Journey in the Footsteps of Saint Chrysostom

It was with great joy that I found myself in Kananga, Congo, in the land where Saint Chrysostom Papasarantopoulos, the missionary of Africa, walked and preached the Gospel to the suffering people of this continent.

He loved Africa and its people so much, embracing them all; he became their Father, their man. His heart was given to the helpless and persecuted. I always hear his pleading voice saying:

“Where are the brave men who will come to relieve me from the tiring yet glorious work of the Mission? For this, I gave the last remaining strength I had, to all those I loved in the name of Christ.”

I confess that the prayers of the Saint were heard by the all-merciful God.

Here are the brave men the Saint was waiting for, I thought. Here are the bishops who joined us for the translation of the relics of him who sowed in the field of the bleeding earth. Every effort, every work done for the children and families of the natives is an integral part of his own endeavor and his own prayer for this world that lives amidst the difficulties and sufferings that plague it daily.

On the way to Kananga, I passed by churches and schools in Kinshasa, where hundreds of children attend for free, accepting the gift left behind by the Orthodox mission: knowledge, faith, and hope. Greeks always first established a church and a school. Upon these two pillars, of faith and knowledge, they based their hope for the course of life. And here, in the heart of Africa, the same spirit continues.

On March 22nd, the great moment arrived: The translation of the sacred relics of Saint Chrysostom, the first Orthodox missionary in Africa. Shivers of emotion overcame us all when the hierarchs retrieved the holy relics from the Father’s tomb. To the right and left were the tombs of the other missionaries, and in the middle, Father Chrysostom. The Patriarch of Alexandria himself received the holy skull and immediately gave it to me to venerate. The traditional ritual followed: the washing of the sacred relics with rose oil, amidst psalms and hymns, the sprinkling of the crowd with myrrh, and the placement of the venerable relics in the reliquary for veneration by the people of God.

The prayers of Saint Chrysostom, the missionary of Africa, reached the ears of God, and He opened the doors of truth for thousands of African souls to be saved. Orthodoxy and the presence of the Saint were a gift from God to the suffering and poor Africans. His life shone as a light amidst the darkness and impasses that afflicted them. He identified his life with theirs. He showed them the path of patience, the path of love, hope, and faith in the one God.

He revealed to them a God who bears the mistakes and weaknesses of every person and is tolerant and lenient in all their weaknesses; a God willing to erase every sin with genuine and true repentance. He taught them the truth, the God of love, so that they could overcome their tribal problems and the weaknesses and animosities that keep them away from prosperity.

Charalambos Metallidis
President of the Board