Five joyful and promising events for the course of Orthodox witness in Korea
Ordination of a new Elder
At St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seoul during the Holy Mass. The new Korean elder of our Church in Korea, Fr. During the distribution of the antidote under the newly ordained all the faithful had the opportunity to receive his blessing and express their joy for the great and joyful event of our Church. Then followed in the hall of the missionary centre the Christmas celebration, which was presented by the children of the Sunday schools, the youth and the choir of the Cathedral. From the day after his ordination, Fr. Anthony began the liturgy. This great joy of the daily Eucharistic assembly was attended by several faithful from Seoul, who received the Blessed Sacrament and after the end of the Holy Mass, the Holy Father began the celebration. After the Liturgy, in the welcoming room of the Book café “Philokalia”, they communicated with the newly ordained minister, discussing spiritual matters “eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart” (Pr 2:46).
Publications of new books
With God’s help and the assistance of various donors from Greece and America, the following new books were recently published by the publishing house of the Korean Metropolis “Korean Orthodox Editions”:
- Saint Porphyry, Life and Words,
- St. Paisios, Discourses D´, Family Life,
- Archim. George Kapsani, Theosis as the purpose of man’s life,
- Sophocles Dimitrakopoulos, Saint Nektarios (in Japanese) and
- St. John of Kronstadt, My life in Christ.
It is worth noting that the Orthodox books can be found in the largest bookstores in the country and are also sold via the internet. The long and costly work of translating, publishing and circulating the books has already borne spiritual fruit. When a new prospective customer says that he has come to know the Orthodox Church through the first or second book of our publishing house, this is the greatest moral satisfaction for the workers in the publishing sector.
63 Baptisms
In the group baptisms that were celebrated in almost all the parishes of the Holy Metropolis of Korea before Christmas, sixty-three of our Brothers received Holy Baptism after a long catechism. This great event of the naturalization of new members into the Kingdom of God is the most promising and joyful event for the further expansion of the Orthodox witness in the land of “Morning Peace”. We should clarify that among the new believers, apart from Koreans, there were also Slavophones, who, as we know, are being promoted liturgically and pastorally under the Holy Metropolis of Korea.
The first orthodox cultural monument in Korea
A very big and pleasant surprise awaited the members of the Korean Orthodox Metropolis at the beginning of the new year 2015. An official document was sent to the Metropolis by post, in which the Cathedral of St. Nicholas Seoul was designated by the Seoul City Council as a cultural monument of the capital. For this reason, our Orthodox Cathedral has been included in the city’s sightseeing list and group visits by schoolchildren, students and other citizens of Seoul have already been organised by local municipal authorities.
Beginning of the Triduum – Vespers of Forgiveness
In order for the faithful to have a visual reminder of the beginning of the Triduum at the Vespers of the Sabbath of the Publican and the Pharisee, before the beginning of the “Lord, I have cried out” the cantor went to the Temple, made three penances and received from the icon of Christ the book of the Triduum. At the Vespers of Forgiveness, also, after the dismissal and the sermon on forgiveness, the Bishop was the first to ask for forgiveness from the dense congregation with territorial repentance. Then one by one the clergy and laity, embracing the Cross of Blessing and the Bishop’s hand, received and gave forgiveness. Each believer or retreatant standing next to the other formed a huge chain of love that embraced the entire church of St. Nicholas. The emotion of many was so intense that they could not hold back their tears.
Athanasia Dem. Kontogiannakopoulou
