Greetings from Kolkata
By Niki Papageorgiou, Professor, School of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Singapore, I had the opportunity
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By Niki Papageorgiou, Professor, School of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Singapore, I had the opportunity
Daily there were over 70 people from all over the area, even from distant regions, queuing outside the clinic waiting to be examined. This made us appoint secretariat and reception so as to separate the urgent cases from the less serious or minor ones, which were distributed by appointment on the next days and the patients could be dealt with promptly and in an unhurried fashion…
Our journey left us with a lot of indelible impressions and conscience-shattering experiences. We experienced the miracle of the creation of a Church. We saw how the grace of God, without the human means and facilities employed by other denominations, attracts the souls to the only true Church, Orthodoxy, overcomes all obstacles, and opens up streets to spread the Gospel…
When I decided to come to India-specifically to the orphanage of the Orthodox Church in Calcutta- and I announced it to my friends, they all asked me the same question: “Where will you spend your Christmas? At least, will you have any relatives there?” And I replied, “Yes, I will have my aunt, Sister Nektaria”.
The people who consciously convert into Orthodoxy seek the Truth and are tired of the lies of the sects. Indeed, some of the converts raise the questions: Why did Orthodoxy take so long to come to Malawi?
Before leaving for Sierra Leone, I filled my overweight luggage with little holy icons and crosses, books, school stuff, balloons and the communion bread that my mother kneaded for the Divine Liturgy…
“History teaches us that it is from monasteries that sprang up all church missions, and that missionaries founded monasteries wherever they traveled” (Archimandrite George Capsanis)
In Isiro region, they ask to be baptized. Old, young and children have sent requests for seven years, but so far it wasn’t possible…
The children have never owned anything; they never went to the school, nor they knew how to hold a pencil or how to wear their clothes properly or even how to bathe themselves. The transition from their old life can be difficult for them…
