On 29th May 2015, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, accompanied by Archimandrite Marcos Theodosi, arrived at the Madagascar International Airport, where he will be paying an official visit.
The Primate of the Orthodox Church was welcomed at the airport in Antananarivo, by the local Metropolitan Ignatios together with the Clergy of the Metropolis and His Excellency the Ambassador to the Republic of Egypt to Madagascar Mr. Cherif Abbas. Also present were the sisters from the Holy Monastery of Panagia Mohou in Crete who are presently in the Metropolitan district of Madagascar, assisting the Metropolis and the future establishment of a Monastery on the island.
His Beatitude’s motorcade made its way to the Metropolitan Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos where he was met by crowds of people and children while the youth choir of the Metropolis sang the doxology on the arrival of His Beatitude at the Church and the Metropolis. His Beatitude thanked and praised the choir, as well as the venerable sisters and gave his prayer for the spreading of monasticism on the island. The Primate spoke of the work of the late Bishop Nektarios and his colleague Mrs. Matina Kouvousi and her continuation of support to the present Metropolitan Ignatios, as well as to his contribution to the Missionary effort.
Orthodox Mission in Madagascar began its first steps in 1994 by the late Bishop Nektarios Kellis, was officially established as the Diocese of Madagascar by Patriarchal and Synodal Decree in 1997, and was elevated to Metropolis in 2012 and in its jurisdiction includes the islands of Mauritius, the Comoros, Mayotte and La Reunion, apart from Madagascar. It is the second time that Theodoros II, the Alexandrian Primate is visiting the Holy Metropolis of Madagascar.
