Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, April 17, 2018

Several Congolese catechumens were recently received into the holy Orthodox Church in a mass Baptism ceremony on the banks of the Congo River.

The holy Sacrament was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon of Brazzaville and Gabon of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church on Saturday on the border between the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports Romfea.

His Grace first arrived by air to the northeastern city of Impfondo in the Republic of the Congo to visit the parish community of St. John the Baptist-St. Nicholas. He was greeted at the airport by parish priest Fr. Timotheos Ndzebe and members of the community.

After visiting the church, the first in the northern Congo, he traveled along the Ubangi River, which flows into the Congo and forms a part of the border between the Republic of Congo and the People’s Republic of Congo. There, between Brazzaville on the western bank, and Kinshasa on the eastern, the metropolitan baptized a number of catechumens of all ages, coming from the Bantu and Pygmy tribes.

On the banks of the river, Met. Panteleimon spoke about the uniqueness of holy Baptism and the beginning of the spiritual life while he explained the various stages of the celebration of the holy Sacrament.

The day was completed with several hours of spiritual conversation between His Eminence and the parish priest and community.

Mass Baptisms are a regular occurrence in the Alexandrian Orthodox Church. Most recently, His Eminence Metropolitan Meletios of Katanga and a number of other clergy celebrated the Baptism of 556 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in two days in mid-January.

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