On Saturday 25th May we celebrated the blessing of the new cemetery of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Japan. It was a moving moment for all those present, both because of the spiritual charge of the service and because of the installation of a cross in the middle of the cemetery. This was the first time that the Holy Cross had been placed in an area at the foot of Mount Fuji, opposite a pagan Buddhist temple. The blessing of the place with holy water and the setting up of a “guardian angel” made all those present feel enveloped and moved into a world of grace. We tasted a little…

On Saturday 20 January, a historic event took place for all of Orthodoxy in Japan: Father Daniel Coriu signed the concession contract for a 1,200 square metre plot of land that will become the first Orthodox cemetery in Japan. This was facilitated by the Japan Burial Wishers Association and the Buddhist Temple Daijouji through Buddhist priests Kimura Ichikawa and Tairyou Ichikawa.Only Orthodox Christians of any nationality who reside in Japan may be buried in this cemetery. We encourage this event to be as widely publicised as possible and encourage Orthodox Christians, whether Japanese or foreigners living in Japan, to find a burial place in the Yamanashi Orthodox Cemetery as soon…

As Orthodox Christians, bearing the name of Christ (Christian comes from Christ), following Christ is our main responsibility. We are born with Christ in Baptism, we unite with Christ through His Holy Sacraments, and we follow Christ through His holy commandments. The Christian life is a continual imitation of the life of Christ. If Christ took flesh from the Virgin Mary, body made of clay (not ashes), if He lived through and with this body, died with Him, was buried with the body in the tomb, rose with the body, and ascended into glory to heaven, then the body in the orthodox Christian teaching has the same importance as the…