Wells of Hope in the Desert of Uganda

Dear friends of the Mission,

I greet you with the love of Christ and offer you the wishes and blessings, first and foremost, from our Patriarch, His Beatitude Theodoros II, who blessed us with a new diocese in 2022 and, with great joy and blessing, deemed me worthy to become a hierarch. From the moment I was ordained until today, I have been involved in the missionary work of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, which has embraced us so much spiritually and materially. From the moment they learned about the work we do in Uganda, it became a part of their lives; when we feel we have hit a wall, they are there for us.

Wells of Life in the Desert

Their help was particularly important for our brethren who are most in need of water. This area is very dry, almost a desert – the eastern part of Uganda bordering South Sudan and Kenya. It is the homeland of the Karamojong tribe, related to the Turkana tribe of Kenya. There, they helped us create the most precious thing in the lives of these people: water. Wherever we constructed a well, a village grew around it. In total, we have constructed seven wells throughout the diocese.

For the first time in the history of the Church of Africa, we had the blessing from the Patriarch to have our own holy missionary, Saint Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos, who first came to Uganda and then went to Kenya and Congo. God deemed me worthy to participate in his canonization, which was performed by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate in Alexandria. With emotion, I affixed my signature to the act of canonization.

The Wounds of War

The Diocese of Gulu is located in an area that has experienced many difficulties. All of northern Uganda has endured war for over 20 years. Wherever war passes, it leaves wounds. Everything was destroyed – not only lives but everything that existed there. That is why people still live in huts, in makeshift shelters. That is why we are doing our best to support the people and to make our diocese as good as possible.

The entire diocese has a population of around 10 million. All these people are served by only 15 priests, while we have opened over 30 communities. All these communities do not have a church except for the community of Saint Catherine, where a permanent church was completed and consecrated by our Patriarch. Our priests are not enough to serve all these communities. That is why we have now sent many children, with the help of our brethren from Greece, to Kenya to study at the seminary, so that upon their return, they can become priests and serve the Church of Christ.

Shelter for Orphans

Due to the civil war, many children were orphaned. They are like strays – they know neither their parents nor their origin. This pains us the most, because our diocese does not yet have the means to do something for these children. We pray to God that donors will be found who will enable us to build the first orphanage, where we will also house our first school for these children.

So far, we are still constructing the cathedral, and there is no bishop’s residence – the bishop still lives in rented accommodation. We earnestly ask, with special love, that anyone who can lend a helping hand do so, so that the Diocese of Gulu can stand on its own feet. The cathedral has reached the point of wall completion, and roofing will follow – all of this has been done with the help of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity.

With God’s help, a donor was found who gave us a blessing, and we built the Holy Church of Saint Nicholas, which we will consecrate in November. The Fraternity helped us with the icons and the oil lamps for the iconostasis. Thank you very much for your love, for your support, and please pray for the best for the diocese.

† Nektarios of Gulu