Pastoral Trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and to the Republic of Uganda
June - July 2007

Kinshasa

Archbishop Gregory is welcomed to Kinshasa.

Archbishop Gregory is welcomed to Kinshasa.

Ten former Cyprianites are Chrismated into our true Orthodox Church.

Hieromonks Peter and Theophile serve the Divine Liturgy, along with Deacon Ambrose (not shown).

That evening, some of our faithful brought us a meal.

They have a traditional staple food there called "bizha". It is similar to half-cooked cornbread. This pot was full of balls of bizha, but we did not think to take photographs of it until towards the end of the meal.

You have to knead the bizha with your hand before eating it. This is to mix the ingredients better, and to make sure there are not any foreign objects in it that might hurt you. Very important!

The view from our hotel in Kinshasa. There was a large open area where people worked all day growing vegetables. There is a well approximately every fifty feet. There are also these garbage piles, which people eat out of, and which are burned every day.

A busy street near Father Theophile’s home. They have a major public’s work project in progress, building drainage for the street. This is very important, as the roads in the Congo are horrible, and Kinshasa is known for it’s flooding problems.

We met with some of Subdeacon Constantine’s parish of Saint Nicholas, located about a 45 minute drive from Kinshasa.

A typical street scene in Kinshasa.

A typical street scene in Kinshasa.