The Korean Diocese celebrated a significant event with the consecration of a house church in Incheon. The rite of minor consecration for the church, dedicated to one of the founders of monasticism, St. Anthony the Great, was conducted by the ruling hierarch, Archbishop Theophan of Korea.

Local residents and parishioners from the Resurrection Church in Seoul attended the service. After the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Theophan delivered a sermon and thanked everyone for their joint prayers, according to the Telegram channel of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia.

St. Anthony the Great's church is located on Yeongjong Island in the city of Incheon, South Korea. In January of this year, Archbishop Theophan and Hierodeacon Nektarios rented a private house on the island. They set up a trailer, purchased with parishioners' funds, on the property, which they converted into a house church. The small brotherhood painted the walls and performed other tasks to make the trailer suitable for worship services.

According to the Korean Diocese, the establishment of the Orthodox parish on Yeongjong Island in January was a joyous event for Korean believers and marked the first step toward founding a men's monastery in South Korea.

The Korean Diocese was established just over five years ago. On December 28, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church formed the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia, which includes North and South Korea, "due to the significant successes of the Russian Orthodox Church's mission in Southeast Asian countries, reflected in the increase in the number of churches and communities, the emergence of clergy from the local population, growing interest in Russian Orthodoxy, as well as the increase in Russian-speaking residents living in these countries on a permanent or temporary basis."

Photo: Korean Diocese / t.me/k_monastery