The Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya honored its founder, Saint Chrysostom

On Sunday, August 9th, the Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya celebrated a significant historical milestone, as hundreds of young men and women of the Orthodox Church gathered to honor its founder, Saint Chrysostom Papasarantopoulos, newly canonized in our Church’s Hagiologion, and to commemorate sixty years since the Organization’s establishment.

The celebration took place at the Holy Trinity Church in Mugunga village, where His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Kenya and Exarch of All East Africa presided over the Divine Liturgy. Several priests and deacons concelebrated and participated in this historic celebration, while hundreds of young people from various regions of Kenya were present.

The month of August marks sixty years since the founding of OCYAK by Saint Chrysostom on August 6, 1966, in the parish of Saint Paul Kagira. What began as an effort to lead young people into a deeper relationship with Christ and active participation in the life of the Church evolved, over these six decades, into an important means of catechesis, education, and spiritual cultivation for the Orthodox youth of Kenya.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios ordained the current President of OCYAK, Petros Muawura, to the Priesthood. The ordination gave a particularly profound meaning to this festive gathering. The young men and women who had gathered to honor the founder of their organization witnessed the entrustment of the priestly ministry and the responsibility of serving the people of God to one of their own leaders.

Hundreds of young people participated with great enthusiasm in the Divine Liturgy. Their presence and active participation expressed their determination to remain faithful to Christ and to continue playing an active role in the life and mission of the Orthodox Church in Kenya.

After the completion of the Divine Liturgy, the Archbishop, the Holy Clergy, and the youth united in a processional march through the surrounding streets, carrying the venerable icon of Saint Chrysostom Papasarantopoulos. The procession served as a dynamic public testimony of the faith of the young Orthodox Christians.

As they walked through the streets carrying the icon of the newly canonized Saint, they expressed their determination to continue the vision, missionary zeal, and dedication to the service of humanity that characterized the life of their spiritual father and founder.

The residents of the surrounding area came out of their homes to witness the unprecedented and joyful spectacle of hundreds of young people processing with the icon of a newly canonized Saint. Their hymns, prayers, and joy transformed the streets into an open confession of faith.

For the youth, the procession was not merely a remembrance of an event that happened sixty years ago. It was a practical declaration that the vision of Saint Chrysostom remains alive and fruitful in a new generation.

After the procession, all participants gathered and shared a common meal. This communal table was another expression of the spirit of brotherhood, unity, and fellowship that has characterized OCYAK throughout its historical course.

Subsequently, the youth spent the rest of the day singing and dancing together, in an atmosphere of joy and friendship, thanking God for the sixty years of life and service of the Organization, as well as for the life and witness of its founder. Their joy was not merely a social celebration. It was an expression of Christian fellowship and brotherhood; young people united by their common faith in Christ and their integration into the life of the Church.

During his address, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios shared with those present a remarkable and hitherto little-known connection between himself and Saint Chrysostom Papasarantopoulos. The Archbishop revealed that in 1961, when he was still a young student, Saint Chrysostom wrote to him, inviting him to consider continuing, after his repose, the missionary work in Africa.

Saint Chrysostom then wrote the following to young Andreas:

“If God permits me to work for another 8–10 years, I will be very happy to entrust to you, Andreas Tyllirides, a student of Limassol Gymnasium, the continuation of this sacred work.”

These words acquire extraordinary significance today. Young Andreas Tyllirides was later to become His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Kenya, one of the most important figures in the continuation and development of Orthodox missionary work in Africa.

For Archbishop Makarios, this letter is much more than a simple historical curiosity. He presented it as a remarkable indication that Saint Chrysostom already possessed spiritual foresight regarding the future of the missionary work he had begun.

The Archbishop explained that such a prophetic reference to the continuation of missionary work by young Andreas Tyllirides reveals something profound about the spiritual character of Saint Chrysostom and, in retrospect, points to the sanctity that the Church has now officially recognized in him.

“Is it a coincidence or God’s Providence?”

Subsequently, His Eminence revealed yet another admirable connection. On August 6, 1966, the very same day that Saint Chrysostom founded the Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya in the parish of Saint Paul Kagira, young Andreas Tyllirides was serving as a soldier. On that same day, Saint Chrysostom wrote to him, informing him of the establishment of the Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya.

Six decades later, Archbishop Makarios stood before the youth of the Organization as its Patron, leading them in the commemoration of its founder. Reflecting on this astonishing sequence of events, His Eminence posed the question of whether all this could simply be considered a coincidence. Or, perhaps, is it an expression of Divine Providence?

The Archbishop called upon the youth and all those present to discern in these events the guiding hand of God. The man who founded OCYAK in 1966, the young soldier who received his letter on the very day of its founding, and the Archbishop who today stands as the Organization’s Patron are connected by a remarkable spiritual and historical bond, spanning sixty years of Orthodox missionary history in Kenya. What may seem to people as a coincidence can, within the life of the Church, become an occasion for the recognition of God’s mysterious Providence.

The celebration in Mugunga, therefore, was much more than an anniversary event. It was a meeting of the past, present, and future of Orthodox Youth in Kenya. The youth honored the founder, who planted the seed in 1966. They celebrated the Saint, whom the Church has now glorified and enrolled in its Hagiologion.

They witnessed the ordination of their President to the Priesthood. They publicly participated in the procession of their spiritual father’s icon. And, through their joy, fellowship, and devotion, they proved that the seed planted sixty years ago continues to bear fruit.

Saint Chrysostom Papasarantopoulos came to Africa with a fervent desire to convey the Gospel of Christ to those who had not yet heard it. His concern was not limited merely to the establishment of organizations and institutions, but aimed to lead people, especially the youth, into a living relationship with Christ and His Church.

Sixty years after the founding of OCYAK, this missionary vision remains alive. The celebration in Mugunga demonstrated that the Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya is not merely an heir to a history. It is an active participant in a living mission.

And as they held the icon of Saint Chrysostom and carried it through the streets, it seemed as if they were proclaiming the same message that inspired their founder: The work of Christ must continue. For the Orthodox Christian Youth of Kenya, sixty years is not the end of a journey. It is a new beginning.