Newly Illuminated Members and Families in 2005
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Chrysostom Joong-Ho Lee
with Fr. Na and godparent Apostolos
Choong-Ho Lee had not knew the Orthodoxy until he met Anna Sei-Hwoa Kim who is one of the first youth members at St. Paul Orthodox Community in Incheon. He met Anna at his working place, an hospital office in Kim-po, Kyunggi Province in Korea. None of his family members are Christians. His parents had some experience in attending at a protestant Church without Baptism in the past. He wished to marry Anna but noticed that he could not marry her unless he became a Christian. So, he started to come to St. Paul Church with Anna and study the Orthodoxy with Fr. Daniel Na, a parish priest. Finally he decided to become an Orthodox Christian and marry Anna. With the blessing of HE Metropolitan Sotirios of Korea he was baptized and married to her through the Rite of Marriage Sacrament performed by Fr. Daniel Na on 12th February 2005. May the Lord bless both of them. Amen.
Newly Illuminated Members and Families in 2002
Newly illuminated Orthodox Families
The community of St. Paul Orthodox Church in Incheon experienced so many beautiful and mighty wonders of our Church in glorifying our Lord and expressing deeply felt gratitudes to Him for all the heavenly blessings. Among the wonders, the spiritual births of the following three families (ten members altogather) into the Orthodox Church in the year of 2002 at St. Paul Orthodox Church in Incheon are great joy and happiness to all the members of the Community in Incheon. Our heartfelt gratitudes go to His Grace Bishop Sotirios of Zela for his spiritual guidance and blessings, and most of all his fatherly love and care to us. Ispola eti Despota!
The Nicodemos Family:
Nicodemos was the last person in his family to be baptized on Sunday before the Nativity of the Lord. His wife, Lufina and his two children Justin (17yrs old) and Despina (16yrs old) witnessed the baptism of Nicodemos with thanks and joy. Justin and Despia were the students taught at the Free Education Study Room operated in the St. Paul' Education Center by the members of the youth movement of St. Paul Orthodox Church for three hours every Sunday after the Sunday Divine Liturgy. As they came to our Church every Sundays in order only to study under the instructions of the student teachers, their interests in our Church life grew for last one and half year which made them to be baptized with their mother(by the holy Chrismation) who was a Catholic on the Holy Saturday of the Holy Week in 2002. This is the case that so often happens in our community for the baptism of our Orthodox Church. Children bring their parents to our Church and eventually introduce them to the life of the Orthodox Church in Korea. Now whole family of Nicodemos are Orthodox Christians and stay in the communion with our Lord and the members of the community of St. Paul Orthodox Church in Incheon.
The John Family:
John, Mr. Jae Jin Lee, was baptised with his wife and two children on the Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord 2002. His Grand-grandparents were the Orthodox Christians from the beginning of the Orthodox mission by the Russian missionaries in 1900s. He knew of the presence of the Orthodox Church in Korea from his childhood by seeing the visits of the local Orthodox priest to his home once in a while, but never got a chance to come to the Orthodox Church due to the distance of his home from the Church and some other reasons, such as the frequent contacts with non-Orthodox friends and heavy loaded school-studies. It was the time when he married and had his own two children to think of attending at the Church Services. After he married, his wife, Irene, started to come to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Seoul with her mother-in-law, Tatianna, who was not in good health. Irene always listened to Tatianna concerning the life of the Orthodox Church and took the cathechumen lessons for two year. But she could not receive the holy Baptism due to the illness of her mother-in-law until her death in Septemberr of 2002. At the funeral Service of the late Tatianna officiated by His Grace Bishop Sotirios at the Chapel of the Resurrection of our Lord in front of the Church cemetary in YongMi-Ri Kyung Ki Do, Mr. Lee decided to become Orthodox Christians according to the advise of his wife, Irene, All the family members of Mr. Lee were illuminated on the Sunday before the Feast Day of the Nativity with the Christian names, John, Irene, Adrew and Peter. Five generations of the John' family are now Orthodox families in Korea. There are more than one hundred families like the John' family in Korea.
The Philip Family
Philip did not know of the Orthodox Church until he married to Catherine with her child Lukia who baptised in the St. Paul Orthodox Church in Incheon before her marriage to Philip in the civil marriage court. Catherine came to the Church a few times a year due to the considerably long distance from her house to the Church. There are five Orthodox Churches in Korea, mainly in big cities. To some of our Orthodox Christians are having difficulties to come to the Church like Catherine' family. The transference of her husband' work to the nearest area of the Church made Philip to consider of being baptized into the Orthodox Church finally.
He baptized with his new born child, Daniel, at the St. Paul Orthodox Church before the Nativity of our Lord. It is said that there are still many Orthodox Christians like Philip who can not come to their Church simply because of the distances that do not permit them to travel to come to the Church.
Finally, Christiana(10month old), the youngerst generation of the St. Paul Community in Incheon baptized also at the time of the above mentioned families' baptism is the joy to all of us. May our Lord grant them all, the newly illuminated members of the St. Paul Orthodox Church in Incheon the joy and happiness throught their lives and divine power to continue their good work in the Church and in the society in Korea. xponia polla.
