Orthodox
Kenya: My Journey Home
My journey began when my
17 year old daughter and I were recently part of the Orthodox Christian Mission
Center (OCMC) 2014 Teaching Mission to Kenya from October 27 to November 8,
2014. Archbishop Makarios of Kenya, who is under His Beatitude Theodoros
II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, warmly hosted us. From the moment our team was offered
hospitality at Archbishop Makarios’s home, to our travels in and around
Nairobi, I felt that I was in back home in Greece about 30+ year’s ago. The beautiful flowers, the mountains, the
genuine respect of the people for other humans, the décor of His Eminence’s
home, as well as the metal blue gates of peoples’ homes, reminded me of my
favorite memories of Greece that made it feel like home. The heartfelt hospitality
brought me back to a time and place that warmly touched my soul so many years
ago.
His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and
Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, His Eminence Makarios Metropolitan of
Kenya, Kenyan clergy, the teaching staff and the students of the Academy.
[This picture was taken two weeks before
our arrival, so these are the seminarians that we now know well.]
We both had life shifting
experiences with our fellow Orthodox brothers and sisters in Christ in Africa,
and continue to be impacted by the people and our experiences with them. We
were given the blessing to live, for just over a week, in an oasis or mini
paradise in the middle of the largest slum in Africa - Kibera. That mini paradise,
filled with beautiful flowers, plants, and people, is the Orthodox Patriarchal
Ecclesiastical School: Makarios III Archbishop of Cyprus Seminary. The seminary
serves students from all of Africa. Also located in this oasis is the Orthodox
College of Africa, the St. Clement of Alexandria School (300 Pre-K to 8th
grade students), a Medical Clinic, a field, and an Orthodox Cathedral dedicated
to All-Saints. We also visited another school, The Child of God Academy,
deeper in the slums.
Kenya was a humbling experience
because it made us realize, at a deeper level what really matters
in life. God’s love is in the relationships, not in the material
things. Home is where we live in CommUNITY with each other, not a building
filled with stuff.
During our time there, we focused on
teaching, sharing, listening, and learning. We began our time with the Kenyan children
in the Divine Liturgy, where all three hundred students sang the entire
service by heart in English, Swahili, and in Greek. There were no chanters or
choirs. At the primary school, we focused our time in lessons about icons,
parables, sacraments, and the Holy Cross. The children were each able to make
their own beaded cross to wear and protect them, from the generous donations
given by some of our sponsors. Many children did not have their own cross and
it was touching to see them wear it throughout the week. We had the precious
opportunity to exchange thoughts, play, and be with the children. Some students had truly inquisitive
questions. They even taught Spyridoula, my daughter, some of their African
dancing games and in turn she taught them the Greek Dance: hasaposeviko, which was a lot of fun
to watch.
At the seminary, we attended classes,
services, meals, and peripatetic walks with the students and staff. I taught
two courses and offered an after dinner reflection on how Christ and the Church
teach by word and deed. Spyridoula, along with two other team members, helped
lead and answer questions in a symposium that focused greatly on youth ministry
and Orthodoxy in America. From these discussions, we are now jointly trying to
find ways to implement youth programs, even a summer camp, at the seminary and
at their local parishes. During the symposium, Father Evangelos Thiani, the
Deputy Dean of the Makarios Seminary, brought me to meet the leading Mumma’s
(Mother’s Union) of the Orthodox Church in Kenya, their Philoptochos, in a
village west of Nairobi where they built their headquarters office. Along with a cup of tea and homemade bread
roll, they shared with me the many service projects they are working on, and the
problems they are dealing with. We
shared a warm exchange of issues and possibilities. Both these simultaneous group exchanges,
further developed our relationships with our fellow community family members in
this part of the world. It taught me that the better we know and help others, the
better we can know and help ourselves.
Mumma’s
of the Orthodox Church in Kenya, their Philoptochos in front of their
headquarter building
Each and every seminarian,
representing a number of different African countries, impacted us deeply and
they are our brothers or ndugu in Christ. Everything at the seminary was
a blessing, especially attending church every morning and evening with the
beautiful seminary choir, chanting in Swahili, English, Greek, and some other
African languages, an adult baptism of a seminarian from Rwanda, and the
sharing of fellowship (cultural singing, dancing, stories) at dinner and every
moment of the day that created such strong and deep relationships with every
single seminarian there. We also had all the seminarians make beaded
cross necklaces. The joy they had in
making their own cross and then wearing them, was inexpressible. Many of them did not have their own cross, or
even a Bible of their own. We learned recently, that when some of
the seminarians went home for Christmas and Theophany, they taught children and
others in their hometowns and villages how to make their own crosses as well.
At the Orthodox College of Africa, we
met with their education and business chairs.
I offered a presentation on Learning Theories to current education
students, and three other team members offered other presentations to the
college students. While at the college,
we met and enjoyed a harmonic performance by the Royal Melodious Singers whose
members come from a variety of Christian denominations. Together they are
committed to reaching the nations for the Lord through singing.
Wherever there was an Orthodox
presence in Africa, we also saw the outpouring of love from the people, governments,
and the churches of America, Greece, Cyprus, and around the world. Many of the
icons, vestments, and Greek language books were donated by these nations to fill
their churches, libraries, and schools. Philotimo and philoxenia were found abundantly in the Kenyans and other Africans
we met. The profound respect of one
human toward another, and the intricate role and responsibility toward the
community, were refreshing to experience in today’s narcissistic society.
One Sunday morning, as we were
traveling to Church here in America, we called some of our seminarian friends
from Makarios III Seminary, and they were on their way to vesper services. After that conversation, we contemplated how
awesome it was that at every moment ALL the services and hours of prayer are
being offered at the same time, somewhere around the world, continuously. We are truly connected when we are in “ortho
doxia”, in true worship. We become one
in Christ, in His Church, and in His CommUNITY.
Thus, when we are in true prayer, we are truly home in eternity.
Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis, Ph.D.
May your learning never end and your
love for others weave community!
Vasiliki
and Spyridoula at the OCMC Headquarters
