Русский | INTERFAX Religion / Sedmitza.Ru| Moscow. April 13, 2010
English translation by Katherine Ilachinski

Orthodox missionaries began work among the Chinese diaspora in Moscow

The Orthodox Missionary Movement named after Prophet Daniel held a sightseeing trip to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (monastery) for Chinese living in Moscow.

"We believe that God sent to our town guests from abroad not only that they could study or work here, but also to be able to learn about Orthodoxy," - said Tuesday the leader of the movement, the famous theologian, Yuri Maximov .

"So, - continued the source - we were looking for affordable ways of missionary work among foreigners in Russia, and finally found a solution to familiarize them with the Orthodox Church through the journey to our monasteries with guided tours in their native language."

The initiative was approved at the time by the founder of the missionary movement priest Daniel Sysoev, who was martyred by an unknown assailant late in the evening on November 19, 2009 in the church of the Apostle Thomas on the south of Moscow.

"Almost a year went for preparation. To our delight, this initiative was met with interest by the Chinese themselves. And, although initially we had hoped to gather a small group of up to six people we eventually gathered fourteen Chinese students", - said Yuri Maximov.

The tour was held by a student of the Moscow Theological Academy Priest Alexis Zabelin. The trip was also attended by the missionaries, who talked with participants about the Faith. In conclusion, all the tourists were given icons and books about Orthodoxy in Chinese.

According to Yuri Maximov, the Chinese students' acquaintance with the Orthodox shrine touched off "deep and lively responses and it is hoped that many of them will continue to explore Orthodoxy as part of the Chinese Orthodox lectures, which will soon be arranged by the Missionary Movement of Prophet Daniel."

It is assumed that travel to the monastery with excursions in the Chinese language will continue.