The National Orthodox Church Youth Camp organised by the Holy Metroplolis of Kampala and All Uganda...

The National Orthodox Church Youth Camp organised by the Holy Metroplolis of Kampala and All Uganda in Collaboration with the Youths. Taking place at St. Dimitrios Orthodox Church - Bwetyaba Luweero District from the 14th-17th - December 2017.
 

In the Orthodox Vineyard of Africa - https://www.facebook.com/UOChurch/

See also 

The Orthodox Church in Uganda, an outgrowth of indigenous self discovery 

Pioneers of the Orthodox Church in Uganda!

Orthodox Uganda (tag)  

Mother Maria from Uganda

Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa (& the Decolonization of Africa)

Union of Orthodox Church Mothers in Uganda

African Initiated Churches in Search of Orthodoxy...
How “White” is the Orthodox Church?
Ancient Christian faith (Orthodox Church) in Africa
LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS!
Eight principal areas of convergence between African spirituality and Ancient Christianity  
The Church as the Liberated Zone: "All we Christians are terrorists..." (and 2 videos, from Tanzania, Maasai, & DRC) 

Fourth World Orthodox Youth Festival - Ιn Romania representing African Orthodoxy!

Natives Africans bishops in the Orthodox Church 

Five orthodox missionaries who blessed Sub-Saharan Africa (and an anonymous holy child of Africa) 

Wamisionari tano halisi ambaye heri Afrika kusini mwa Sahara (na takatifu mtoto bila majina ya Afrika) 

 

International icon painting competition with the title “THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST”.

Ανοιχτή προκήρυξη του διεθνούς διαγωνισμού εικονογραφικής τέχνης με θέμα:

«Η ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΙΗΣΟΥ»

Открытое приглашение к участию в международном иконографическом конкурсе на тему:

«Воскресение Иисуса Христа»

دعوة  مفتوحة

للمسابقة الدولية  لفن رسم الأيقونات  وموضوعها :

" قيامة يسوع المسيح "

 

Click here! 

 

 

The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) (www.eiao.org) is an interparliamentary body, set up upon the initiative of the Hellenic Parliament. The IAO is comprised of Official Parliamentary Delegations from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Estonia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Latvia, Belarus, Moldavia, Ukraine, Poland, Rumania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Montenegro, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, occasionally Lithuania, Finland, groups of MPs and individual MPs from: Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, Australia, USA, Canada, Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Sudan, and Chile. 

 

تشارك فى الجمعية البرلمانية للأرثوذكسية وفود برلمانية رسمية من : ألبانيا، أرمينيا ، البوسنة والهرسك ، بلغاريا، چورچيا ، اليونان ، إستونيا ، كرواتيا ، كازاخستان ، قبرص ، لاتڤيا ، روسيا البيضاء ، مولداڤيا ، أوكرانيا ، بولندا ، رومانيا ، روسيا الإتحادية ، صربيا ، الجبل الأسود ، الأردن ، لبنان ، سوريا ، فلسطين وأحياناً ليتوانيا ، فنلندا ومجموعات من البرلمانيين وبرلمانيين منفردين من : مصر ، إثيوبيا ، الأرچنتين ، أستراليا ، الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ، كندا ، الكونغو ، موزمبيق ، أوغندا، السودان وشيلى 

Ancient Christian faith (Orthodox Church) in Africa

A few of the Saints: ( l – r from lthe bottom) Sophia, Fulvainus-Matthew, Anthony, Elesbaan, Moses the Ethiopian, Cyprian, Djan-Darada, Maurice, Athanasius, and Mary of Egypt. Icon from here.

This is a part from the article Christianity in Africa in Wikipedia

Christianity in Africa began in Egypt in the middle of the 1st century. By the end of the 2nd century it had reached the region around Carthage. Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity include Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian (icon), Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo.
The spread of Islam into North Africa reduced the size of Christian congregations as well as their number, so of the original churches, the only ones remaining are the Coptic Church in Egypt, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Horn of Africa. Both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches have their own distinct religious customs, a unique canon of the Bible and unique architectures. Neither of these communities of Christians in the Horn of Africa is the product of European missionary work; rather, they were founded prior to missionary work by any European country.^[1] [Note of our blog: The same applies to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, which is the historical continuity of the first Christian church. About Ethiopian & Eritrean Tewahedo Church see the post "Oriental Orthodox"]

History

Mark the Evangelist became the first bishop of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria in about the year 43.^[5] At first the church in Alexandria was mainly Greek-speaking. By the end of the 2nd century the scriptures and liturgy had been translated into three local languages. Christianity also spread in Sudan in the early 1st century, and the Nubian churches there were linked to those of Egypt.^[6]
Christianity also grew in northwestern Africa (today known as the Maghreb). The churches there were linked to the Church of Rome and provided Pope Gelasius I, Pope Miltiades and Pope Victor I – all of them Christian Berbers like Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica (icon).
At the beginning of the 3rd century the church in Alexandria expanded rapidly, with five new suffragan bishoprics. At this time, the Bishop of Alexandria began to be called Pope, as the senior bishop in Egypt. In the middle of the 3rd century the church in Egypt suffered severely during the persecution under the Emperor Decius. Many Christians fled from the towns into the desert. When the persecution died down, however, some remained in the desert as hermits to pray. This was the beginning of Christian monasticism, which over the following years spread from Africa to other parts of the Christian world.
The early 4th century in Egypt began with renewed persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. In the Ethiopian/Eritrean Kingdom of Aksum, King Ezana declared Christianity the official religion after having been converted by Frumentius, resulting in the foundation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church [Note of our bog: No Tewahedo, but canonical Eastern Orthodox Church. Monophysitism penetrated in Ethiopia a century later. Ethiopian Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox) saints here].
In these first few centuries, African Christian leaders such as Origen, Lactantius, Augustine, Tertullian, Marius Victorinus, Pachomius, Didymus the Blind, Ticonius, Cyprian, Athanasius (icon) and Cyril (along with rivals Valentinus, Plotinus, Arius and Donatus Magnus) influenced the Christian world outside Africa with responses to Gnosticism, Arianism, Montanism, Marcionism, Pelagianism and Manichaeism. Ecumenical councils were organized by them from time to time to help keep the Church unified in matters of doctrine. The world also owes to such Christians the idea of the University (after the Library of Alexandria), the understanding of the Trinity, Vetus Latina translations, methods of exegesis and biblical interpretation, monasticism, Neoplatonism, and African literary, dialectical and rhetorical traditions.^[7]
[Our note: See also Three Africans ancients saints: Anthony the Great (the Professor of Desert), Athanasius the Great & Cyril of Alexandria]
 
Christianity in Berber Africa

The first document that allows us to understand Christianity in Berber Africa is located in the Africa of the early Christians, and dates from before the year 180 AD: the "Acts of the Martyrs scillitans". This is the record of attendance of a dozen Christians (called Scillitan Martyrs) in a village of Africa Proconsularis still not identified, in front of the proconsul of Africa.
The early history of Christianity in Africa is closely linked to the person of Tertullian. Born to pagan parents (his father was a Roman centurion and his mother was probably a Romanised Berber), he joined the Christian community in Carthage in 195 AD and became close to the local municipal elite, which protected him from repression by the authorities. Having received the priesthood, he fought in his early writings for the Christian Church to be officially recognized by the Roman Empire.
The politico-religious opinions of Tertullian caused violent conflict and persecutions: Christians were accused of endangering the Roman Empire when they refused to take part in military service (and this was done during a period which required a greater need for soldiers). Thus, Tertullian provoked sanctions by the authorities that led to killings, creating the martyrs very specific to the Christian religion.
Indeed, the historical period of the African Church begins in 180 AD with groups of martyrs. At a somewhat later date, extant writings of Tertullian told of how rapidly African Christianity had grown. It had passed the Roman military lines, and spread among the peoples to the south and southeast of the Aures mountains. About the year 200 AD there was a violent persecution at Carthage and in the provinces held by the Romans. We gain information on its various phases from the martyrdom of St. Perpetua and the treatises of Tertullian [see The Saints Forty Africans Martyrs of the Orthodox Church (icon)]. Christianity, however, did not even then cease to make distant conquests; Christian epitaphs are to be found at Sour el Ghozlane, dated 227 AD, and at Tipasa, dated 238 AD. These dates are assured. If we rely on texts less definite we may admit that the evangelization of northern Africa began very early and was totally complete by the fifth century.
By the opening of the third century there were large Christian populations in the towns and even in the country districts, which included not only the poor, but also persons of the highest rank. A council held at Carthage about the year 220 AD was attended by eighteen bishops from the province of Numidia. Another council, held about the middle of the third century in the time of Cyprian, was attended by eighty-seven bishops. But at this period the African Church went through a very grave crisis.
The accession of Constantine found the African Church torn apart by controversies and heresies; Catholics and Donatists contended not only in polemics, but also in violent and bloody ways. A law of Constantine (318 AD) deprived the Donatists of their churches, most of which they had taken from the Catholics. They had, however, grown so powerful that even such a measure failed to crush them. In fact, they were so numerous that a Donatist council held at Carthage in 327 AD was attended by 270 bishops.
Attempts at reconciliation, suggested by the Emperor Constantius II, only widened the breach and led to armed repression, an ever-growing disquiet, and an enmity that became increasingly embittered. Yet, in the very midst of these troubles, the Primate of Carthage, Gratus, declared (in the year 349): "God has restored Africa to religious unity. "Julian's accession (361 AD) and his permission to all religious exiles to return to their homes added to the troubles of the African Church. A Donatist bishop sat in the seceded see of Carthage, in opposition to the orthodox bishop. One act of violence followed another, marking new conflicts. About this period, Optatus, Bishop of Milevi, began to combat the sect by his writings. A few years later, St. Augustine, converted at Milan, returned to his native land, and entered the lists against every kind of error. Paganism had by that time ceased to be a menace to the Church; in 399 AD its temples were closed at Carthage. Nevertheless, the energy and genius of Augustine were abundantly utilized in training the clergy and instructing the faithful, as well as in theological controversy with heretics. For forty years, from 390 to 430 AD, the Councils of Carthage (which reunited a great part of the African Episcopate), public discussions with the Donatists, sermons, homilies, and scriptural commentaries followed almost without interval – an unparalleled activity that had commensurate results.
Pelagianism, which had made great strides in Africa, was condemned at the Council of Carthage in 412 AD. Donatism, also, and Semi-Pelagianism were stricken to death at an hour when political events of the utmost gravity changed the history and the destiny of the African Church. Conflict between Carthage and Rome on the regulation of the African Church came to the fore when Apiarius of Sicca appeal his excommunication to Rome and thus challenging the authority of Carthage. Count Boniface had summoned the Vandals to Africa in 426 AD, and by 429 AD the invasion was completed. The barbarians advanced rapidly and made themselves masters of cities and provinces. In 430 AD St. Augustine died, during the siege of Hippo; nine years later Geiseric, King of the Vandals, took possession of Carthage. Then began for the African Church an era of persecution of a kind hitherto unknown. The Vandals were Arians. Not only did they wish to establish their own Arianism, but they were bent on the destruction of Catholicism ( = Orthodoxy*). [About st. Augustine, please see: Reception of Augustine in the Orthodox Church].

(*) From the article Catholicism: "Catholicism" and "Catholic" in this sense refer to the practices of several Christian churches. This sense is to be distinguished from the use of these words to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, that which is in full communion with the Holy See, as well as the Orthodox Catholic Church (commonly called the "Orthodox Church" or the "Eastern Orthodox Church"), which also considers itself the universal and apostolic church. (...)
The earliest evidence of the use of the term Catholic Church is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. Exhorting Christians to remain closely united with their bishop, he wrote: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
From the second half of the second century, the word began to be used to mean "orthodox" (non-heretical), "because Catholics claimed to teach the whole truth, and to represent the whole Church, while heresy arose out of the exaggeration of some one truth and was essentially partial and local". In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term "Catholic Christian" exclusively to those who followed the same faith as (our note: Orthodox, non Roman Catholic) Pope Damasus I of Rome and Pope Peter of Alexandria. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315–386), Augustine of Hippo (354–430) further developed the use of the term "catholic" in relation to Christianity. 

Churches the invasion had left standing were either transferred to the Arians or withdrawn from the Catholics and closed to public worship. The intervention of the Emperor Zeno (474-491 AD) and the conclusion of a treaty of peace with Geiseric, were followed by a transient calm. The churches were opened, and the Catholics were allowed to choose a bishop (476 AD), but the death of Geiserich, and the edict of Hunneric, in 484 AD, made matters worse than before. A contemporary writer, Victor of Vita, has told us what we know of this long history of the Vandal persecution.
During the last years of Vandal rule in Africa, St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe, exercised a fortunate influence over the princes of the Vandal dynasty, who were no longer completely barbaric, but whose culture, wholly Roman and Byzantine, equalled that of their native subjects. Yet the Vandal monarchy, which had lasted for nearly a century, seemed less firmly established than at its beginning.

Christian Mosaic at the "National Museum of Bardo" (Tunisia)

The Vandal kingdom allowed the creation of some Romano-Berber states at the borders, but fell a century later, conquered by the Byzantine empire, which established an African prefecture, and later the Exarchate of Carthage. Nearly all Berbers were Christians since the third century, to the point that one of the most famous and important Christian saints was Berber: Saint Augustine. But in the Atlas mountains was still worshipped some form of paganism and idolatry when the Vandals arrived: Pope Gelasius I, a Berber born in what is now Kabylia, successfully converted to Christianity around 492 AD all the Berbers of the Aures (who were the last to defend Romanised north western-Africa with their queen Kahina from the Moslem invasion).
Indeed these Berber states are often called "Neo-Latin" because were post-Roman (meaning: no more under the Roman Empire authority), with a local and differentiated Latin language mixed with many local Berberisms, and with a Christian religion. Some of their Christian kings (like those of the "Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum") left the monuments called Djeddars. Furthermore during the fifth century the area was fully Christianized, according to historian Theodore Mommsen, and the kings were probably buried in a mausoleum called "Djeddar" in Berber. Historian Gabriel Camps thinks that some Berber kings (like Masuna and Garmul) were buried in a Djeddar near Frenda.
In 533 AD a Byzantine fleet appeared off the coast of Africa. The battle of Ad Decimum won the initiative for the invading Byzantines. The taking of Carthage, the flight of vandal king Gelimer, and the battle of Tricamarum, about the middle of December, completed their destruction and their disappearance.
The victor, Belisarius, had but to show himself in order to reconquer the greater part of the coast, and to place the cities under the authority of the Emperor Justinian. A council held at Carthage in 534 AD was attended by 220 bishops representing all the churches. It issued a decree forbidding the public exercise of Arian worship. The establishment of Byzantine rule, however, was far from restoring unity to the African Church. The Councils of Carthage brought together the bishops of Proconsular Africa, Byzacena, and Numidia, but those of Tripolitana and Mauretania were absent. Mauretania had, in fact, regained its political autonomy, during the Vandal period. A native dynasty had been set up, and the Byzantine army of occupation never succeeded in conquering a part of the country so far from their base at Carthage.
The reign of Justinian marks a sad period in the history of the African Church, due to the part taken by the clergy in the matter known as that of the Three Chapters. While one part of the episcopate wasted its time and energies in fruitless theological discussions, others failed of their duty. It was under these circumstances that Pope Gregory the Great (icon & orthodox article here & here) sent men to Africa, whose lofty character contributed greatly to increase the prestige of the Roman Church. The notary Hilarus became in some sense a papal legate with authority over the African Bishops. He left them in no doubt as to their duty, instructed or reprimanded them, and summoned councils in the Pope's name. With the help of the metropolitan of Carthage, he succeeded in restoring unity, peace, and ecclesiastical discipline in the African Church, which drew strength from so fortunate a change even so surely as the See of Rome regained in respect and authority. However Justinian promoted Christianity in Berber Africa: for example, he made in Septem (actual Ceuta) an important Christian center in Mauretania Tingitana, as recent discovered ruins of a Roman basilica showed.^[8]
fragments of Byzantine Africa into the hands of the Arabs. The Berber, or native tribes, which before this had seemed on the way to conversion to the Gospel, passed in a short time, and without resistance, to Islam. Carthage was taken by the Arabs in 695 AD. Two years later it was re-entered by the Byzantine Patrician John, but only for a brief period; in 698 AD Hassan once more took possession of the capital of Northern Africa, destroying totally the city. He killed half the inhabitants and enslaved the other half, erasing forever in this way the main center of Greco-Roman presence and influence in the Maghreb.This renewal of vigour, however, was not of long duration. The Arabs, who had conquered Egypt, made their way into Byzantine Africa. In 647 AD the Caliph Othman gave orders for a direct attack on Berber Africa, and an army that had gained a victory at Sbeitla against Byzantine and Christian Berber armies, withdrew on payment of a large ransom. Some years of respite ensued. The African Church showed its firm attachment to orthodoxy by remaining loyal to Pope Martin I (icon) (649-655 AD) in his conflict with the Emperor of Byzantium. The last forty years of the seventh century witnessed the gradual fall of the

After the Muslim conquest of Byzantine-ruled north Africa
 

The conventional historical view is that the conquest of North Africa by the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate between AD 647–709 effectively ended Catholicism (=Orthodox Church) in Africa for several centuries.^[9] The prevailing view is that the Church at that time lacked the backbone of a monastic tradition and was still suffering from the aftermath of heresies including the so-called Donatist heresy, and this contributed to the earlier obliteration of the Church in the present day Maghreb.^[10] Some historians contrast this with the strong monastic tradition in Coptic Egypt, which is credited as a factor that allowed the Coptic Church to remain the majority faith in that country until around after the 14th century. (...)

Our note: After 1054 AD in Western Europe we have the familiar Roman Catholicism. Therefore, the continuity of the original article is no about Orthodox Church.
About ancient Catholic Church (Orthodox Church, before Papacy), please see:
Basic Points of Difference between the Orthodox Church and Papism (Catholic Church) 
The ancient Christian Church - About Orthodox Church in the West World...
Historia ya Kanisa la Orthodox : Ukristo barani Afrika
 
See also
The Orthodox Church of Alexandria & the Patriarchate of Alexandria 
The holy anarchists... in the Egyptian Desert
Orthodox Monasticism

Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa (& the Decolonization of Africa)
"THE WAY" - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith  
Theosis (deification): The True Purpose of Human Life
Protestants ask: Why be Orthodox?

ROMANITY, OR BARBARITY?

South Sudan: "This is a desert place..." - "Miracles work through faith and patience"

"This is a desert place..."

† Narcissus of Nubia

Orthodox Missionary Fraternity • South Sudan • Diocese of Nubia

 

The word of God on the eighth Sunday of Matthew is very remarkable. There are two sentences that literally describe the mission work in the countries in Africa and a miracle, that of the multiplication of the loaves, which proves beyond the slightest doubt that this missionary work is God’s work.
The disciples respond to the Lord’s commandment «you give them to eat …» We do not have enough food for so many people, only five loaves and two fish. It is obvious that human logic, «arithmetic reasoning», is limited, whereas God’s logic removes all kinds of limitations and not only makes the five loaves and the two fish be enough to feed more than five thousand people but also has an abundance left over.
In this excerpt there are two points of significance that are worthy of attention, reveal what is human and what is divine and how church work, in this case missionary work, is accomplished according to human standards.
The disciples give this minimum and meager amount of food (five loaves and two fish), which, however, is necessary for God to take and bless in order to multiply it into abundance. In fact, this is what happens on the Mission field: the slender means available in the work of the Orthodox Church, within Mission are taken by God and are multiplied, thus being enough to meet a multitude of needs.
It is also important to mention that God, after the multiplication of the scanty food, does not distribute it among the people Himself, but He gives it back to the disciples and those in turn to the hungry people. This way, Christ shows us that cooperation between God and man is a necessary condition for the realization of this project called «the Miracle of the Mission».

CC (BY-SA) WorldFish

The morals drawn from this are the following: First, it was necessary for the Apostles to have those few things, which was a precondition for the occurrence of the miracle. Second, God reveals that the work of the Church, in this case the Mission, is a divine work done by human hands.
Dear members of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity and our companions in this work,

As for our lot from God, that was to minister in Africa; this is why we gladly give whatever little we have, a little bit of hard work, a little bit of strength, a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of spirituality, patience, conscientiousness, skills, generally a little bit of everything. And God gives it back multiplied so that we can minister to His people’s needs.

This work can only be realized with your own love and support to the Mission of Sudan.
These were just a few heartfelt words I wanted to say.

 

"Miracles work through faith and patience"

 

Orthodox Missionary Fraternity • South Sudan • Diocese of Nubia

Fulfill your ministry (II Timothy 4:5)

By the Grace of God and the blessings of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria Theodore II, I set out on Easter Tuesday on a journey to the capital of South Sudan that was meant to hold a lot of pleasant surprises mixed with plenty of difficulties.
First of all, the rainy season has started in South Sudan and malaria is on the rise due to mosquito bites, which multiply during this period. Naturally, I would not stay on the sidelines myself , since every inch of my body –whether it be hands or feet– was bitten despite the protective measures which are known to everyone. In any case, not contracting malaria is indeed a miracle, and such a miracle was accomplished in me. Thank God!
Then, the almost incessant rainfall on a practically non-existent road network made our moving from one place to another seem like Calvary. You set out for a particular destination planning to fulfill a mission, which anywhere else on this planet would take two hours at most, but here in this place it takes a whole week.

CC BY-NC Rita Willaert

It is considered an achievement to bring a job to a successful completion, especially when this job is related to civil services in Africa; however, the miracle happened! The recognition procedure of the Orthodox Church from the State of Southern Sudan has been completed, therefore we have become an active member of the Southern Sudan Church Council (SSCC).
I cannot hide the joy and satisfaction I feel as well as the personal need for praising God’s name and glorifying Him, which, apart from the effort we made for the preparation required, God showed the right persons at that critical moment for a faster and more effective completion of the procedure to reach the desired result of recognition within a few months, which under different circumstances would take years.
Another big surprise awaited me, when I arrived in Wau town and headed for our parish community, where I was welcomed at the door of the Prophet Elijah church by the faithful, who were holding the Greek flag in their hands.
I was wondering how people, who had never visited Greece and might not even know its location on the map, had been able to understand the symbolism of holding the Greek flag in a distant foreign land and feeling Greek. History though shows that this is what Hellenism has always been, cities scattered throughout the world and not trapped in a geographical place, which proves its anthropocentric character and makes it known as an ecumenical culture.

CC BY-NC-ND Amy the Nurse

The first example is shown, however, by the Church, since Orthodoxy does not remain trapped in a place and its people but it opens itself, goes into the whole world, seeking man, wherever he is and offers him the possibility of meeting with God without constraint, and also it creates sacred churches (as the meeting places of God and man) scattered around the world, demonstrating the universality of this faith, which lives in harmony within nations and states but has never been a nation or state Itself ; it has always been the Kingdom of God’s love.
The next day I conducted the Paschal Divine Liturgy and baptized four young children. At the end of the sermon I stressed that for us Orthodox Christians the experience of God in the world is the life of the Church through its sacraments.
Τhen, we had a meal all together and after that, I showed them pictures of my first visit to them, which gave them much joy given that there is neither TV nor cinema there.
When I returned to Juba, the capital city, I visited and met with the tribal chief of the Magala region, the Sultan (King) Tarcisio, and thanked him for the donation of the four-acre land. I also assured him that their donation would return to the broader region with many benefits from the construction of the Saint Mark Mission Center, which would include obstetrics clinic and primary school.

CC BY-NC-ND United to End Genocide

Thus, with the Church recognition and the land title settlement, we are starting the procedures for the submission of the architectural plans and the issuance of the building permit from the competent services for our mission center.
The miracles of faith are also a product of patience of the people to whom the miracle occurs. It is there that faith is tested and man surrenders to God’s will. “For where God wills, the order of nature yields”, and this is our faith in our project in South Sudan, where after 38 years of ecclesiastical absence (due to the civil war), the Good God gave vitality to His Church. Just as the paralytic in the Pool of Siloam had to wait for this encounter with God for 38 years, so our brothers in South Sudan took 38 years in order to find the place of their meeting with God and their Church alive, and now they are moving towards a better future in their much-afflicted country.
Please remember this long-suffering nation in your wishes and prayers so that God may grant His blessings upon them. Amen!

Bishop Narkissos Gammoh of Nubia

See 

«I lit the charcoal briquettes at the one end of a magazine of bullets from a kalashnikov, placed the incense on top of them and censed the people accompanying me»

News & articles from Orthodox Diocese of Nubia here.

Natives Africans bishops in the Orthodox Church

Olders

Christopher Reuben Spartas (Bishop Christopher Nilopolian)

Orthodoxwiki

Christopher Reuben, also known as Christopher Reuben Spartas and Spartas Reubuen Mukasa, was an African convert bishop to Orthodox Christianity during the early part of the twentieth century who through his own efforts, after learning about the African Orthodox movement in America, introduced Orthodox Christianity to East Africa. His search and conversion were instrumental in the continued expansion of Orthodoxy in East Africa.

Life 

Reuben Mukasa Mugimba Sobanja was born about the year 1900 in Uganda in East Africa. His father was Yakobo Damulira Mugimbalume and mother, Maliza Mukomutibwa, a Christian woman. A member of the Muganda ethnic group, Reuben was baptized and raised in the Anglican Church. As a teen, Reuben adopted the name "Spartas" because he had been told that he exemplified the spirit of ancient Greek Sparta. Spartas received his education in the Anglican mission schools before continuing his education at King's College in Budo, Uganda where he discovered that the Anglican Church was an offshoot of the older, true church. After his graduation in 1920, Spartas joined the Kings African Rifles where he met a fellow Muganda, Obadiah Basajjakitalo. In 1925, the two left the Rifles to found the Anonya Private School, near Degeya.
Also in 1925, Spartas learned about the African Orthodox Church movement that grew out of the 1921 religious movement in America by George Alexander McGuire. Attracted by the goal and ideals of the AOC to become a universal black church affiliated with the ancient Christian Church which was not known for racism or colonialism, Spartas wrote to George McGuire. In 1928, McGuire replied and referred Spartas to Daniel Alexander who was the archbishop of the AOC in South Africa. After meeting with Bp. Daniel, Spartas left the Anglican Church in January 1929 and began an AOC presence in Uganda. During the years 1931 and 1932, Abp. Alexander visited Uganda and ordained Spartas and Basajjakitalo to the priesthood.
During a visit by Abp. Alexander to Spartas, a Greek expatriate named Vlahos asked Alexander to baptize his children. Having noted that the baptismal service conducted by Alexander did not follow proper Orthodox form, Vlahos advised Spartas to contact Nicodemos Sarikas, an Orthodox archimandrite, serving the Greek community in Tanganyika (now Tanzania). This Spartas did. After Sarikas visited Spartas in Uganda, Spartas broke his relationship with Alexander and sought, under advise of Sarikas, recognition by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. Since his letters were not answered, Spartas and his friends, including Irenaeus Majimbi and Theodoros Nankyamas, journeyed to Alexandria. There, they spent several years learning what Holy Orthodoxy was and, ultimately, being ordained and sent back to Uganda.
In 1942, Metropolitan Nicholas of Axum visited Uganda as a representative of the Patriarch of Alexandria. Ethnically an Arab, Metr. Nicholas was more concerned about ministry to people beyond the Greek community than had been the Greek hierarchs. Thus, he recommended the reception of the African Orthodox into the Patriarchate, an action that was delayed until 1946, after World War II ended.
In a visit to the Patriarchate in Alexandria in 1946, Spartas was named vicar general for Uganda. In September 1953, through Father Spartas' efforts, the African Greek Orthodox Church was registered in Uganda, and in 1959 the Patriarchate of Alexandria established an archdiocese in East Africa that encompassed Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, led by Metropolitan Nicholas (Valeropoulos) of Irinoupolis.
With recognition, the labors of Fr. Spartas and his friends began as they recognized that spreading the faith also meant educating the people. He began teaching English language in the school he founded that was officially private and belonged to the Church. Teaching English in Uganda at that time ran into the opposition of the colonial British government that tried to maintain its monopoly on education with a law that allowed teaching English only in state schools. This did not stop Fr. Spartas, for which he spent five years in prison.
To gain support of the new churches in East Africa, Fr. Spartas and some of his fellow priests traveled the Greece and the United States to ask for missionary help and financial aid. In 1972, the three native Ugandans were elected to become bishops, Fr. Spartas as Bishop Christopher Nilopolian, Theodore Nankyamas, and Arthur Gatung’u was Gathunna.
17 December 1972 he was consecrated auxiliary bishops of Neilopoleos and appointed vicar bishop of Metropolis of Eirinopolis.
Bishop Christopher reposed in 1982. 

More in The Orthodox Church in Uganda, an outgrowth of indigenous self discovery

George (Gathuna), bishop of Nitria

In June 1937 he was ordained as a priest by Bishop Daniel William Alexander. In the 1930s a spontaneous movement of indigenous Africans towards the Orthodox Church began in Uganda under the leadership of a former Anglican, Reuben Spartas. In 1946 the fathers Spartas and Obadiah visiting Kenya. On their own autonomous motivation the "African Orthodox Church of Kenya" came into communion with the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the head of this Church Arthur Kaduna was ordained the first Kenyan Orthodox priest named George. Also in the 1950s, fought, along with many orthodox priests in the movement for independence from colonial Kenya (At the same time, the protestant and catholic priests called the uprising a rebellion of pagans and savages). Kaduna spent 10 years in prison, along with leader of the Kikuyu tribe and country's future president Jomo Kenyatta. The Orthodox communities in East Africa that had been founded under his leadership were organized into the Metropolis of Irinoupolis with headquarters in Nairobi in 1958. He was first Bishop of Kenya and the first Kenyan Missionary to the people of Bunyore. In 1972 he was elected titular Bishop of Nitria, Assistant Bishop of the Metropolis of Eirenoupolis. He was consecrated on 25th February 1973 at st. Paul, Kagira.  
In 1974 Bishop George Gathuna, hence the split in the Orthodox Church into African and Greek Orthodox. On 30th November 1979 Bishop George (Gathuna) was defrocked, caused by what he called a problem of leadership and authority. However, the Patriarchate accused him of a lack of vision. Following his defrocking Bishop George (Gathuna) joined a schismatic group under a bishop in Greece that followed the old calendar (Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili - Holy Synod in Resistance). Several other Orthodox Christians in Kenya followed him. 17th November 1986 he was was reconsecrated as the Bishop of the African Orthodox Church of Kenya, Given the name Niphon Kigundu. On July 16, 1987, the defrocked Bishop George Gathuna reposed, and his burial was attended by Metropolitan Cyprianos from the Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece. Eventually however, the schism was healed, and on November 1, 2006, Bishop George Gathuna of Nitria was reinstated posthumously by Patriarch Theodoros II and the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

Sources

• http://o-nekros.blogspot.ru/2012/12/blog-post_7434.html
• Amos Masaba Akunda Orthodox Christian dialogue with Banyore culture
• GEORGE (Gathuna), Bishop of Nitria. Orthodox Research Institute. Retrieved: 2013-04-19.
• Memorial service of the late Bishop George Athur Gatung'u Gathuna  

More in The Orthodox Church in Kenya & the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School of Makarios III
News & articles from Orthodox Kenya here.

Theodore (Nankyama) of Kampala

Orthodoxwiki

His Eminence Theodoros (Nankyamas) of Kampala was the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Kampala and All Uganda under the jurisdiction of the Church of Alexandria from 1995 to 1997. A native of Uganda, Metr. Theodoros was among the first three Ugandans consecrated to the episcopacy as part of the patriarchate's mission to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Photo from the holy liturgy for his soul, in Thessaloniki, Greece (see here)

Life

Metr. Theodoros was born in Tweyanze, Monde, Uganda about the year 1924. He became associated with Fr. Spartas and the group of Ugandans who had discovered Orthodox Christianity. At the age 21, he was sent to study at the patriarchate in Alexandria, Egypt, initially from 1945 to 1948 at the Kaniskerion School and then at the Photios II College from 1948 to 1954. In 1954, he entered the Theological School of the University of Athens. After his graduation in 1959, Theodoros studied for two years at Oxford University under a scholarship from the World Council of Churches. In 1961, Theodoros returned to Alexandria where he was ordained to the priesthood before returning to Uganda. In 1969, Father Theodoros was raised to the dignity of archimandrite. In 1972, Fr. Theodoros was elected bishop of Naukratis by the Holy Synod of the patriarchate of Alexandria as auxiliary bishop to the Metropolitan of Irinoupolis in East Africa.
In November 1994, Bishop Theodoros was elected Metropolitan of the newly established Archdiocese of Kampala and All Uganda that was formed from a restructuring of the Archdiocese of Irinoupolis. He established his see at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Namungoona[1], a suburb of Kampala. The first African elected metropolitan, his tenure as the ruling hierarch occurred during a time of great stress in Uganda from the rule of dictatorships and civil war. Through this chaos, Metr. Theodoros strove to improve the status of his faithful. Obtaining scholarships, he was able to send young Ugandans to Greece, Romania, and the United States to be educated in various fields. As these students returned to Uganda, they assisted in rebuilding and revitalizing the church.
After his repose, Metr. Theodoros was succeeded by Metr. Jonah (Lwanga) in 1997. 

Today

Jonah (Lwanga) of Kampala  

Orthodoxwiki

 

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Jonah (Lwanga) is the Archbishop of Kampala and All Uganda, in central Africa, part of the Church of Alexandria. His see is Kampala, with jurisdiction over all Uganda.
 
Biography  

The future Archbishop was born in Degeya in 1945 to an Orthodox family. Fr. Obadiah Kabanda Basajakitalo was his grandfather. From 1952 to 1964, he completed his general education in Bulemezi and Kyaddondo, Uganda and then departed that year to study at the Ecclesiastical School of Crete, until 1968. Immediately following graduation from the Ecclesiastical School he continued studies at the University of Athens, graduating in 1978 with a degree in Theology and Philosophy.
In 1981, he was ordained to the diaconate, followed the next year by ordination to the priesthood. He then served under Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) of Kenya as the dean of the Archbishop Makarios III Patriarchal Seminary. During this time, he was elevated to archimandrite. On January 27, 1992, he was consecrated Bishop of Bukoba. On May 12, 1997, he was elected by the Holy Synod as Archbishop of Kampala and All Uganda, succeeding Metropolitan Theodoros (Nankyamas).
During 1999, His Eminence Jonah made a lecture tour in the United States in which he described his experiences and struggles as a missionary in Uganda. He visited over 18 parishes throughout the United States. 

News & articles from Orthodox Uganda here.

Ieronymos (Muzeeyi) of Mwanza

Orthodoxwiki

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Ieronymos (Jeronymos) of Mwanza is Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Mwanza, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. 

 

Life  

His Eminence Ieronymos was born on March 18, 1963 in Bulopa, Busoga, Uganda. He studied Theology at the University of Athens between 1986 and 1991. He continued with his post-graduate studies in Canon Law also at the University of Athens from 1992 to 1996. He was ordained deacon and priest during 1996. During 1996 and 1997, he served as Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Kampala followed by serving in the same position at the Diocese of Bukoba in Tanzania during 1997 through 1999. He was consecrated Bishop of Bukoba on November 23, 1999, and then was elevated to Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Mwanza on November 23, 2007. 

Metropolitan Jeronymos at the Bukoba Diocese Center overlooking Lake Victoria

From the website of the Orthodox Church in Tanzania

Born in Bulopa Busoga, Uganda on March 18, 1962 into an Orthodox family, Jeronymos Muzeeyi was raised within the loving arms of the Church. Yet surrounding him was the political chaos and bloodshed of the Idi Amin regime. Jeronymos attended Kasaka Primary School, Chwa II Memorial College and Kololo Senior Secondary School. He was very close to Metropolitan Theodoros (Nankyamas) of Uganda and stayed at the Mission Center in Namungona for seven years where he learned the Orthodox way of life as a young teen.
Jeronymos's dedication, his quiet demeanor and spiritual depth were obvious to all and he was sent by Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos, now the Archbishop of Albania, to study at the School of Theology of the University of Athens in Greece. Jeronymos graduated in 1996 with a B.Th. degree and then continued further studies in canon law. He was ordained to the diaconate on July 1, 1995 by His Grace, Bishop Theodoros Kyrineos, now the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, and then to the priesthood on February 1, 1996 by Metropolitan Iakovos of Argos. He returned to Uganda where he served as the Vicar General of Kampala for a year and then was assigned to serve as Vicar General of the Diocese of Bukoba in Tanzania, 1997-1999.
Elevated to the office of Bishop to serve the newly established Diocese of Bukoba on December 11, 1999 by the late Patriarch Petros of Alexandria, Bishop Jeronymos has worked hard to grow the Orthodox Church in Tanzania. New churches continue to be built, a seminary has been established and regular youth and women's seminars enrich the faith of the new believers. Through this strengthening of their faith, people then reach out to bring others into the life of the Church. Fluent in Greek, English, Swahili, Kiganda and Kisogha, Bishop Jeronymos has been successful in building bridges with Orthodox Christians from all over the world.
In recognition of his pastoral and missionary work, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria elevated Bishop Jeronymos to the rank of Metropolitan of Mwanza on November 23, 2007. 

More in The Orthodox Church in Tanzania

News & articles from Orthodox Diocese of Mwanza here.

Innocent (Byakatonda) of Bujumbura

 

Οrthodoxwiki
Video from Istorie Religie Civilizatii TVR Romania

His Grace Bishop Innocent (Byakatonda) of Bujumbura, also Innokentios of Bujumbura, is the ruling hierarch of the Diocese of Burundi and Rwanda under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. 
At the November 21, 2012 Fall meeting of the Holy Synod of the Church of Alexandria Archimandrite Innocent (Byakatonda), an Ugandan Orthodox clergyman who had been serving at the Cathedral of Ss. Cosmas and Damian in Nairobi, Kenya, was elected Bishop of Bujumbura. 
Note of our weblog: The new bishop fights full of love for his tormented people. This is why the Orthodox Church in Rwanda and Burundi is growing fast.

See here for news & articles from the Orthodox Diocese of Burundi & Rwanda.
In Facebook here.

Neophytos Kongai, bishop of Nitria

In the Orthodox Vineyard of Africa

Photo from here

His Grace the Auxiliary Bishop of Vereniki Neophytos Kongai was born in 1970 in the village of Kesengei, in the Nandi district of Kenya. He holds a degree from the “Archbishop Makarios III” Patriarchal Academy in Kenya. He was ordained Deacon on 13 September 1998 and Priest on 27 of the same month from the then Metropolitan Seraphim of Kenya, now of Zimbabwe and Angola. He served in parishes in Nairobi and at the Patriarchal Academy there as Deputy Principal. On 27 February 2005, he was consecrated as Archimandrite by His Eminence Makarios of Kenya. 
In the same year he was awarded a post graduate title in Theological Studies from the Theological College of the Holy Cross in Boston. In 2007 he was tonsured a monk at the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration in Veroia. He is a candidate for a Doctorate in Pastoral Theology, with a scholarship from the Aristoteleian University of Thessaloniki. On 26 November 2014, proposed by His Beatitude, he was elected by the Holy Synod as Auxiliary Bishop of the once brilliant Diocese of Nitria. 

Note of our weblog: The "Auxiliary Bishop" has the same degree of priesthood by the bishop. But the area of his responsibility belongs to another, larger Metropolitanate. 

November 25, 2015:

3 Orthodox Dioceses in Kenya (see here)...

  Photo from here

... The Largest Archdiocese in The whole African Continent

African Orthodox Church of Kenya

"By the Grace of God the Pope and the Patriarch of all Africa Theodoros II and the members of the Holy Synod on 24/11/2015 unanimously elected Archbishop Makarios as Metropolitan of Nairobi and Ex arch of of the Whole of Kenya, Bishop Neofitos Kongai as Bishop of Nyeri-Eastern Kenya. In the same spirit Fr. Archimandrite Athanasios Akunda was elected Bishop of Kisumu-Western Kenya. We are humbled as we thank the holy Synod of our beloved Patriarchate for this great gift to the Church of Kenya and all Africa. we thank you for your prayers and support. Pray for us."

See also

About Metropolitan Narkissos of Nubia (from Jordan)

Curriculum Vitae of His Eminence Metropolitan Narkissos of Nubia (from here)

The Elected Metropolitan Narkissos of Nubia, born Samer Gammoh, was born in 1968 in Amman, Jordan,where he completed his schooling at the National Orthodox School. He holds a degree from the Theological faculty of the Universtiy of Athens (1988-1992), where he also completed post-graduate studies in Dogmatic History (1992-1994). He was tonsured a monk on 14/2/1994 by the late Metropolitan Iakovos (Gkinis) of Nicaea. He was ordained Deacon by the same Metropolitan on 15 February 1994 and as Priest by Metropolitan Vartholomaios of Megara on 11 June 1994 at the Holy Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Megara where he served for 16 consecutive years as Parish Priest and Preacher. Seconded to the ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa by His Beatitude Theodoros II Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria on 16/6/2009, he went on to serve at the Patriarchal Monastery of St Savvas the Sanctified where he lived and as Principal of the “St Athanasios” Pariarchal Academy in Alexandria. At the same time he was Secretary for Arabic issues at the Chief Secretariat of the Patriarchate, Preacher and in charge of the catechetical work of the Arabic speaking parishes in Alexandria. On 23rd November 2013 proposed by His Beatitude, he was unanimously elected as Metropolitan of Nubia. 

News & articles from Orthodox Diocese of Nubia here.

See also

Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa (& the Decolonization of Africa)
KUTAFUTA IMANI LAKUNYOLOKA – AMA KI ORTHODOKSI
African Orthodox Priests