Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa to which Orthodox Christianity did not arrive until the early twentieth century. The initial presence of the Orthodox Church served only the needs of Greek Orthodox immigrants from Greece and Cyprus. It was during the last decade of the twentieth century that the Church began an active missionary program among the indigenous people.

Through the interest of a young Zimbabwean, Raphael Ganda, who was introduced to Orthodox Christianity while in training at an army officer's training course in Greece, Orthodoxy came to the indigenous people of Zimbabwe. After attending services at the cathedral in Harare, he, his family, and some friends were baptized in September 1994. He later attended the seminary in Nairobi. Returning to Zimbabwe, he worked at translations of the Divine Liturgy and conducted missionary activity in rural Zimbabwe.

To govern church activities in the middle of Africa, the Patriarchate of Alexandria established an Archdiocese of Zimbabwe in 1968. The missionary activities in Zimbabwe are conducted under the auspices the ruling hierarch, Metropolitan George (Vladimirou). The area of his jurisdiction also includes the countries of Angola, Malawi, and Boswana.

The St. Nektarios missionary center was dedicated in Park Town, Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe as the first center for missionary work. Other centers are the St. Augustine missionary center, located in Bulawayo, and the St. Athanasios the Great center in Harare next to the residence of the archbishop.

In addition to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Harare there are ten other churches in the country.

Sources

• Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa
• Holy Archbishopric of Zimbabwe