India, February 4, 2019 – A mission team recently arrived in India to begin the process of baptizing 1,000 – 2,000 people into the holy Orthodox Church, including 50-100 former Protestant pastors.
This step marks the beginning of the process of receiving over 100,000 people in India into the Church, reports the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church in Hawaii.
The mission is being headed by Fr. Athanasius Kone, the rector of the Holy Theotokos of Iveron parish in Hawaii which is home to the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon. The mission team, blessed by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, includes clergy and nuns from America, Canada, and Russia.
Extensive catechism has been underway for the past several months, and now 1,000 are ready to be baptized.
Also part of the mission team is Papa Ephraim, formerly of St. Anthony’s Monastery, who provides some backstory through his online journal of an initial trip with Fr. Athanasius to India in September, which can be read here.
If you would like to help support this new Orthodox Mission to India, please visit: www.orthodoxhawaii.org or www.paypal.me/IveronHawaii please note that your donation is to go to the India Mission in Andhra Pradesh.
