The miracle of the Virgin Mary: An appeal for St. Mark church
Dear friends of the Mission,
As you know, every part of the earth is a living story that, when we hear it, gives us courage and strength to make the most of every moment, every struggle we face in the world for the vitality of the Orthodox faith.
This is the case in the village of Soumbou in the northern part of the Republic of Togo 🇹🇬, where lives an exceptional and devout priest, Father Trophimus. This priest was a former leader of a non-Orthodox religious group. Before becoming an Orthodox Christian and eventually a priest, he had built a hall where his followers gathered for their religious and ritual activities. He fasted in his own way, especially in August, without even knowing the Orthodox faith. Although he did all this, he felt that something was missing, he was not satisfied and was always searching for the true faith.
The miracle of the Virgin Mary and the conversion to Orthodoxy
One day in August, as he usually fasted, he would break his fast every evening at 6 p.m. to prepare some food according to his spiritual beliefs. For us Orthodox, August is a month dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of us all, during which we fast and chant the Paraklesis to the Virgin Mary to help us and intercede for us with her Son.
One afternoon, something strange occurred in the place where he was preparing food, next to a mango tree. What happened to him was not a dream but was actually a living, strange phenomenon that he witnessed.
When he raised his head and looked at the tree branches, he saw a luminous cloud that had the shape of a woman holding in her hands an omophorion spread out like a veil of protection. At that moment, he was trying to understand whether he was dreaming or whether what he saw was indeed real.
Next to him was a man who had a psychological problem, and he had brought him there to pray for his healing. Wanting to make sure it wasn’t a dream, he asked the man next to him if he had seen the same thing. Immediately the man started jumping up and down shouting: “God visited us! God visited us!” After a while, the cloud disappeared like lightning, leaving a sound.
After this incident, he began searching to understand what he had experienced. In his search, he found a French book that talked about Orthodoxy and Holy Communion.
Based on this, his interest grew until he discovered the Orthodox Church and was baptized along with his followers. The hall they used for their religious ceremonies was converted into a church dedicated to St. Mark the Apostle and Evangelist, founder of the Church of Alexandria.
As Father Trophimus searched for the true faith until his ordination, he discovered the greatness of Orthodoxy. His search also resulted in the recognition of the image he had seen in the luminous cloud, which was the image of the Holy Protection.
He was so blessed to be granted the privilege of seeing our Virgin Mary without even knowing her beforehand, and through his contact with the Orthodox world, he discovered his miracle. The Holy Protection, as we all know, is an ecclesiastical feast that honors the vestments of the Virgin Mary. It is also associated with the appearance of the Virgin Mary in a vision in the church of Blachernae in Constantinople, and in Greece this feast symbolizes the protection of the Nation during World War II.
The problem and the appeal for help
My dear friends and readers, as you can see in the photos, the hall is no longer in good condition and the place where it was built is now prohibited by the state, as it is considered dangerous because the country’s central electrical cables pass above it. Furthermore, according to the country’s new legislation, the building does not meet state requirements for a place of prayer, so it is being closed and our Orthodox Christians have no place to perform their services.
However, right across from the old plot that you see, we have been given a new plot so that we can build a church that meets state requirements. This is where we need you; we ask you to help with your contribution to build a new church that will help our brothers and sisters in Togo to pray rather than have the plot taken back from them because we did not utilize it properly.
The fear is that if we do not use the land in time, there is a risk that it will be taken from us. The locals showed us the way, but their efforts are not enough. What I want from you is your support so they can build something modern and suitable for their worship services. It is the only way to encourage them and let them know that they are not alone and that they will always have your support.
The significance of the work and the call
These events that we encounter daily in Orthodox mission work are situations that give us strength and courage to continue our struggle, which is to show the right path of Orthodoxy to those who are in darkness and seeking the truth. We cannot do it alone, which is why we want you by our side to build them a proper place of worship.
Therefore, we appeal to you not to abandon us. Come to make known the greatness of Orthodoxy, come to remain the oxygen that helps us keep the flame of Orthodoxy alive and burning bright in every corner of Africa. Benin and Togo are fertile ground for the future of Orthodoxy, a future that will be secured only with your support.
This new man and current Orthodox priest, Father Trophimus, calls us all to honor the first Apostle and Evangelist, illuminator and protector of the ancient Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, Saint Mark, by building a church with two aisles: one dedicated to the Holy Apostle Mark and the other to the Holy Protection.
Everyone’s contribution, regardless of the amount, is welcome, as long as we manage to raise at least 35,000 euros to build even a small and simple, reverent place of prayer. The issue with the plots of land they give us is that if we don’t use them for a period of time, they take them away from us and we lose everything, as happened recently with one of our Church’s plots. We beg you on our knees not to ignore this call.
Let us all help in the spiritual journey of Father Trophimus, who today, with his white hair, does not know where else to turn to find a new place where he can perform the sacred services and where our Virgin Mary can be reverently invoked to help the rest of the world believe in her Son and come to the true faith.
We will not be discouraged and we will give our sweat to preserve the heritage of the Holy Fathers. We too will water the African soil with our blood, as the ancients did, so that the name “Orthodoxy” may be heard forever.
We will always be grateful for every effort you make.
Bishop Athanasios of Benin and Togo
