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Under the supervision of the Ecclesiastical District of Mediterranean, the Local Congregation of Athens, Greece continues growing. Through the years, Group Worship Services (GWS) in Greece have been added and more people have been baptized into the Iglesia Ni Cristo, God’s salvation work in these last days.
On August 21, 1979, the Church Administration approved the establishment of Athens as a committee prayer group. From then on, the place of worship had been moved from one place to another to accommodate the growing number of congregants. In 1987, they found and rented a place at Aberof Street where they held their worship services for 16 years.
Meanwhile, on January 22, 1987, the Church Administration approved the establishment of a GWS in Thessaloniki, Greece. Like other GWS at the time, the brethren continuously received God’s teachings through recorded sermons sent to them by the Church Administration. Ministers of the gospel were sent to personally lead the brethren in their holy gatherings during special occasions such as the Thanksgiving and the Holy Supper.
In 1989, the Church Administration sent Brother Joven Rosquites to register the Church Of Christ with the Greek government. The Church’s application for registration was approved in September 1993. In February 1996, Brother Lyndon Aguirre was sent by the Church Administration to Greece and served as the resident minister of the Athens Congregation.
A momentous occasion took place on May 10, 1997—the Executive Minister then, Brother Eraño G. Manalo led a worship service in Athens to officially establish the Local Congregation of Athens. Dubbed “Extension of the Gentile Mission,” the event coincided with the celebration of the 111th birth anniversary of Brother Felix Y. Manalo and the 50th anniversary of Brother Eraño Manalo’s ordination as a minister of the gospel.
The worship service was held in the Terpsichore Function Hall of the Hilton Athens Hotel. Before the preaching of Brother Eraño Manalo, the history of the Church Of Christ in Athens and Apostle Paul’s missionary works in Greece was read by Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, then the Deputy Executive Minister. During the preaching of the lesson, Brother Eraño Manalo explained that God’s plan to extend the mission of salvation to the Gentiles until the end of the world, up to the farthest places, was fulfilled.
As the years went by, the Church Of Christ in Athens has continuously flourished. The brethren in the local congregation gave their unwavering support and active participation in the various Church activities conducted in the district. Their propagation works yielded many fruits.
With God’s help, the local congregation was able to purchase a property located at 97 Marathonodromon Street, Paleo Psychiko, Athens, an area where embassies of many nations are situated. The Church Administration approved the local congregation’s request for the construction of a new house of worship. The brethren in Athens were full of joy because they received a great blessing from God when the new house of worship of their local congregation was dedicated to Him through a worship service led by the current Executive Minister, Brother Eduardo Manalo, on June 13, 2013.
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of its establishment, the Local Congregation of Athens was once again blessed when Brother Eduardo Manalo led the brethren in a special worship service on May 6, 2017. Indeed, God’s overflowing blessings were manifested to the brethren on that sacred occasion.
Though far in terms of distance, the brethren in Greece remain united with the Church Administration in upholding God’s teachings. They continue pressing onwards to further victories in the various endeavors of the Church, for they firmly believe that the fulfillment of their redemption or salvation is truly near.
