Today, by the grace of God, I celebrated the Liturgy at the Holy Church of Saint Nicholas in Pyrgella, Argos, where I had the joy and blessing of praying together with the devout congregation of the area.
I warmly thank, from the depth of my heart, His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Argolis for his brotherly love and hospitality.
I also especially thank the priest of the church, Father Ioannis, and the deacon, Father Vasileios, for the fine cooperation, the good order and the ecclesiastical dignity.
May Saint Nicholas intercede for all and grant health, peace and every blessing to your families.
Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of Saint Maximos the Greek in Arta
On the morning of Wednesday 21 January 2026, the Festal Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated with splendour on the memory of our Venerable Father Maximos the Greek, at the parish church bearing his name in the city of Arta. It was presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Ilion, Acharnes and Petroupolis, concelebrating with His Eminence Metropolitan Chariton of Elassona, His Grace Bishop Nephon of Majunga and North Madagascar, and His Eminence Metropolitan Kallinikos of Arta.
Hierarchical Festal Vespers of Saint Maximos the Greek in Arta
With ecclesiastical splendour and spiritual compunction, the Festal Hierarchical Vespers were celebrated on Tuesday 20 January 2026 in honour of our Venerable Father Maximos the Greek, at the parish church bearing his name in the city of Arta.
Before the start of Vespers, at the entrance of the celebrating church, His Eminence Metropolitan Kallinikos of Arta received with honours the holy relics of Saint Arsenios, Bishop and Protector of Elassona, which His Eminence Metropolitan Chariton of Elassona brought for veneration from the city of Elassona.
Then the Festal Hierarchical Vespers were celebrated, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Chariton of Elassona. Concelebrating were His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Ilion, Acharnes and Petroupolis, His Grace Bishop Nephon of Majunga and North Madagascar, of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and His Eminence Metropolitan Kallinikos of Arta.
Holy Church of the Holy Apostles, Thessaloniki, 18-01-2026.
I warmly thank His Eminence Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki for his love, his blessing and his Abrahamic hospitality. I wish him many years and a fruitful ministry, by the grace of our Christ and the blessing of our Most Holy Theotokos!
The new Bishop’s return to his birthplace after his ordination
At midday on Sunday 7 December 2025, two days after his episcopal ordination in Alexandria, His Grace Bishop Nephon of Majunga and North Madagascar returned to his birthplace, Chania in Crete, where he received an especially warm and moving welcome.
Shortly after two in the afternoon, relatives, friends, fellow villagers and people who had known him in earlier years of his life and service gathered at Chania International Airport “Ioannis Daskalogiannis” to welcome him and to wish him well in his new episcopal mission.
His Grace was accompanied by relatives and spiritual children who had travelled with him to Alexandria and had attended his ordination by His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa.
Present at the welcome were the Mayor of Platanias, Mr Ioannis Malandrakis, Regional Councillor of Crete Mrs Sofia Malandraki-Krasoudaki, deputy mayors and members of the Municipal Council, as well as many residents of Gerani and the wider Platanias area.
A particularly beautiful sight was offered by members of the traditional association “To Rodo” who, dressed in traditional Cretan costumes, presented flowers to the new Bishop. In an atmosphere of joy and emotion the acclamations “Axios! Axios! Axios!” rang out, with which those present expressed their love for him.
The welcome had a very personal and family character. The people at the airport were not only welcoming a new hierarch of the Orthodox Church, but also one of their own, who had grown up among them and was bound up with the daily life of the area through his many years in the Hellenic Police, Local Government and later the priestly ministry.
Visibly moved, His Grace thanked all who had come and spoke with gratitude of the people who had supported him at different times in his life. He also remembered the late Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronas, the clergy of the local Church and the faithful of the parishes in which he had served.
One of his most moving remarks concerned his late parents. As he told those present, his first concern on returning to his homeland was to visit their graves and to celebrate a Trisagion, as an expression of love and gratitude for all they had given him during their lives.
His Grace’s return to Chania, immediately after his ordination, was an occasion to meet people connected with his personal and spiritual journey. The spontaneous expressions of love and heartfelt wishes became a beautiful memory before he took up his new pastoral responsibilities in Africa.
That day joined in a special way the new Bishop’s homeland with distant Madagascar. From Crete, the place of his childhood and first steps in life, His Grace Bishop Nephon is now called to offer his strength to the people of North Madagascar, carrying with him the love, wishes and prayers of the people of his homeland.
The founding of the new Diocese and the election of its first Shepherd
On Tuesday 7 October 2025, at the historic seat of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa convened under the presidency of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II.
The proceedings began with the invocation of the Holy Spirit and His Beatitude’s paternal greeting to the Synodal Hierarchs. During the session, matters concerning church administration, pastoral care and the further development of the Orthodox Mission on the African continent were examined.
In the course of these proceedings, the Holy Synod decided, for pastoral reasons, to divide the Holy Metropolis of Antananarivo and North Madagascar and to establish a new ecclesiastical province under the title “Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar”.
This decision was an important milestone in the ecclesiastical history of Madagascar. The creation of the new Diocese aimed at more effective pastoral care of the Orthodox Christians in the northern region of the island, at strengthening the parishes and at further cultivating the missionary work, which for many years has offered spiritual and material support to the local population.
Then, on the proposal of His Beatitude the Patriarch, the Holy Synod elected as first Bishop of the newly established Diocese the Very Reverend Archimandrite Nephon Daskalakis, a native of Gerani in the Municipality of Platanias, Chania.
The Bishop-elect, having previously served Greek society through the Hellenic Police and Local Government, had followed the priestly path, combining service to the Church with his theological and academic training. His election marked the beginning of a new mission, this time in the distant land of Madagascar.
The news of his election was received with joy and emotion in his homeland, Crete, where relatives, friends and people who knew him from his long career expressed their wishes for his new ministry. Particularly warm was the congratulatory message of the Mayor of Platanias, Mr Ioannis Malandrakis, who spoke of his contribution to the area and the local community.
With this synodal decision a new chapter opened for the Orthodox Church of North Madagascar. The new Diocese received its first Shepherd, called to continue the work of the missionaries before him, to stand by the clergy and the faithful and to convey, in word and deed, the message of Christ’s love.
7 October 2025 is now recorded as the founding day of the Holy Diocese of Majunga and North Madagascar, a new ecclesiastical province of the ancient Throne of Alexandria, called to serve the people of God with faith, love and hope.
