On Monday, October 3, 2022, His Beatitude Theodoros II Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa performed the customary Sanctification on the occasion of the start of the new academic year 2022-2023 at the ”Saint Athanasios” Patriarchal Academy.
Present at the ceremony were the Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria, His Eminence Narcissus Metropolitan of Pelusium, Mr. the Head of the Holy Monastery, His Grace Germanos Bishop of Tamiathus, the Naval Attache Captain (PN) Mr. Konstantinos Barouxis as well as the educational staff of the academy.
During his brief speech, His Beatitude addressed paternal advice and wishes to the African students, whom he assured that he would personally take an interest in their journey and God willing, their future priestly ministry, after their graduation and their return to their places of birth. He expressed his infinite gratitude to His Excellency the President of the country Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi for the permission he granted to the Patriarchate for the operation of the School.
He also thanked thenVery Reverend Headmaster Archimandrite Isaac Tsapoglou and the educational staff for their painstaking and conscientious service. In his reply to His Beatitude the Very Reverend Headmaster thanked him for the honour towards his person and developed the Patriarch’s vision for the training of tomorrow’s staff of the Patriarchate.
Characteristically, among other things, he said: “Within this embrace we all found ourselves today seeking Your Patriarchal blessings and asking that you allow us, Your Beatitude, to accompany You, in the vision you have for this School, assuring You, both lecturers and personal, that it will be productive in the place, where after their graduation these promising young men will take up plough of the mission fields.
It is not only the learning of the Greek language and the theological training that they will receive, but above all that they will learn that only by praying will they be able to bear the burden of their mission with patience”.
Concluding his speech he added: “May they be able to take some light from the Lighthouse of this Alexandrian Patriarchal Academy and pass it on to their countries, so that it burns like an eternal lamp, declaring their relation and devotion to the Mother Church of Alexandria and to the the holy figure of its primate”.
Brief History of the School
Parallel to the Patriarchal Schools of Nairobi and Kinshasa, the Patriarchal School of Alexandria Agios Athanasios began to operate in 2007, with the aim of cultivating skills and acquiring qualifications necessary to provide fruitful missionary work in the midst of the special and often adverse conditions of life and action on the African continent. Housed in the Holy Monastery of Saint Savvas of Hegiasmenos, it provides the visiting scholars with the appropriate learning environment to achieve the goals of the educational program, as it is drawn up, supervised and evaluated by a special Scientific Council with the participation of university professors.
