Who will truly support the Mission?
Many times, when we ask for help and support for the Mission, many friends of the Mission mean to help with building some church or helping poor children and something similar.
The question that arises is: what is the main work of the mission?
To build churches, to help orphans and poor children only?
First of all, however, mission means journey according to the word of the Lord. “Go therefore and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19). Journey and encounter with people who are ignorant of the Gospel, of the Church.
Of course, the word of God that we transmit cannot be just words. The word must have weight, that is, love. And of course philanthropy is the expression of love. And of course the word must also be accompanied by works of faith, works of love.
The mission is directly related to preaching, to the transmission of the word of God. “Go therefore,” that is, go. Go to meet the others.
Journey-encounter-transmission of the word of God.
I begin with two examples from our mission in Tanzania.
The Bishop says we must go to speak about our Church toward Magoti.
—Will you go, Father Lukas?
—Certainly, Your Grace.
Father Lukas goes to that area and begins to walk. Then someone stops him, saying:
—Are you looking for something, sir?
—I am an Orthodox priest and I came to speak about our Orthodox Church.
—Come to my house to tell us about it.
After the presentation of Orthodoxy and why it is the only true Church that Christ founded, Mr. Andreas Peterson says, Father Lukas, we will become the first Orthodox here in the area.
The bishop says to the priests:
—The Orthodox Church must be spread in Sinyanga. Who would like to go?
Then Father Joachim stands up and says:
—I will, Your Grace.
He goes to Sinyanga. He gets off the bus and looked for a hotel to stay. They showed him where it was and he started walking there.
Then a cyclist stops next to him and asks if he would like help with something. When he told him he was looking for a hotel, he offered to take him on the bicycle.
Then he invited him to his house for food. There he asked him who he was and what he wanted in the city.
—I am an Orthodox priest and I came to Sinyanga to do mission work. I want to create an Orthodox parish.
—What is the Orthodox Church, Father? What does it believe?
And Father Joachim began to explain what Orthodoxy is.
When he finished, Paschalis the cyclist said:
—I will become the first Orthodox in my city. Can I call other friends from the neighborhood too, so you can give us catechesis in the Orthodox faith?
—Yes, certainly. We start tomorrow.
Thus began the Mission in the great city of Sinyanga as well.
Subsequently, a group of 13 people was created, who were being catechized. A hall was rented. Father Joachim lived there and services and catecheses took place. They became 50. Then 70. Then 100. Then 120. Then the first baptisms took place in the pool of a hotel.
This is the purpose of the mission. The spread of our faith.
Thus our Diocese has organized missionary teams that go to areas where our Church is.
For this reason we organized a Seminary for Missionaries, where they were taught Missiology, Catechetics and Homiletics. They were divided into 15 groups of two or three and were assigned the areas where they would exercise the mission.
Economic help is needed for each team. Rent for the residence house, food, transportation. This is the first step. For this first step of establishing the missionaries we need 100€ per month. For the 15 missionary teams we need 1500€ per month, until the first group of catechumens is created.
Then help is needed for renting a hall, buying land and building a temporary church. We are now talking about extraordinary needs that can be programmed.
But what needs help from the rear is the economic support of the mission itself, supporting the missionaries on the missionary front.
Who will help in Sinyanga, Biaramulo, Nkwenda, Mambira, Kyanga, Kyaka, Bukoba, Mulemba?
For Mulemba. Listen to what happens there. There is a church of the Entrance of the Theotokos, there is a priest, but there are no Christians in a city of 30,000 inhabitants. If no Mission is done, the Church will remain empty. But how will Mission be done if we don’t send missionaries? But these missionaries must rent a house, eat, get around. Otherwise they themselves cannot cope. And we must also give them a salary of 100,000 shillings, that is, 37€ per month. As they will leave their family alone without the necessities for their livelihood.
The first thing we must strengthen is the mission. The offering of the necessary means and necessities for the accomplishment of this work. The churches, the poor children, the sick come after. First the mission and then the rest. Besides, the need of the missionary teams is cheaper than the other needs for churches, water, etc.
The greatest philanthropy is the offering of the Orthodox faith to people who are in the darkness of ignorance and error. Liberation of people who are captives of sin, falsehood, error, heresy, magic and magicians.
This is our mission.
I remember in Congo the blessed Metropolitan Nikephoros, who gave me a great lesson. Many were those who asked for financial help. He told me:
—Don’t be quick to pity all those who ask for money. We are the Church and we must first do the work of the Mission. The Apostles did not distribute money.
This is a big issue. Unfortunately we harmed the Africans by giving them money. They did not learn to give themselves for their Churches and their need.
I shared this issue with the President and members of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity during a recent visit of mine. They too were troubled by the issue of diverting from the primary work of the Missionaries, which is catechesis and guidance of new believers for entry into our Church. So they decided to strengthen this primary work, which pleased us.
We share this with you friends of the Mission so that you may also reorient the help that Christ our Lord will inspire you to offer.
We need to make the Mission the first, the “one thing,” for which the Lord praised Mary (Luke 10:42). Let us seek for our African brothers the most important “the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
Bishop Chrysostomos of Bukoba
