November 18, 2014
South Sudan is the newest independent state in the world, formed in July 2011. The majority of its citizens are Christian, while the Orthodox population is estimated to be a few thousand.
On November 15, with the blessing of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, another five children from South Sudan were baptized after their catechesis was completed, reports the Orthodox Mission Fraternity in Athens. These children come from a country that suffers various ills: civil war, refugees, famine, cholera epidemics, and recently the Ebola epidemic. Amidst this turmoil, it is a major achievement just to survive.
Their baptism today is a silent statement to the western society of conformism and indifference towards the Church of Christ, that life is more than mere survival and goes beyond biological instincts; it achieves that by drawing strength and courage from the Source of life, which is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.
Their patience in suffering in conjunction with their testimony through their baptism proves indisputably their struggle for spiritual life, the mission fraternity writes, along with a letter on the occasion of the baptism from Bishop Narcissus of Nubia:
Nubia
Dear friends of the Mission,
You as well as the members of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity are the companions of these children in this struggle. In times of sickness and sorrow, anxiety and danger, labor and effort, you are with us, we do not feel lonely.
May God bless you and fill you with His Grace for your valuable support to Overseas Mission.
With love in Christ,
† Narcissus of Nubia
