our journey ends here… leaving behind a beautiful flower garden with untiring workers who radiate rays of hope, light and love to the rest of the world!
Katerina Alexandrou
Ophthalmologist, regular member of the Brotherhood
