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Orthodox Christian work in Guatemala through the eyes of two US Greeks

In early May, well-known Greek businessman and co-owner of the Bareburger restaurant chain, Michalis Pitsinos, and internationally acclaimed Greek photographer, Kostas Pigadas, traveled to Guatemala in response to the invitation of the Metropolitan of Mexico, Central America, Cuba and the Caribbean, His Eminence Athenagoras on the occasion of the inauguration of the new church in the country.

The purpose of this trip of the two laymen was to see the Orthodox Christian work carried out there. Feeding people, building streets and homes, caring for health, learning Greek, baptizing and spreading Orthodoxy are key actions of this project. When they arrived in the village of Aguakate in Guatemala, they were warmly welcomed by more than five thousand local residentswith fireworks and a music band.

The inauguration of the new temple, and the presence of the crowd was capped by a surprisingly moving liturgy, during which local children recited excerpts of the Gospe. in Greekl.

His  Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras, obviously moved, expressed his enthusiasm for the acts of worship towards the Greek Orthodox Church in general. "You know these people do not take it for granted that they are Orthodox Christians but have recently been baptized by choice, and that means they are deeply grateful for that. Our Orthodoxy had never been given to them, and this alone takes on a special gravity. Our Mission has a strong impact on these areas. Sometimes you know we give even more than we can give ... our soul literally," he said to the "National Herald ".

A message of love to the inhabitants of the region was also addressed bythe representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate father Alexandros Karloutsos, who obviously excited described her work there as "incredible".

The mission was accompanied by prominent Greek-American businessmen as well as the famous photographer Kostas Pigadas. The mission was led by Michalis Pitsinos, who has shown keen interest in the Athenigoras Metropolitan's sacred work while Kostas Pigadas immortalized through his camera the temple's inauguration with of focus of promoting it to high-end journals all over the world and in doing so further promote the philanthropic work of the Metropolis of Mexico.

As Pitsinos has said: "The work of Metropolitan Athenagoras here is unique to our Orthodox Church, as well as to the Greek language that is taught uninterruptedly."

However, adverse economic conditions are increasingly hampering the work of His Eminence. "It is imperative for North Americans to help and to do their utmost to achieve the goals of so many countries in Central and South America. It is very important that we all join forces and contribute mainly financially but also as we can, as the needs are huge with the lack of resources making things really difficult. "Personally, I believe that the action of His Eminence Athinagoras should also engage other prominent entrepreneurs or even volunteers to extend his work by offering relief wherever he can."