Source: OrthodoxMag.com
The Great Feast of Theophany was celebrated with piety and holiness in the Holy Diocese of Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon. His Grace Panteleimon conducted the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy and the Service of the Great Sanctification at the Holy Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Brazzaville, following which with special permission a litany procession took place in the streets of the capital, which ended on the banks of the Congo River.
There, for the second time in the history of the local Church, the Christians prayerfully experienced the ceremony of the immersion of the Precious Cross in the waters of the Congo River.
On the banks, His Grace preached the divine word, analyzing the Theological meaning of the Feast, as well as the historic establishment and interpretation of the ceremony of the immersion of the Precious Cross and the sanctification of the waters. In conclusion he passed on to the Christian flock the paternal prayers and blessings of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa and thanked the country’s authorities for the respect shown to the Orthodox Church.
It is worth mentioning that on the eve of Theophany, 5th January, the Bishop baptized 17 locals in the outdoor baptistery of the Holy Church in the capital Brazzaville.
