Did you know that there are 338 Orthodox churches in Guatemala, with 500,000 faithful and catechumens? Did you know that a former UN Ambassador is now a priest in that community? Did you know that hundreds of Latin Americans continue to leave the Roman Catholic Church on a daily basis, seeking other religious experiences, including worship within the liturgical services of the Orthodox Church?
St. Vladimir’s Seminary invites the public to its second annual Missions Day, Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 7:30 p.m., for a presentation on the “explosion” of Orthodox Christianity in Guatemala; in recent years 338 Orthodox churches, with 500,000 faithful and catechumens, have become part of the Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico.
The Very Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Andres Girón de Leon and The Very Rev. John Chakos will be the guest lecturers, sharing first hand their missionary activities among the indigenous people of Guatemala, within their presentation, “Mission to Guatemala: Receiving the Mayan People into the Orthodox Church.” The presentations will be in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building on the seminary campus.
Father Andres, a native Guatemalan who grew up in a family of privilege, has crammed several lifetimes into one: former Roman Catholic priest, trained counselor, Senator in the Guatemalan Congress and advocate for the rural poor, Ambassador to the United States, and now, Orthodox priest among disaffected Mayan people who were searching for a spiritual home outside the Roman Catholic Church.
Father John is a “retired” Greek Orthodox priest from Pittsburgh, serving in Guatemala under the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) for six months out of the year, with his wife, Presbytera Alexandra. Fr. John serves the vast spiritual needs of the new Orthodox faithful, while Presbytera “Sandy” sets up shop as a seamstress and teaches the Mayan women sewing skills that will bring them fresh purpose and needed income.