Opening of the Doors at the World’s First Church of Saint Chrysostom
A day that will forever remain in my heart…
With the blessing of His Beatitude, the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodoros II, we were deemed worthy to perform the Opening of the Doors of the Holy Temple of Saint Chrysostom the Missionary.
From early morning, I felt that this would not be an ordinary day. There was a special joy and deep emotion on the faces of the people. Children, elderly, families, simple people, people who love the Church, eagerly awaited the opening of the Church’s doors for the first time.
And when the doors opened…
I felt that it was not merely a Church opening.
A new path was opening for the people of God.
People who until yesterday prayed in makeshift spaces, today entered for the first time a Church that from now on will be their spiritual home. A place where children will be baptized, weddings will be celebrated, hymns will be heard, tears will be shed, thanks will be offered, and, above all, man will meet Christ.
And then came the moment of the first Divine Liturgy.
The phrase “Blessed is the Kingdom…” was heard for the first time inside the Church.
The incense ascended to heaven.
The hymns filled the new Church.
And I looked at the faces of the people and saw the emotion in their eyes.
They were tears of joy.
Tears of gratitude.
Because at that moment we all felt that God had granted us something much greater than a beautiful building.
He granted us a place to meet Him.
A place where the weary will find rest, the suffering consolation, the desperate hope, and those who seek God a path to approach Him.
And how great was my emotion, knowing that this is the first Holy Temple dedicated to Saint Chrysostom the Missionary.
A man who loved Africa, who walked with faith and sacrifice, and dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel.
Today, here in Southern Madagascar, his name was not just heard.
It became a prayer.
It became a psalm.
It became a Divine Liturgy.
It became a Church.
And I felt deeply that the sowing of that great Missionary continues. The seeds that once fell with toil, tears, and sacrifices, today blossom in new people who open their hearts to Christ.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my profound gratitude to the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity of Thessaloniki, whose love, faith, and sacrificial offering built this Church.
Because a Church is not built only with stones.
It is built with prayers.
It is built with sacrifices.
It is built with love.
It is built with people who believe in God and are not afraid to dream.
On Sunday, we celebrated the first Divine Liturgy.
From Sunday until the end of the year, until the end of the world, prayers will be heard within this Church.
Candles will be lit.
Children will be baptized.
Holy Sacraments will be performed.
People will come with joy and people with pain, people with gratitude and people with tears.
And every time “Lord, have mercy” is heard, I will remember this first day.
The day of the Opening of the Doors.
The day of the first Divine Liturgy.
The day when Saint Chrysostom the Missionary acquired, here in Southern Madagascar, a Church dedicated to his name.
And amidst the emotion of that moment, I thought of something very simple:
When man opens a door for God, God opens a path to Heaven.
May this Church therefore be a small light within the great land of Africa.
A light of faith.
A light of love.
A light of hope.
A light that will always guide souls towards Christ.
Saint Chrysostom the Missionary, intercede for all of us.
Glory to God for all things!
