On November 30, 2010 Fr. Athanasius Ghebre-Ab celebrated his first Divine Liturgy at Saint Nicholas and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. As our readers recall, Fr. Athanasius (formerly Prof. Habtu Ghebre-Ab) was ordained a priest on July 24, 2010.

The occasion was marked by the fact that there were a large number of people in attendance from Cincinnati and the surrounding cities, including several non-Eritrean guests.  Moreover, it was encouraging to see so many young people joining him in the joyous event. The young deacons who celebrated with Fr. Athanasius are among the young people Fr. Athanasius has been training as future leaders.  It is noteworthy that the liturgy was conducted almost entirely in English.

In his first homily as a priest, Fr. Athanasius spoke on The Orthodox Church: Its Roots and Future Prospects. The central focus of the message was a challenge to Orthodox believers to boldly proclaim the Great Commission in the cultural and linguistic milieu of our host country.

We ask our readers to continue to pray for Fr. Athanasius and his ministry.