On Saturday, 29th July 2023, at the Holy Church of St. Nektarios in Battersea, London, 29 individuals were received into the Orthodox Church by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain.
The neophytes successfully attended the Discover Orthodoxy Adult Catechism Classes led by the V. Rev. Archimandrite Nephon Tsimalis, Chancellor, which will conclude early September. This is the 5th Series of Adult Catechism being offered in the United Kingdom, with a 6th scheduled to start in the autumn.
The Archbishop baptized and confirmed 25 individuals of various backgrounds and ages. Four adults were received into the Orthodox Church by a confession of faith and Holy Chrismation. Christian Orthodox Thyateira Youth (COTY) offered to each neophyte a silver gold-plated Justinian-style baptismal cross and a white candle during the ceremony to demonstrate their prayerful solidarity and support. The V. Rev. Archimandrite Nephon Tsimalis, Chancellor, the Rev. Protopresbyter Christodoulos Christodoulou, Oikonomos Dr. Kristian Akselberg, and the Rev. Presbyters Panayiotis Anastasiou and Stephen Ireland, and the Rev. Hierodeacon Gregory Palamas Florides also participated in the Holy Sacrament. The Rev. Hierodeacon Konstantinos Mamouris served as Archbishop’s Ecclesiarch.
The dazzling white neophytes processed throughout the Church with interlocking arms, while holding their baptismal candles led by Archbishop Nikitas, the clergy, and a Byzantine Choir chanting in English, “All those that have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia!” The truly Pentecostal service concluded with a paternal exhortation of the Archbishop welcoming those received into the “family of believers”. This family welcomes and embraces “all nationalities, cultures, and traditions”. He also congratulated the Discover Orthodoxy ministry, recognizing that over 100 of its graduates have entered the Orthodox Church in the last three and a half years.
