October 2004

Funeral Services were held for Mr. Ashworth Dlamini at St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral under the auspice of His Grace Bishop Antonious Markos on October 30th 2004.

Tributes were given by various family members and friends.  The Melamonia Male Choir sang hymns through the service.  Father Shibley of the Catholic Church conducted Mass and Communion for Catholic visitors.  Funeral prayers were said by His Grace The Bishop and joined by Fathers Marcos and Paulos Kobe.  Parts of the prayer was said in Zulu at the request of First Lady Mbeki.  His Grace The Bishop also gave a homily.

Mr. Dlamini is the elder brother of First Lady Mbeki.  We were honored to have the First Lady present at our Cathedral and the funeral service.

May the Lord repose the soul of Mr. Ashworth Dlamini and give comfort to his family and friends.

October 2004

His Grace Bishop Antonious Markos invited the Indian Orthodox to celebrate a liturgy at the Coptic Chapel in Johannesburg on October 24th 2004.  The Indian Orthodox were joined by there new priest Father Johannes.  About 100 hundred people attended. The Indian Orthodox are currently working on building a church in South Africa.  His Grace Bishop Antonious Markos has been instrumental in encouraging this project.

The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Indian Orthodox Church are in communion.  They are part of the Oriental Orthodox Family of Churches.  This family includes the Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, and the Indian Orthodox.  Currently there are Ecumenical meetings to join the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches.  We pray to God for this matter.

October 2004

In 1984 His Grace Bishop Antonius Markos established a church on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe. An old storage shed was built up to become a church and the service began to flourish in this area. The people came from far away to attend service. Within a year a Coptic family asked His Grace to pray that they may obtain a valuable piece of property in downtown Harare.

His Grace made the sign of the cross on the property and asked God to bless it. Shortly after the family reported that all obstacles had been removed and they were able to obtain the property. The street side of the property was transformed into a Dentist office.

20 years later the Coptic family returned to Egypt and offered the property to the Church at a discounted rate. A wonderful surprise was found on the property, a foundation had been laid for a building facing east…a Church! So far the Church has paid for half of the bank note, however another $60,000 dollars is needed by the end of the year. We leave this matter in the hands of the Lord. Your prayers and support are needed. This is a wonderful chance to participate in the building of a church.

October 2004

The Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh on October 10th 2004.  His Grace was invited to attend the celebration and give a small homily.  His Grace was instrumental in building the Russian Orthodox Church in South Africa.  His Grace received an honorary award from the Patriarch of Moscow for his assistance with building the church.

St. Sergius is the patron Saint of the Russian Church in South Africa.  The church is named after him and he is highly venerated by the people.  In attendance were delegates from various Russian States, both clergy and ambassadors.

The Russian congregation also welcomed their new priest Fr. Yohan.  Fr. Philariet the current priest is returning back to Moscow.  He has been assigned to serve in France.