The faithful of the Parish of St Fotini in Pointe-Noire do not have a prestigious church, nor a wood carved iconostasis. They hold their Divine Liturgy in the adjacent semi-completed Chapel of St Luke the Doctor, Archbishop of Symferopolis, which is part of the complex of the Medical Diagnostic Centre, also under construction, of the Holy Diocese of Brazzaville. Construction work has been put on hold because of lack of funds, even though malaria, typhoid and all the other topical diseases do not cease their destructive work while waiting for the completion of the Centre… They hit the poor citizens of the densely populated district of Mpaka daily, especially the children.
That is where we celebrated New Year, glorifying the Eternal God. That is “St Basil” brought some clothes and balloons for the little children so that they too could feel the joy of the other children in the world! That is how we all welcomed the New Year together, asking God to enlighten those souls which will contribute whatever they can to the completion of this work, as well as that of the Parish Church of St Fotini.
With God’s grace the tiled roof has been put in place! The Divine Liturgy will therefore be performed in the open construction without dependence on the “will” of the tropical stroms. Glory be to God!
A good and blessed year from the Church of the Congo.