Eastern Orthodoxy in Madagascar

Last updated

Eastern Orthodoxy in Madagascar refers to adherents and religious communities of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Madagascar. Eastern Orthodox Christians in Madagascar are under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa. [1]

History

Archdioceses and Dioceses of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa Dioceses and Archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and of All Africa.png
Archdioceses and Dioceses of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa

From its first beginnings, Christianity in Madagascar was spreading slowly. First, because of the people being faithful followers of the tribal religions. Even converted followers may show great influence of ancient tribal worship. Also, many settlements are isolated, so that missionaries can't visit them very often and locals may return to their cults.

For many African countries, Eastern Orthodox Christianity was brought there by Greek traders. In 1953 in the capital Antananarivo, Greek colonists built an Eastern Orthodox temple. After the 1972 military coup, the church's priest was deported together with other foreigners.

Eastern Orthodoxy was first brought for the local population here in 1994 by hieromonk Nectarios (Kellis) who arrived from Australia. After 5 years here, there were more than 12 thousand Eastern Orthodox Christians and those preparing to be christened.

In Antananarivo, the capital, the temple of the Assumption of Mary was built, together with eparchial directorate and orphanage for several hundred children.

On 26 of March 1995, during the Cross-Bow Week, in the Assumption Cathedral, Metropolitan Zimbabwean Chrysostom ordained deacon Ioann Rikotondrazafi as a presbyter. He is the first Malagasy priest. He became a deacon in the capital of Zimbabwe, the city of Harare. He studied the ministry for three months before that.

The other local resident, Jean-Kristos Tsakanias, was sent to study in the seminary in Nairobi, Kenya.

On the island by 1995 were 63 Eastern Orthodox parishes, seven schools and 12 priests who were locals. The Eastern Orthodox Church was recognized by the government of Madagascar.

With the blessing of Patriarch Peter VII on 23 of September 1997 the Holy Synod of Alexandria Church elected Father Nectarios the first bishop of Madagascar. Madagascar became the independent eparchia, before that it was part of Zimbabwean metropolia.

The Eastern Orthodox mission guides several villages and settlements, some of them are fully converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. One of them is the village Ambovandramanesi. It is one of the first villages visited by Father Nectarios. It has one of the strongest Eastern Orthodox communities. This is confirmed by a case which happened here. Once there came to the village two American Baptist missionaries. They sermonized for three days. Finally they promised to build a church, a school, and a hospital if everyone were converted. But the elder of the village speaking for all of the locals answered them: "We could demand your departure at the very first day, but we listened to what you wanted to say. Now, when you have finished your sermon, we ask you to leave our village and never come back. We don't need your churches, schools and hospitals as we are Orthodox Christians". The locals were not christened at the time and had not given a promise to build something.

Later a medical ambulatory clinic was built on a plot of land gifted by Greek Consul. Here also the hierarch Nectarios planned to build a temple, a seminary, a woman cloister, and an eye clinic.

Bishop Nectarios also ordained the first Malagasy nun named Christodula.

Eastern Orthodoxy is most frequently accepted by poorer people. In the villages and settlements people live in huts made of palm leaves; chapels and temples are usually of the same material. Local priests serve in these temples and chapels straggled in rural areas.

In the missions there is a lot of work, and lack of workers. Eastern Orthodox missions are the poorest in terms of the resources, but they try to participate in aid programs.

Father Nectarios died in a helicopter crash together with Patriarch Peter VII and 15 other people on 11 September 2004. They were heading to the Holy Mount Athos on board a Greek Army helicopter.

See also

Related Research Articles

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria international Oriental Orthodox Christian church led by the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of St. Mark

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, servicing Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Alexandrian Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. With approximately 10 million members worldwide, it is the country's largest Christian denomination.

Russian Orthodox Church Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church, headquartered in Moscow, Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'. The ROC, as well as its primate, officially ranks fifth in the Orthodox order of precedence, immediately below the four ancient patriarchates of the Greek Orthodox Church: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. As of 15 October 2018, the ROC suspended communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, having unilaterally severed ties in reaction to the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was finalised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 5 January 2019.

Syriac Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church branched from the Church of Antioch

The Syriac Orthodox Church, officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and informally as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church, that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the Patriarch, heads the church, claiming apostolic succession through Saint Peter in the c. 1st century, according to sacred tradition. The church upholds miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James, the "brother" of Jesus. Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria

Petros VII was the Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa from 1997 to 2004. During his reign, Petros VII was credited with reviving the Greek Orthodox churches in Africa by increasing the churches' attendance of about 250,000 people.

Pope Anianus of Alexandria 1st century Patriarch of Alexandria

Pope Anianus was the 2nd Patriarch of Alexandria. He was ordained by Saint Mark the Evangelist, and was also the first convert Mark won to Christianity in the region.

Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria

Theodore (Theodoros) II (Greek: Πάπας και Πατριάρχης Αλεξανδρείας και πάσης Αφρικής Θεόδωρος Β΄; born Nikolaos Horeftakis, November 25, 1954) is the current Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. He is formally styled His Divine Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, All Egypt and All Africa, Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Prelate of Prelates, the Thirteenth of the Apostles and Judge of the Universe. He is a monk in the Agarathos Holy Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Pope Heraclas of Alexandria Patriarch of Alexandria

Pope Heraclas was the 13th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, reigning 232-248.

Nectarios of Aegina Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Greek saint

Nectarios of Aegina, Greek: Άγιος Νεκτάριος Αιγίνης, Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina, is one of the most renowned Greek saints, venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and officially recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1961. His feast day is celebrated every year on 9 November.

<i>Metousiosis</i>

Metousiosis is a Greek term (μετουσίωσις) that means a change of ousia.

Nectarios Kellis was an Australian Greek Orthodox priest who embarked on a mission in Madagascar in the 1990s, and eventually became the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Madagascar. He was inspired by an appeal in a church magazine for missionaries to revive the Eastern Orthodox Church in Madagascar. There had been two Eastern Orthodox Churches in the country, mostly supported by Greek expatriates, but a military coup in 1972 had resulted in the expulsion of the clergy.

Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, is an autocephalous patriarchate that is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Its seat is in Alexandria and it has canonical responsibility for the entire African continent.

History of the Eastern Orthodox Church

The History of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time.

Eastern Orthodoxy in Hawaii

Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Hawaii began with early Russian missions of the 19th century and continues with multiple Eastern Orthodox churches in the Hawaiian islands.

History of Eastern Christianity

Christianity has been, historically a Middle Eastern religion with its origin in Judaism. Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Middle East, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Far East, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. It is contrasted with Western Christianity which developed in Western Europe. As a historical definition the term relates to the earliest Christian communities and their long standing traditions that still exist.

Eastern Orthodoxy in Uganda

Eastern Orthodoxy in Uganda refers to adherents and religious communities of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Uganda. Majority of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Uganda are under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa.

Christianity in the 5th century Christianity-related events during the 5th century

In the 5th century in Christianity, there were many developments which led to further fracturing of the State church of the Roman Empire. Emperor Theodosius II called two synods in Ephesus, one in 431 and one in 449, that addressed the teachings of Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius and similar teachings. Nestorius had taught that Christ's divine and human nature were distinct persons, and hence Mary was the mother of Christ but not the mother of God. The Council rejected Nestorius' view causing many churches, centered on the School of Edessa, to a Nestorian break with the imperial church. Persecuted within the Roman Empire, many Nestorians fled to Persia and joined the Sassanid Church thereby making it a center of Nestorianism. By the end of the 5th century, the global Christian population was estimated at 10-11 million. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was held to clarify the issue further. The council ultimately stated that Christ's divine and human nature were separate but both part of a single entity, a viewpoint rejected by many churches who called themselves miaphysites. The resulting schism created a communion of churches, including the Armenian, Syrian, and Egyptian churches, that is today known as Oriental Orthodoxy. In spite of these schisms, however, the imperial church still came to represent the majority of Christians within the Roman Empire.

Articles related to Christianity include:

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church Oriental Orthodox Church in Eritrea

The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Shenouda III, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

Timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece (1453–1821)

This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.

Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians is the persecution faced by church, clergy and adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church because of religious beliefs and practices. Orthodox Christians have been persecuted in various periods when under the rule of non-Orthodox Christian political structures. In modern times, anti-religious political movements and regimes in some countries have held an anti-Orthodox stance.

References

Sources