How I Became an Orthodox Christian?
I was born and raised in Colombia. At 15, I entered the Capuchin Order and became a Roman Catholic missionary monk for nine years. However, at 24, I began to feel deep doubts about various theological and dogmatic issues of the Roman Catholic Church.
I did not know then that Orthodoxy existed. I thought it was a temptation, that demons were fighting me so that I would not believe in the Pope and would not receive Holy Communion as taught by Rome. I suffered for two years, believing I was going through a spiritual crisis, and I begged God to free me. I literally cried!
The First Contact with “Orthodoxy”
I could not bear it and left the order. I went to work for a company far from Bogotá, where I met a lawyer. In a strange way, he told me about an Orthodox Church that supposedly existed in Colombia. Ultimately, it was not the true Orthodox Church, but a false one. It had 35 “priests” and a pseudo-bishop.
When I first met their “bishop,” he gave me a triptych outlining the differences between Roman Catholics and Orthodox. On one page, it stated what Roman Catholics believe – these were precisely the things I doubted. On the other page, it stated what the Orthodox Church teaches – these were precisely the things I believed!
At that moment, I understood that I was not going through a spiritual crisis and that there was a Church that taught what my heart had always felt. It was an enlightenment from God!
The Search for True Orthodoxy
Although I understood that this group was not genuine, I said: “Within them, I will find true Orthodoxy.” I started a program with them and began to research. We wrote to Patriarchates, to various autocephalous Churches, but we received no reply.
In 1996, I went to Caracas, Venezuela. There I saw the Greek community and the priest, but he did not speak Spanish. I left him a letter begging for help for our group in Colombia, but he paid no attention to me.
The Meeting with the True Metropolitan
A year later, I received a call from the same priest: “Your Metropolitan is coming and wants to see you. Everyone go to the airport.”
Our entire group went: almost 30 people. There I prayed to God: “Please, let no one else deceive us,” because many pseudo-bishops had come. My mother was ready to mortgage her house so I could travel to find the true Orthodox!
When I saw the figure of an Orthodox clergyman in full liturgical vestments through the glass of the door, it was as if I saw an angel! My heart was pounding. I understood that this was a true Metropolitan.
When the door opened, His Eminence beckoned me with his finger. I didn’t believe he was calling me, as I was just a secretary. Eventually, I jumped over the railing, reached him, and he handed me a round box, saying: “Guard this as your life.” It was Metropolitan Athenagoras, the first Bishop of Mexico.
Baptism and the Calling
The Metropolitan stayed with us for a week. He chose three of us: Antonios Torres (now Bishop Timothy of Assos), another person, and myself, the unworthy one. He sent us to San Cristóbal, Venezuela, where on September 14, 1997, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we became Orthodox through chrismation during the baptism of a baby.
For the first time, we witnessed a Divine Liturgy in a true Orthodox Church. These were moments of indescribable joy, although I was a little saddened because I wanted a full baptism.
The Journey to Greece
Initially, His Eminence had said that I would go to Mexico as his deacon, but a year later, he changed his plans. In October 1998, Antonios and I came to Greece without knowing a word of Greek.
On the journey to Kilkis, His Eminence told us that he would take another boy from Colombia to Mexico to make him a deacon. We insisted that there was no one else. Until he realized he meant me! I had come to Greece by mistake! He stopped the car and told me: “Now you will have a double responsibility: to me as your Metropolitan, but primarily to God, because He brought you here, not I.”
We studied at the Ecclesiastical High School of Kilkis and then at the Higher Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki.
The Missionary Call
In 2008, we had returned to Colombia, and the blessed Metropolitan Athenagoras sent me to temporarily assist in Cuba, which had been left without an archiepiscopal commissioner. It was the Christmas fast. When, after a few months, the blessed one came to Cuba, he called a general assembly to elect a new commissioner. There were three candidates. But the faithful raised their hands and said: “We don’t want any other candidates! We want Father Athenagoras – he is strict, but we like him as he is!”
Thus, I served as archiepiscopal commissioner of Cuba from 2008 until 2019, until I was ordained auxiliary bishop in 2020.
The New Mission
In 2024, the new Metropolitan of Mexico, Iakovos, organized the vast Metropolis into four regions:
- Colombia and Venezuela
- Mexico and Panama
- Central America and Guatemala
- Caribbean and Belize
He entrusted me with the Caribbean and Belize region, knowing that I had served in Cuba and had founded a community in the Cayman Islands eight years prior.
Today, as I look back on this journey, I clearly see the hand of divine Providence. God brought me from Colombia to Greece, and now He sends me throughout the Caribbean to preach the Gospel. I am simply an unworthy representative of His, going wherever He sends me. And I believe that slowly, in all the islands of the Caribbean, Orthodoxy will be glorified!
In the next article, I will present to you the reality of the mission in these countries.
Myrina Athenagoras
Bishop of Myrina Athenagoras is an auxiliary bishop of the Metropolis of Mexico, responsible for the Caribbean and Belize region.
