With much love, today we bought and delivered all the materials and equipment our teachers needed at the Primary and Secondary School of our Diocese’s “Samaria” Education Complex, in the parish of Saints Constantine and Helen in Ambovondramanesy, so that they can teach their lessons with even more joy and creativity.
The head of the school, together with the representative of our Diocese, Fr Stavros, show us these simple everyday things, which are nevertheless so important for our teachers and the work they do.
Because behind every lesson, every activity and every effort of our teachers there is a very important goal: to offer our children knowledge, skills and beautiful experiences that will accompany them throughout their lives.
Small things in our eyes, a great help for our teachers and an even greater offering for our children.
With love and support, we are building a better tomorrow for our children.
With special joy and emotion, the Blessing of the Waters of the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar took place in the parish of Saints Constantine and Helen in Ambovondramanesy, marking the start of the new school year at the Primary and Secondary School of our College.
At the urging of the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II and with his blessing, our school was named “Samaria”, in honour of our Samaria National Park, which is in Crete, in our homeland, Chania.
The children saw in reality what they had asked for and dreamed of.
Their question was:
“How did it become a different school in so little time?”
And my answer was:
“Your prayer and your love changed it.”
I wish the pupils, the teachers and the parents a good, blessed and creative school year, with health, progress and many smiles.
Today we received with great joy the books of our Priestly School, the Training School for Young Priests “Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentapolis”.
With the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, and with Saint Nektarios as our guide and protector, we are now ready to open a new chapter in our life and spiritual journey.
The books arrived on time, and with them came the moment we had been waiting for: the Blessing of the Waters and the first bell of our School!
With faith, humility, love and eagerness to learn, we begin this beautiful journey of knowledge and of preparation for priestly ministry.
May Saint Nektarios enlighten us, protect us and intercede for us all.
A good, blessed and fruitful beginning! By the grace of God, we move forward!
Today was the first day for our teachers in our new Secondary School, which opens its doors on 15 September, and in the renovated Primary School, in the parish of Saints Constantine and Helen in Ambovondramanesy.
Our whole Education Centre, the Secondary School and the Primary School, bears the name “Samaria”, in honour of the famous National Park of our Crete and the unique natural and cultural symbol of our land. The name was chosen at the urging of His Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, as a special tribute to Crete, its nature, history, tradition and timeless values.
The representatives of our Diocese were with the teachers to set the timetable and to discuss how we want this model educational institution we are creating to operate.
This is a great and important project, which we hope will bring new life and great prospects to the wider area.
The timetable has now been set and we are all running a real race against time so that everything is ready to welcome our pupils.
Of special significance is the fact that our school will offer, for the first time, Greek lessons too, opening another path for our language, culture and values.
With faith, cooperation and a lot of work, we are moving forward to create a school worthy of the children and of our area. An educational centre that will be a point of reference and will offer our children knowledge, education, values and great prospects for the future.
Today we have special joy and a great blessing from our Christ, as, with the blessing of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II, our Holy Diocese announces with emotion the founding of a Priestly School for the complete theological training and study of our young priests. The School’s facilities will provide full accommodation, lodging and meals for the students, so that they can devote themselves undistracted to their spiritual preparation.
Our new School will bear the name “Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentapolis”, in honour of the great Saint of our Church, who was a Hierarch of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa and had a special love and sensitivity for the education and spiritual formation of young people.
Saint Nektarios served as Director of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School, devoting himself with special dedication to the education and upbringing of the young men destined to serve the Church. For this reason, choosing his name for our new School is a special blessing and honour.
Through the intercession of Saint Nektarios, we pray that this new School may become a place of spiritual cultivation, knowledge and preparation of young clergy, who will serve Christ and His Church with faith, integrity, love and devotion.
The facilities of the new School are already ready, as a special building has been prepared for the accommodation and lodging of the candidates for the priesthood, together with the School’s premises.
With special joy we wish a good and blessed beginning to the Seminary “Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentapolis”.
May our Christ and our Panagia, through the intercessions of Saint Nektarios, enlighten, strengthen and protect all our young priests, so that they may become worthy labourers of the Gospel and continue with faith, love and devotion the work of God in our faraway Diocese.
Classes will begin on 15 September.
With the prayer and blessing of the Church, we wish all the new students strength, good studies and every blessing from God!
With the blessing of our Christ and with the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, today we celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Church of Saint Spyridon in Sambava Ambohimanarina.
Glory to God for all things!
With the blessing of our Christ and of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, today we celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Church of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth in Antalaha Ville.
Glory to God, there too the people are growing in number and our parish is growing every day. On the same site, on the plot where we are digging the well, which with the financial support of the parish of Saint Menas in Thessaloniki will greatly serve the people of the area, we hope, God willing, also to build the Holy Church of Saint Joseph the Hesychast.
With the blessing of our Christ and of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, today we celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga.
A multitude of faithful took part with compunction in the Divine Liturgy, prayed and approached Holy Communion with faith and reverence, receiving the Body and Blood of our Christ.
Glory to God! The people in our Orthodox Church, in our Diocese, are multiplying. Every day more and more people come, and the first fruits of our work and effort are now beginning to show.
This fills us with great joy and pleases us very much, while at the same time it gives us strength and courage to continue our work with even more faith and zeal.
The newly founded Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, from this year on, with special love, pastoral care and practical concern, stands by the priests and their families, supporting their children on the occasion of the start of the new school year.
As part of this initiative, the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar is covering the school costs and enrolment fees of our priests’ children, with graduated financial support depending on the number of children in each family.
As a newly founded Diocese, we wish from the very first year of our journey to show in practice that the priest and his family are not alone. Our Church stands with love, respect and discretion beside their needs, recognising the offering and daily ministry of our priests.
The financial support has already been given to the families, and the joy on the children’s faces is great and moving. At the same time, the warm thanks of the priests and their families to our Diocese are a special joy and encourage us to continue every effort of support with even greater love.
This initiative, carried out for the first time by our newly founded Diocese, expresses our desire to build a Church that is close to people, listens to their needs and gives with love, discretion and sensitivity.
On the occasion of the new school year, we wish all the children of our priests and all the children of our Diocese a blessed, creative and happy school year, full of health, progress and success.
May God bless our children, light their way, strengthen their families and grant everyone a beautiful and fruitful school year.
PUBLICATION by the International Church News Agency “ORTHODOXIA”
Glory to God, the buildings in Diego are progressing normally and, it seems, will be ready very soon, so that we can set up our services there and settle ourselves too at the second centre of our large Diocese.
By the grace and blessing of our Christ and with the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, today we begin the new church year with faith, hope and love.
From our Holy Diocese, on the beautiful and blessed path of the Mission, we continue with strength and zeal the work of our Church, carrying the message of the Holy Gospel and the love of Christ to every person.
May this new church year be a year full of prayer, giving, sacrifice and spiritual fruit. With our Christ as our guide and with the blessing of our Patriarch, let us remain united and continue to serve the missionary work with humility and love.
May our Christ bless our Mission, support all the labourers of the Gospel and light our steps!
With the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa,
Today, the day on which our Holy Church honours the memory of Saint Alexander, we were found worthy, by a special blessing from God and with the blessing of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, to perform, during the Divine Liturgy, the ordination to the priesthood of Father Alexandros Karachalios.
Our joy was especially great, as Fr Alexandros is the first Greek, from Athens, to be ordained a priest in our Diocese, and he comes to offer his strength and his whole life to the Mission.
He is now a valuable co-worker and a valuable helper in the work of our local Church. We pray that the grace of God, who chose him and called him to serve His Church, may always grant him strength, health, patience and special zeal for the Mission, so that he may offer himself with self-denial and love in the service of the people of God.
Before the end of the Divine Liturgy, we also elevated him to Spiritual Father (confessor) and Protopresbyter, so that he can devote himself entirely to the Mission and serve more fully the Sacraments of our Church and the spiritual needs of the people.
The “Bag of Life”
After the Divine Liturgy, in the courtyard of our Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, we carried out another act of love and giving.
We distributed the “Bag of Life”, which we had prepared for the people of our city who are in need.
The joy on the faces of these people, and their gratitude, were overwhelming. Each bag contained food that will provide them with what they need for their daily meals for several days.
After the distribution of the “Bag of Life”, the Bishop and Fr Alexandros offered refreshments to the people there, giving them a little more joy, love and human warmth.
It was a beautiful moment of fellowship and love, as we all shared these simple refreshments together, reminding us that the Church is close to people not only by offering material help, but also love, respect, comfort and hope.
And this is only the beginning.
We are starting an effort which, with God’s help, we want to extend throughout our Diocese, so that we can stand by people who are suffering, ease their pain and difficulties, and help them continue their lives with more dignity, hope and strength.
I want, once again, to thank everyone who helped gather all this food and bring it here, so that today it could be shared with our fellow human beings who need it.
Everything that happens here, in our Mission and in our Diocese, happens thanks to your love.
A love that comes from Thessaloniki, from Corinth and from many other cities of Greece. A love that travels thousands of kilometres and arrives here, to become food, support, hope and a smile for the people of Africa.
I thank you from the depths of my heart.
May God bless all of you, your families and every person who gives out of their need or out of their abundance for the work of the Mission.
And I pray that the Holy God, through the intercessions of Saint Alexander, may strengthen our new Priest, Fr Alexandros, and bless every effort made for the glory of His Holy Name and for the relief of people.
With a sense of spiritual joy and praise to the all-good God, the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar announces once again the ordination to the priesthood of Deacon Alexandros Karachalios.
The ordination, originally scheduled for the previous Sunday, 23 August, but postponed due to illness, will take place tomorrow, Sunday 30 August 2026, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga, with the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa.
The new Priest, aged 51, comes from and lives in Agios Dimitrios, Athens; he is married and the father of one child.
The Holy Diocese prays that the new Priest may be granted the rich grace of the Holy Spirit and serve with faith, humility, self-denial and love our Holy Church and the missionary work of Orthodoxy in North Madagascar.
Today is a day of preparation for the meal we will offer on Sunday, after the Divine Liturgy, to people in need at our Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga.
At the same time, today we are launching a new initiative that we have called the “Bag of Life”.
We called it this because it contains essential items and basic foods necessary for a person’s survival. A simple bag, yet full of love, giving and hope.
Today it is being done for the first time, and it is the beginning of an effort that, with God’s help, will from now on be carried out very often and throughout our Holy Diocese, so that we can support as many people as possible who are struggling and in need.
I want to thank from my heart all of you who, with your love and your offering, helped to create this first “Bag of Life” today.
This time, your love came from Corinth. We thank you warmly and from the depths of our hearts.
And know that whatever you offer, whatever you send from Corinth, from Athens, from all over Greece, from every corner, is precious to us.
Because behind every item of food, behind every offering, behind every “Bag of Life”, there is a person who will be able to eat, stand on their own feet and carry on with their life.
Your love is not simply an offering. Your love saves lives.
We thank you from our hearts. May God bless all who give and all who are in need.
For the first time in our Missionary Diocese we celebrated Vespers in honour of Saint Phanourios. It was a special and unique day, as for the first time Saint Phanourios was honoured with Vespers in our Cathedral.
After Vespers we brought into the church the phanouropita, the cake we had prepared in honour of the Saint. The phanouropita was blessed and then offered to the faithful who took part in the service.
At the same time, we spoke to the people about Saint Phanourios: who he was, what we know about his life and martyrdom, and why the pious tradition of our Church links his name to the phanouropita and to the prayer asking the Saint to reveal what is lost or what a person seeks with faith and prayer.
The people’s joy was great. With much love they took the phanouropita and listened with interest to the story and tradition surrounding Saint Phanourios.
We even gave them the recipe for phanouropita, so that anyone who wishes can make it at home and honour the Saint, praying with faith and asking for his help.
It was a beautiful and blessed first presence of Saint Phanourios in our Missionary Diocese, a day full of faith, joy and love, which we hope will be a starting point for veneration of the Saint to take root even more deeply in people’s hearts.
Our effort to secure clean water continues throughout the whole of our Holy Diocese.
Another well is being dug in the parish of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth in Antalaha, on a plot where we plan to create a new parish dedicated to Saint Nektarios and to build its Holy Church there.
This well will serve an entire village and is becoming reality thanks to the very great love and practical help of the parish of Saint Menas in Thessaloniki, through the mediation of the Missionary Association “Saint Kosmas the Aetolian”.
We want to thank from our hearts the priests of the parish of Saint Menas in Thessaloniki, Archimandrite Fr Dionysios Karagiannis and Protopresbyter Fr Konstantinos Angelopoulos, as well as all the people of the parish, who from the first day we went and celebrated there welcomed and hosted us with very great love.
After the Divine Liturgy we discussed with them the problems our Diocese faces, and especially the great problem of the lack of clean water. Then they said to us:
“Now that you are going back to your Diocese, we would like you to point out to us a place, a village that needs water, so that we can dig a well.”
And I answered them: “Gladly. We will make this well and we will name it ‘The Well of the Parish of Saint Menas’.”
So the time has now come for this beautiful proposal of love and giving to become reality.
Since yesterday we have already begun building the well in Antalaha, which will soon offer clean water, life and joy to a whole large village.
Another well becomes a small but very important act of love. For water is life, and every drop we offer becomes a blessing for the people of our land.
We warmly thank the parish of Saint Menas in Thessaloniki for its love, trust and valuable offering, and the Missionary Association “Saint Kosmas the Aetolian” for its valuable mediation.
May God bless Archimandrite Fr Dionysios Karagiannis, Protopresbyter Fr Konstantinos Angelopoulos, all the priests and people of the parish, and richly repay their love and offering.
With the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ and the venerable prayers of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, another vitally important project, the digging of a new well, is being carried out.
This new well is in the Parish of Saints Constantine and Helen in Ambovondramanesy, at the new Primary and Secondary School complex, which will open in September and will bear the name “Samaria”.
The well will meet the increased needs of the Primary and Secondary School pupils, as the number of children has already tripled; it is worth noting that this is the second well being created very close to the first, which has already been completed thanks to the kind donation of the Missionary Association “Saint Kosmas the Aetolian”.
At the same time, it will serve the Agricultural Secondary School, since next to the school there is a farm of 50 stremmata (5 hectares) belonging to our Holy Diocese. There the pupils will be able to cultivate the land and gain practical knowledge and experience in agriculture.
It is especially important that this well will serve not only the needs of the school but also the residents of the surrounding area. The quantity of water found is enough to be channelled into tanks, which will be used to meet the needs of the community, including the supply of drinking water, after the necessary quality checks.
For this important project I want to express my warm thanks to the Holy Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas, and especially to His Eminence Metropolitan Titos, for his love, sensitivity and kind offering, thanks to which this project is becoming reality.
With God’s help, we continue to create infrastructure that offers our children and the people of the area water, education, knowledge and hope for a better tomorrow.
With the blessing of God, the fatherly prayers and the love of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, the construction of the second administrative centre of the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, in Diego, is progressing rapidly.
Diego is an equally key and important centre of our Diocese, where the buildings that will house our structures are progressing according to our plans and, with God’s help, are expected to be completed by 10 September.
Once again we express our warm thanks to all the donors, benefactors and people who believed in our work and supported our efforts, so that Orthodoxy may spread to every corner of our Diocese.
Special gratitude and warm thanks are owed to Mr Panagiotis Taloumis, who with abundant love, complete trust in our work and his generous material help, contributed decisively to the completion of this important project and vision of ours.
We pray that God may richly repay the love and giving of all our donors, benefactors and co-workers and bless the missionary work of our Diocese.
With faith, love and God’s help we continue, so as to carry the light of Orthodoxy to every end of North Madagascar.
We are running a real race against time, to meet the deadlines and be ready to open the Primary School and the new Secondary School in Ambovondramanesy, which will operate for the first time, at the same time as all the other schools in the area open.
The works are progressing rapidly and, with God’s help, we hope to be ready in time. At the same time, all the necessary files have already been submitted to the competent services and to the Ministry, and we expect the official reply on the operation of the new Secondary School in the coming days.
The works are progressing, and with them we are bringing here too the colours of our Greece, blue and white, the colours of the sky and the sea. These will be the colours that dominate our new school, both the Primary and the Secondary, as a symbolic and real bond with Greece and our own homeland, Crete.
The new school, in accordance with the exhortation of our Patriarch, Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, will be named “Samaria”, in honour of the National Park of our Crete, a place of unique natural beauty and special significance for our Cretan homeland. In this way, a piece of our Crete is carried to Madagascar and becomes a symbol of education, hope and a better future for the children of the area.
Once again we warmly thank the Missionary Association “Saint Kosmas the Aetolian” of Thessaloniki, thanks to whose important sponsorship this great work is being completed. Its offering is not simply financial support; it is a practical offering of love for the children of Madagascar, giving them the opportunity to be educated, to make progress and to strive for a better future.
With God’s help, with faith, love and much effort, we continue our struggle until the work is completed.
With feelings of deep joy and spiritual compunction, today we celebrated the Leave-taking of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, concluding the bright celebration of the Fifteenth of August. Our Church honours the Translation of the Panagia to heaven and runs with faith to her motherly shelter and protection.
Today’s feast took on special significance for the Missionary Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, as, with the blessing of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, important acts for the journey of our local Church were performed at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas.
We performed the ordination to the diaconate of Fr Chrysostomos, as well as the elevations of Fathers Methodios, Stavros and Paisios to Spiritual Fathers (confessors) and Protopresbyters.
Fr Methodios will continue his ministry in the parish of Saints Constantine and Helen in Ambovondramanesy.
Fr Stavros will also remain at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga.
Fr Paisios leaves tomorrow for the faraway parish of Saint Charalambos in Ambanja, to fill the gap so that the pastoral care of the faithful can continue without interruption. This parish, about 10 hours from the see of our Diocese, was left vacant for a short time. This happened because, responding to the request of many faithful, we transferred its former priest, Fr Charalambos, to Diego, to serve in the parish of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, which had been without a priest for a very long time.
Raising up new priests and Spiritual Fathers is a great blessing and an important missionary work. In our parishes that now have many faithful, it is very important to have priests who can not only celebrate the Divine Liturgy and the Sacraments, but also hear confessions, support and spiritually guide the people of God.
Among the immediate plans of our Diocese is the creation of a School of Church Education, for which we are already ready and have many enrolments. Our aim is to raise up as many new priests as possible, so that parishes throughout the large northern part of our Diocese can be staffed.
By the grace of God and under the protection of our Panagia, we desire to pass on the light of Orthodoxy to every corner of our Holy Diocese, so that everywhere there may be a priest, a living parish and a spiritual family that will lead people to Christ.
The Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, with special joy and praise to the all-good God and with the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, announces the ordination to the diaconate of Sitrakiniaina Christian Kyriakos, on 23 August, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga.
• Church name: Kyriakos • Secular name: Sitrakiniaina Christian Rakotoarizafy • Place of residence: Zoma-Bealoka Miarinarivo Madagascar • Date of birth: 30 May 1997 • Age: 29 • Marital status: Married with 1 child
Studies
Kyriakos completed his primary and secondary education, obtaining the BEPC (2017) and the BAC TA School Leaving Certificate (Baccalauréat). In 2022–2024 he studied at the Orthodox Seminary of Saint John the Theologian in Antananarivo, Madagascar, where he successfully completed his theological studies.
Kyriakos speaks the following languages: Malagasy, French and English.
The Holy Diocese prays that the new Deacon may be granted the rich grace of the Holy Spirit and serve with faith, humility, self-denial and love our Holy Church and the missionary work of Orthodoxy in North Madagascar.
“Axios!”
From the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar
The Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, with special joy and praise to the all-good God and with the blessing of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, announces the ordination to the priesthood of Alexandros Karachalios, on 23 August, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Majunga.
• Full name: Alexandros Karachalios. • Place of residence: Agios Dimitrios, Athens • Date of birth: 5 June 1975 • Age: 51 • Marital status: Married (father of 1 child)
Academic Profile
Mr Alexandros Karachalios has a solid academic background specialising in management and shipping, certified by degrees from recognised institutions in Greece and abroad.
• Secondary Education: He completed his secondary studies in 1993, receiving the General Lyceum Certificate with conduct graded “Exemplary”.
• Undergraduate Studies: In 2000 he was awarded the Bachelor of Science (BSc) by London Guildhall University in the United Kingdom, after successfully completing the approved programme of study in Transport and Shipping.
• Postgraduate Studies: In 2001 he continued his academic path at postgraduate level, receiving a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Cardiff University in Wales.
• Postgraduate Training: In 2019 he attended the “Project Management” programme at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), receiving the relevant certification
• Foreign Languages: He also has an excellent, academic-level knowledge and command of Greek and English.
The Holy Diocese prays that the new Priest may be granted the rich grace of the Holy Spirit and serve with faith, humility, self-denial and love our Holy Church and the missionary work of Orthodoxy in North Madagascar.
“Axios!”
From the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar
With the blessings of His Divine Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria, who supports and encourages every effort of giving, love and service to people, today we had the joy of making a special visit to the President of the Local Council of the community, in the area where the see of our Holy Diocese is located.
At our meeting we discussed the problems and needs of the residents of the area, and how our Orthodox Diocese can contribute substantially to supporting the local community.
We have already taken the first steps of cooperation. Since Madagascar’s Independence Day, we as a Diocese have offered what we could to people in need. We want this cooperation to continue and become even more substantial.
The President, in turn, warmly thanked us for all the help we have offered so far. In fact, she told us with some regret that wherever she had turned asking for help, the only response she had received was from our Orthodox Diocese.
These words filled us with special joy, because we felt that our presence and our offering truly have value and that we too can be useful to the community of this city.
Together with the local community we want to take specific and substantial steps to address everyday needs. Among the actions we discussed are rice distribution, the organisation of free medical visits, support for schools and other social initiatives.
We want to offer as much as we can and whatever we can to the community to which we ourselves belong.
With cooperation, love and solidarity, we continue to take small but real steps, so that the presence of our Orthodox Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar may be a real presence of giving and love for all.
