Morogoro, Tanzania, September 29, 2025
The Patriarchate of Alexandria has established its first residential community in Africa, with the inauguration of St. Nikitas Orthodox Village in Morogoro, eastern Tanzania, on September 25.
Metropolitan Dimitrios of Irinoupolis blessed the new development, which sits on the grounds of the Orthodox Missionary Center, reports Romfea.
The village’s first phase consists of 10 residential units designated for single mothers with children and elderly residents without family support. The housing project addresses Tanzania’s widespread poverty, where many families currently live in mud huts.
Funding for the construction came from Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira in England and private donors in Greece. The village represents the culmination of Met. Dimitrios’s 21-year missionary work in the predominantly Muslim region of East Africa.
Local Orthodox clergy, government officials including Morogoro’s mayor and police director, and community members attended the blessing ceremony. Metropolitan Dimitrios addressed the gathering in Swahili, emphasizing the Alexandrian Patriarchate’s commitment to improving education, healthcare, and living conditions in the region.
The event concluded with a commemorative meal sponsored by Vasiliki Aletra, a missionary nurse from Thessaloniki, honoring the late Nun Thekla, known as the “Mother of Tanzania’s children.”
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