Orthodoxy runs in Congo
Many years have passed since the late hierarchs of the then unified Metropolis of Central Africa and subsequently Kinshasa sowed the seeds of the Gospel through the unadulterated teaching of the Orthodox Church. In recent years, the late Metropolitans of Kinshasa, Ignatius and Nicephorus, with their missionary zeal, contributed greatly to the missionary field of our Metropolis. Despite their advanced age, they gave no rest to their bodies nor repose to their eyes, in order to approach people through many ways, pains, labors, and disappointments, to speak about the message of the Gospel, the Orthodox faith, and the patristic tradition. The fruits of their labor are now many. In the formerly spiritually barren field of Congo, a living Church is now flourishing. However, we cannot rest until the Orthodox message reaches everywhere, until we establish altars with the presence of a priest in every province.
We continue, therefore, the missionary work that we received. We are moved by the acceptance of the people, who know how to distinguish the true faith (orthodoxy) of our Church, and thus when, by God’s grace, we have the financial means and the presence of suitable persons who will travel from place to place to catechize people, then, as the blessed great missionary Metropolitan of Pentapolis Ignatius used to say, “Orthodoxy gallops in Africa! It runs like a flame through dry straw pushed by a violent wind!”
With this spirit, we continue the work of our predecessors. With this spirit, I journey to distant Congo and specifically today to the Metropolis of Kinshasa to continue the missionary work of the Metropolis together with selected collaborators. Our Metropolis must, on the one hand, continue its work (catechetical, liturgical, philanthropic, and educational) in all its existing structures (parishes, schools, university, clinic, and many others). On the other hand, the missionary work must spread everywhere without wasting time: to catechize brothers and sisters in other places, to build churches and schools, to prepare and send priests and catechists as collaborators so that the Light of Christ may shine in every corner of our Metropolis.
The Theological School, bearing the name of Saint Athanasius the Athonite, performs important work for the present and future of the Metropolis and more broadly for Orthodoxy in sub-Saharan Africa, continuing to educate theologically and ecclesiastically the young people of Congo who come to it. The system of the Theological School is cenobitic. The young students are boarders and are taught mainly by professors from the Theological Schools of Athens and Thessaloniki, but now also by Congolese professors who graduated from our Theological School. The results are already significant: the Metropolises and Dioceses of Congo are acquiring theological collaborators who cover, in many areas, the ecclesiastical work.
However, this titanic effort needs the generous contribution of many brothers and sisters so that the Theological School can continue its work and its offering. With a monthly cost reaching 12,000 dollars, it constitutes a constant tremendous pressure for its operation to continue. Hoping to find some regular supporters who will help us in this work, we continuously extend the time of its operation, hoping for God’s help.
At the same time, the other needs remain pressing. In the city of Kinshasa, for example, the faithful of the parish near the Clinic conduct Divine Worship sometimes in a shack with metal sheets and other times in a space in someone’s house that one of the faithful might provide for a Sunday. In Matadi and other areas where there is no church, the same happens in order to meet the liturgical needs of our Congolese brothers and sisters.
Our late predecessor Hierarchs made sure that along with the construction of a church, a school was also built so that children in need of education could stay in the Orthodox Church’s spaces and not be pressured to change their faith in order to remain in non-Orthodox schools. However, most parishes lack schools, resulting in children often attending schools of other denominations and ultimately being cut off from the Orthodox Church.
Despite so many difficulties, the Holy Metropolis of Kinshasa continues its missionary work, making people familiar with the teaching of the Orthodox Church, transmitting the tradition of the Church, which only the Orthodox Church has maintained for centuries, introducing them to the Saints of the Church, who serve as guides for our common journey and the common goal of every person.
In this struggle, we are not alone. Dozens of brothers and sisters are enlisted with us, whom we gladly call co-missionaries. Among others, they are the members of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, which is constantly by our side and supports us not only financially but also morally in all our struggles. Every communication with the Fraternity is moving for us. We sense their anxiety for the spread of Orthodoxy, for the progress of the Theological School, for the support of our very poor brothers and sisters. We feel them beside us night and day. We pray for them that the Lord may strengthen them, inspire them, and guide them in every good work. May the Holy Spirit protect them and the Providence of the Lord grant them a hundredfold blessings on earth but especially in heaven. May He give them the opportunity to inspire their missionary mindset in the coming generations of their families, so that this good tradition of brothers being helped by other brothers may continue, until we all arrive at the same place, worshipping our common Lord and Master ceaselessly at the heavenly Altar.
† Theodosiοs of Kinshasa
