Orthodox Mission #33

A New Beginning in Southern Tanzania

By Fr. Ermolaos Iatrou Dear friends of the Orthodox Mission, Rejoice in the Lord!

I hope you are all well, in good health, and the Grace of God Almighty, our sweetest Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Blessed Mother, always cover you.

I am writing this letter to you for two reasons. The first reason is to express my deepest gratitude to you for your very important contribution and help so far, all these years that I have served in the Mission in Malawi. I would like to thank you wholeheartedly because without you, the humble work of ministry to our fellow human beings in the place where I served could not have been done.

The second reason why I am writing to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, is to share with you my news and plans for the future. You know that by the grace of God I was made worthy to serve in the Malawian Orthodox Mission for 14 years. I taught our 25 indigenous clergymen this very spirit, and I passed on to them the love of Christ in Orthodoxy and of keeping His commandments. Now, with God’s help, Malawi has 25 priests, a permanent bishop, several churches and schools, and is generally an important spiritual force throughout Africa.

Lately, after 14 years of intense effort, we managed to complete the translation of all the Menaia and all our Liturgical Books into the local 42