Peace to you, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In Christianity, salvation is not given to us abstractly; it is given to us through the word and the sacraments of the Church. There is no salvation outside the Church, because only in there are the baptismal font and the altar and the priests who are special men through whom God saves people.
The priest is a salvation enabler; he is God’s hands and mouth in this world, priests are absolutely necessary for our salvation, because it is through them that God saves people.
Thus established God, that anyone who wants to be saved must be baptized. Baptism is the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. Last Sunday, in our parish in Yurga [see Newsletters #136 and #248], the whole family was baptized. And for Fr. Vitali Smirnov, this day became special also because he conducted the rite of baptism for the first time in his life.
So we thank God for the new Christians and we congratulate Father Vitali on his new blessed experience.
Please pray that more people in Siberia will hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized. And that the trips of priests were safe.
“Faith and hope”
