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Ontario Deanery Hosts Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro on Indonesian Mission Tour

Fr Daniel Byantoro
October 29, 2016 to November 6, 2016

By the mercy of God and the efforts of our faithful clergy and faithful, the Ontario Deanery was blessed this fall to host Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro, Dean and founder of the Orthodox Church in Indonesia.

Father Daniel’s Indonesian Mission Tour visited Kingston, several locations in Toronto, and Windsor, Ontario, before departing once again for the United States, en route to Indonesia.

St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Parish in Kingston, Ontario, had the honour of listening to two presentations by Father Daniel on October 29th and 30th, in which he detailed his personal conversion from Islam and the establishment and growth of Orthodoxy in his home country of Indonesia. The Kingston parishioners were quite moved to hear how the Lord had openly appeared to him, just as He had to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus.

Father Daniel greatly encouraged our faith in the unseen world as he went on to relate miracles of healings and exorcisms that the Orthodox clergy in Indonesia have witnessed. The parishioners and friends who attended both speeches received a big blessing.

On November 1st, Father Daniel spoke at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College to a group including mainly students from the campus Orthodox Christian Fellowship and members of the new mission parish of Holy Myrrhbearers.

The campus event alone raised enough funds to allow the OCF and the campus-based mission to become one of the "500 Founders" of the monastery project in Indonesia.
On November 2nd, Father Daniel was invited to speak at the Coptic Centre in Markham, just outside Toronto, to a diverse group including many young people. Father Daniel’s testimony of endurance and faith provided an inspiration to many in the audience whose family members had suffered religious persecution first hand.

On November 5th and 6th, Father Daniel gave two educational talks to the community in Windsor, Ontario, sponsored by St. John the Divine Orthodox Church.

As he prepared for his flight home, Father Daniel expressed his thanks for the nearly $10,000 that the OCA Deanery of Ontario had raised for his missionary work during the brief fund-raising tour. He felt that it was God's miraculous providence that he had been invited to come to Canada at this particular time, since his mission had some major expenses to pay in support of the training of missionary priests and the growth of monasticism in Indonesia.

Plans are being discussed for possible Indonesian Mission Tours elsewhere in Canada and the United States. If you and your community are interested in being part of one, contact Father Geoffrey Korz, Dean of Ontario, at korzg@hotmail.com.