Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Orthodox Diakonia (Service) at its best! ...in Albania!

Orthodox Diakonia (Service) at its best! ...in Albania.VTF

August 14, 2016

"I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth." (Ps.33) From the bottom of our heart, let us praise and thank the Almighty God of love, peace and creativity for His manifold gifts to us, the known and the unknown ones.
Twenty-five years have passed from the moment God made me worthy to come to this country, which has suffered so much from injustice and fear. I arrived here in July 1991, as Patriarchal Exarch, after the initiative taken by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is responsible for Churches that are in difficulties. And on a day like today, on August 2, 1992, I took over the responsibility of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania, with the solo intention of rebuilding and restoring the Church in its fullest.
In that period of uncertainty, anxiety and poverty the main message we gave was: ‘We dare to hope!’ Not because we were naïve or we did not count the infinite number of contradictions rising in front of us, but because we believed and still believe that, above all governments which affect our world, there is an Upper Reality, there is Him who has the absolute power over the universe, there is the God of love, the God, revealed to us by His incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. And we dare to hope for "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him." (Jn.4: 16) This assurance has led and still continues to guide our steps and our Church throughout the years.
As it is known, besides rebuilding the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, creating the necessary structures, educating and ordaining local clergy, growing an Orthodox dynamic youth, we also committed several acts of love in various domains, such as health, education, agricultural development, culture, ecology etc.
For example, the work that we are inaugurating today is an act of hope and love. It is the result of our vision to have local financial resources on hand, in order to be able to continue the good social work which until now has been made possible through the contributions and donations made by our friends abroad.
And at this point I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our dear collaborators and to all those who contributed to the completion of this work: The Planning and Administration Group, Mr. J. Paleokrasas, Mr. N. Galeta, Mr. A. Gula, Fr. Jovan Koroveshi and Fr. Harallamb Gjoka; to the designers, Mr. Hasalami and Mr. Sofio, to the supervisors Mr. Asimopulo and Mr. Gjeni; to the entrepreneurs, Actor society and to all others involved in this work, the number of whom outreaches one hundred. Also I would like to extend my thanks to the following societies: Sideral, Antea Cement, Kӧssler, Poseidon, Abb, Systematica, Sintaksa, Koncar, Albaelettrica, Anion, Doko Shpk, NBG Bank.
The work that we are inaugurating today has three basic characteristics: a) it fully responds to the ecological parameters, b) it is based on the use of renewable energy resources, c) it has a character of notable development because it contributes to the increase of electricity production nationwide and d) it has also a social character, because the revenues made from it will be used to strengthen education in the country (through educational institutions, scholarships, etc.), as well as to fulfill philanthropic, cultural and church needs. In general, the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania will be given the economic opportunity to pursue further its mission, to dare, to hope and to strive with all its powers to spread faith, love, peace, and reconciliation between peoples and nations.
Here, I will conclude my speech by emphasizing a truth that I oftentimes repeat: The Orthodox Church does not live for itself. What it is, what it owns, what it does, is intended for the whole society in which the Church is located. The Orthodox Church shares the gifts of God, peace, love and justice with all people. More specifically, the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania from 1992 till the present has substantially contributed to the country's overall development, as well as to its spiritual and social growth with patience, courage, creativity and disinterested love.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephes. 3:20)


http://orthodoxalbania.org/alb/index.php/en-us/lajme-3/blog/4002-archbishop-anastasios-speech-at-the-ceremony-of-inauguration-of-rapuni-3-4-hydropower-station


Sunday, August 7, 2016

OCMC Teaching Mission Team to Albania – Aug. 26-Sept. 5, 2016

Dear Family & Friends in the Lord,

May our Holy Theotokos strengthen us all during the fast period before her feastday!  May our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, transform our hearts and eyes to see Him as He is, the brilliant light of agape and truth!

I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, those of you who have already sent a sponsorship for this mission.  May God bless you with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Please continue to pray for the OCMC Teaching Mission Team to Albania members, the teachers, the students and all of God’s people around the world.  The OCMC Team will focus on teacher training and development for about 40 teachers at the Orthodox Protagonist School in Tirana, Albania, from Aug. 26-Sept. 5, 2016.  I however, will be meeting with Archbishop Anastasios at a later date to discuss the possibility of affiliating with the college and will return September 20, God willing.   

There are three ways to be a part of this mission (diakonia). 
1) Prayer,
2) sending items for school below, and
3) consider sponsoring Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis @

Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC)
220 Mason Manatee Way, St. Augustine, FL 32086

Name ______________________________                
Address ____________________________
City ________________________________                
State _____________ Zip ______________
Amount of sponsorship $ ____________
OR online @ Vasiliki’s link:  http://bit.ly/1TWfb5Q

OCMC will acknowledge your sponsorship donation with a tax deduction receipt.

Items for Protagonist School
I asked the Principal, Presbytera Georgia Gilman Bendo, of the Protagonist School if we could bring anything with us for the school.  Below is her response:

Posters are always nice. The art teacher wants some of those rolls of bulletin board borders. Our elementary school assistant director has asked for the following: hands on materials that teach about the human body (like some sort of set where the students put the various parts together), she also wants any sort of materials that show the stages of growth of plants and animals: like egg, to tadpole, to frog; or seed, to seedling, to plant, etc.  Hands on stuff, manipulatives, not just books.
In the past we have enjoyed using flannel sets of fairy tales and board games with the younger kids. In fact board games and puzzles would be really helpful.  … Again, I stress that this is a "wish" list and I know that it is not likely that you'll have the opportunity to bring much of it... so no expectations here!

Educationally yours in Christ,
Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis 

May your learning never end and may your love for others weave community!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

St. Vladimir’s Seminary Ships Books to Nairobi Seminary

St. Vladimir’s Seminary Ships Books to Nairobi Seminary

7 July 2016 • On Campus
SVS Bookstore staffers prepare to send $15K of books on a 7K journey (Photo: Robin Freeman)SVS Bookstore staffers prepare to send $15K of books on a 7K journey (Photo: Robin Freeman)
On July 6, 2016, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary sent $15,000 worth of theological books on a 7,000-mile journey to the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School of Makarios III in Nairobi, Kenya. The African seminary is the recipient of a tithe of St. Vladimir’s most recent #GivingTuesday Campaign, which took place on December 1, 2015. The Campaign raised a grand total of $148,764, and St. Vladimir’s pledged 10% of that sum to supply the African seminary’s library with much needed books.
“We are thrilled to share the blessing God has given us with our sister seminary in Nairobi,” said the Very Reverend Dr. Chad Hatfield, CEO at St. Vladimir’s. “Our #GivingTuesday donors gave generously to support our campaign, and we want to thank them and others for helping us to spread this blessing abroad.
“For example,” he continued, “we soon realized that including books from other Orthodox publishers—besides our own SVS Press—would greatly benefit the African seminarians, so our bookstore staff contacted St. Tikhon’s Monastery Press, Ancient Faith Publishing, Sebastian Press, Holy Cross Seminary Press, and the Orthodox Christian Education Commission (OCEC), who generously provided their books to us at wholesale cost.
Fr. Chad Hatfield blesses the books bound for Africa (photo: Alexandru Popovici)Fr. Chad Hatfield blesses the books bound for Africa (photo: Alexandru Popovici)
“Also,” Fr. Chad went on, “we are enormously indebted to our fellow Orthodox Christian, Jacob Matthew, president of National Air Cargo (Middle East and Pacific Rim region), the company that took the responsibility of moving these books from the United States to Africa without any cost, as a kind gesture in support of this great initiative for the right cause.
“Every year on #GivingTuesday we are grateful for our donors’ charitable hearts,” he concluded, “and we are finding every year that their gifts keep multiplying as we share them with our Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters around the world.”
View a video of Fr. Chad Hatfield blessing the books prior to their shipment to Nairobi.
Source: http://www.svots.edu/headlines/st-vladimir%E2%80%99s-seminary-ships-books-nairobi-seminary