Open the gate of mercy to us,Blessed Mother of God...According to the beloved patristic saying: By God commenced...and being successors of our God - loving,we praise the Blessed God who blesses us and the Blessed and Glorious Mother of our God,to whom we entrust all our hopes as well as the Monastery,which She assents to be erected with Her blessing,in honour and memory of Her,to glory and worship of the Son and divine Word of God,the incarnate by Her,every honour and glory deserves to Him and His Father now and forever and unto the ages of ages.Amen.
Each monastery is a spiritual oasis,a beacon,a harbour in the course of human lifetime,from Egypt of the Passion to the Promised Land and the Land of Peace and from the passage of the Red(mental)Sea to eternal life..."the other kind of life,the from the outset eternal...".
Therefore,with the venerable blessing and spiritual passion of Beatitude Pope of Alexandria and all Africa,Theodore the second,and with the spiritual ardour of both the Reverend Archibishop of Madagascar,Ignatius, and the first Archibishop of Madagascar,the late Nectarios,who was called by the Lord (unfathomable the wills of God)but now being in the heavenly sanctuary,advocates in favour of the mission in general and in favour of his Godchildren,whom he loved till the end and they loved him till the end,we commence the formation,establishment and erection of a female coenobitic monastery in the location of MORAMANGA which is 110 km. far from Alasora,the centre of the mission,in a stretch of 3,715 hectares,that is 37,150 acres at an altitude of 1050 metres.
The Monastery is going to be named "PANAGIA PORTAITISSA",which is why the two pictures of improvised,simple,hand - made signs and the other two pictures of two icons of the Virgin placed upon a tree within the space of the Monastery and upon a fence on the west boundary,have been uploaded.
Already the first sisterhood,consisting of six nuns and a novice nun,after visiting and seeing the space of the prospective Monastery - God willing -are temporarily staying - until the construction of the Monastery is completed - in a place as a seat,namely as an indication of monastic land,in cell rooms,whose courtyard is surrounded by a parapet in the location FIANARANTSOA,which is 410 km. away from Alasoura towards the south-west of Antananarivo, that is a 10-11-hour route from the missionary centre.
An architect is already working on and preparing the topographical plans of,initially,the enclosure of the Monastery,and after that,the wings of the sisters' cells which are to be constructed of brick while floors and ceilings from wood.
One team is going to labour over these,while at the same time,a second team is going to labour over the construction of the temple after the completion of its architectural plans.
The construction of the temple and the overall layout and land - planning are going to be in the style of those in Mount Athos and so is the order and ritual of the services;exactly this ritual is followed in the services by the sisters at present during their temporary stay in FIARANTSOA,according to the ancient order as it is normally done by reading texts etc.
As soon as the wings of the cells and the parapets of the erected Monastery are prepared,the sisters will move to the Monastery and will conduct the divine services in the chapels according to order.
For this reason,we request your help,if possible,but mainly your prayers that the Lord will strengthen us in the deaconship we have been called.In our church there are no dominions but deacons.Monks and nuns belong to church.Church is not regional.It is not confined to a regional or time limit;all of us who believe in Orthodoxy and receive Holy Communion are the one,holy,catholic and apostolic church irrespective of race,place,boundary,nation or time.
We,therefore,request your prayers so that we will prove to be faithful stewards of God's grace and will also be able to serve willingly and not conceal the gift we've been given as the crafty servant of the Gospel did.
Now,for the fulfilment of the spiritual passion and dream of Beatitude Patriarch and Reverend Archibishop as far as the erection of the Monastery in Madagascar is concerned,to the Glory of our Trinity God,so as to contribute to the awakening of the people living in native land and in the shade of death,attract souls towards Christ and attain salvation,we also request your financial support,reinforcement and assistance.The widow's mite.Being in the temple,God never observed how much money people gave as a benefaction but how they did so.
It is the first and only Orthodox Monastery in the country and in S.Africa;it will be a great blessing for all of us to assist,not from our surplus but from the little we have,"...the white and ready to harvest..."(John chapt. 4'35) continent of Africa.By Reverend Archibishop Ignatius' request a bank account has been opened for anyone who wishes to make a deposit in order to contribute to the erection of the Monastery.From this day on,you can watch the labours of the erection through pictures of the site in the blog of the Monastery.
Anyone making a deposit can inform us through the email of the Monastery so that a receipt of the deposit and a letter of thanks will be dispatched.At the same time,you will be able to read spiritual messages as a sermon,preaching,solitary life,monastic life and experience,vocation and resolution;vocation but not deviation.
The email and blog of the Monastery are given so that you can have access:
mdg.portaitic.panag.ier.moni@gmail.com
mdgpanagiaportaitissa.blogspot.com
Thank you and we wish that the Virgin Mother of our Lord,whom the Monastery is entrusted to, will open the gate of salvation for this people,bless you with both Her divine hands in which She held The bearer of everything;and may the resurrected Lord,who is the Encarnated,the Crucified and the Resurrected Love,gather all of you and all of us to His Kingdom which shall have no end.
Glory,honour and worship be to our God forever and ever.
Missionary work is not a trip to foreign countries,neither recreation nor holiday but rather an Orthodox path and martyrdom accompanied by sacrifice.One forgets oneself;is dedicated like the candle,like the Liturgy:"...broken and divided is the Lamb of God,which is broken and not disunited,which is ever eaten and never consumed..."
Behold,I say unto you,Lift up your eyes,and look on the fields;for they are white already to harvest (John chapt. 4'35)
