A mass baptism took place in Great Britain: more than 250 people joined the ranks of the Greek Orthodox Church

This past Easter weekend, the Greek Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom held a series of celebrations during which more than 250 new members were baptized. According to Christian Today, mass baptisms took place across the country, testifying to the active expansion of the Orthodox faith in the region.

The largest event was organized in the county of Hertfordshire, where 75 people were baptized at once. Church officials noted that a significant portion of the new parishioners came into the fold of the church thanks to the Discover Orthodoxy program, which is aimed at introducing the basics of the faith. Among those baptized were both adults and children. It is noteworthy that while many of them came from traditionally Orthodox countries such as Greece and Cyprus, there were also many from the UK, Commonwealth, Latin America and Europe. After the sacrament, all new members of the community participated in the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion for the first time.

The Church’s official statement emphasizes that the day will be remembered not only for the number of participants, but also for demonstrating “a living Church uniting people from different parts of the world in a common life.” The Archdiocese of Thyatira and Great Britain was officially founded in 1922 after the events of the “Asia Minor Catastrophe,” a period of Greek-Turkish warfare that led to the exodus of more than a million Orthodox Greeks from Asia Minor. The name of the archdiocese refers to Thyatira, one of the seven churches mentioned in the biblical Book of Revelation.