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[[Archimandrite]] '''Nikodemos Sarikas''' was a [[hieromonk]] of the [[Church of Alexandria]] who was among the early twentieth century Orthodox Christian [[missionaries ]] in the southern part of Africa. His counsel provided guidance to Orthodox seekers, such as [[Christopher Reuben Spartas|Reuben Spartas]], to approach the patriarchate in Alexandria.
==Life==
Nikodemos was born in Ottoman Turkey in 1878. He entered a [[monasticism|monastic]] life at the age of seventeen and served for a period under the [[jurisdiction]] of [[Patriarch]] [[Damianus of Jerusalem]]. In 1907, he was [[ordination|ordained]] to the [[priest]]hood in Smyrna in Asia Minor.
In 1907, Fr. Nikodemos traveled as a [[missionary]] to Johannesburg in South Africa to evangelize among the Africans and serve members of the Greek merchant families. However, the Greek community complained about his [[missionary ]] efforts and wanted Fr. Nikodemos to serve only the Greek community. Unhappy with the demands of the Greek community, in 1911, he moved to the Moshi district of German East Africa, now Tanzania, near Kilimanjaro. There, he began farming and evangelizing among the Africans.
In 1933, Fr. Nikodemos, who had had contacts with members of the non-canonical African Orthodox Church, was invited to Uganda by Reuben Spartas, who had been ordained into the African Orthodox Church by [[Daniel William Alexander]]. Through his mediation and assistance, the AOC members made contact with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Alexandria and that led to thier reception into the Orthodox Church.
Continuing his [[missionary ]] work, Fr. Nikodemos, on his return from Uganda to Moshi, brought two Baganda, who were members of a native ethnic group in Uganda, to live with him and learn about Orthodoxy. In addition to his [[missionary ]] work Fr. Nikodemos also nurtured cooperative relations between the new native African Orthodox community and the Greek community in Kampala.
Fr. Nikodemos reposed in 1941.