The Consecration of the Holy Trinity Church in Dodoma
With feelings of doxology to the Triune God, the Holy Metropolis of Arusha experienced a historic day for Orthodox witness in the heart of Africa. His Eminence Metropolitan Agathonikos of Arusha, with the blessing of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II, performed the Consecration Service and the first Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Church in Dodoma, the new administrative capital of Tanzania.
The magnificent Holy Church, dedicated to the most holy name of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, is the first Orthodox Holy Church to be erected in the country’s new capital and is located in the Nala area, a western suburb of Dodoma. Its construction was made possible thanks to the generous donation of the Orthodox External Mission Fraternity, which for many years has actively supported the missionary work of the Second-Throned Patriarchate on the African continent.
In his inspiring address, the Metropolitan of Arusha referred to the significance of dedicating the first Orthodox Church of the new capital to the Holy Trinity, emphasizing that the grace of the Triune God is called to overshadow, enlighten, and bless, from the administrative capital Dodoma, all of Tanzania and its blessed people. At the same time, he expressed the local Church’s gratitude to all who support the missionary work and announced that, with a donation from the Missionary House of Saint Dionysios in Olympus, a new plot of land has been acquired in a northern suburb of the city, where, God willing, the construction of a Missionary Center is planned.
Representatives of the local political and administrative authorities shared in the joy of the local Church, attending the consecration and honoring this significant ecclesiastical event with their presence.
After the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Metropolitan Agathonikos of Arusha and Central Tanzania performed the Holy Sacrament of Baptism for the first twenty-five catechumens of the area, who, after being catechized in the Orthodox faith, were incorporated into the body of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. This group Baptism constitutes the first fruit of the Orthodox presence in the new capital. Subsequently, a meal of love was offered to all attendees.
This historic day marks a milestone in the journey of the Orthodox Church in Central Tanzania. The presence of the first Orthodox Holy Church in the country’s new capital constitutes a living testimony to the unceasing missionary ministry of the Ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, and a guarantee that the seed of the Gospel continues to bear abundant fruit in the blessed land of Africa.
May the newly built Holy Trinity Church become an unceasing beacon of Orthodoxy, a place of sanctification and salvation, to the glory of the All-Holy Triune God and for the spiritual edification of the pious people of Tanzania.
From the Holy Metropolis
