With the grace of the Most Merciful God and the paternal prayers of His Beatitude Theodoros II Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, the 1st Clergy Liturgical Seminary of the Holy Diocese of Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon too place at the Diocese from the 7th to the 10th September 2017.
On 7th September, His Grace Bishop Panteleimon welcomed those Orthodox Clergy coming from different cities of the country, with he first had lengthy discussions on issues regarding their parish as well as their family life. He then declared the start of the Seminar beginning with an analytical approach to the three important issues: “The spiritual life of a Priest”, “The pastoral duties of a Priest”, “The relations between the Bishop, the Priests and Deacons in Orthodox Ecclesiastical tradition”.
On the next day, 8th September, in the temporary Cathedral of St Dimitrios in Pointe-Noire, an exemplary hierarchal concelebration was served, conducted by the Bishop, which was aimed at the total training of the Clergy on the formal order of the Divine Liturgy, after which they jointly studied meaningful interpretive texts that historically and theologically analyze the Sacrament of the Divine Liturgy.
In the evening, an exemplary Vespers was served by the Bishop, and the completion of the study of the afore-mentioned texts of the Divine Liturgy followed into the night.
On 9th September, an exemplary Hierarchal Divine Liturgy was served, so that the Clergy could come to know the prevailing ecclesiastical and Patriarchal order, exactly. After the daily hosted breakfast, the fathers were taught in detail inside the church the manner of conducting the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation. They then studied theological texts which approach the above Sacraments canonically and interpretatively.
In the evening Great Hierarchal Vespers was also served as an example and then the study regarding the Holy Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation was completed.
On Sunday 10th September 2017, His Grace Panteleimon conducted the Divine Liturgy with the participation of all the clergy of the Holy Diocese, parish choirs, the members of the Diocesan Council, Parish Councils, and many faithful.
The Eucharistic gathering was covered by the Tele-Congo state television, to which the Bishop gave an interview regarding this important event of the 1st Liturgical Seminar which aims at the Liturgical training of the clergy and by extension the spiritual promotion of the local Church of Congo-Brazzaville as a whole. In conclusion, His Grace gave sacred vestments and catechetical writings to the clergy and hosted an official lunch in honour of them all.