Peace to you, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Let us tell you about the trip of Fr. Igor Kizyaev (of the parish of the Holy Trinity in Chita) to Kharagun.
This village is not far from Chita (only about 150 miles), but it is almost impossible to get there by car, because the road is quite bad, and so you need to go by train.
In Kharagun, Fr. Igor visited house of Ivan Konovalov. Ivan graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Novosibirsk and served as a subdeacon (layman helping a priest) in the parish in Chita for some years, but then the family reasons forced him to leave for Kharagun.
But there he does not sit idle and does not lose time in vain, but instructs his relatives and neighbors in the faith. And so in order to baptize some of them that Fr. Igor came now. On the first day of his visit, he met with them and conducted a lesson on the basics of Lutheran doctrines.
The next morning, Ivan’s father arrived (he is 70 years old), who has not yet been baptized. But by this time he was already instructed in the Lutheran faith, and had long dreamed of being baptized.
So Fr. Igor conducted the more detailed lesson with the catechumens, and then he celebrated the Mass. During the Mass, four people were baptized (including a newborn baby, Ivan’s son) and received Holy Communion.
Please pray for Lutherans living in villages scattered throughout Siberia, for Subdeacon Ivan and his family, and for safe travel of priests. And we wish you blessed time of Advent!
“Faith and hope”
Please see attached photos.
