Fr. Daniel Byantoro and the Future of Orthodoxy in Indonesia

"Despite the presence of Islam in Indonesia, there is great hope for Orthodoxy there... We are seeing in the world today a rising culture of hatred and death, and the only way to defeat it is with the culture of love and life—that is, the culture of the Gospel, the culture of Orthodoxy."

See also these feature articles:

• Orthodox Mission Profile: Archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro and the Indonesian Mission
• Orthodoxy in Indonesia: An Interview with Archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro
• THE KAABA AND JACOB’S PILLOW: A Discussion on Christian-Islamic Relations with Fr. Daniel Byantoro
• Indonesian Orthodox Mission thrives despite Muslim Death Threats and Persecution

Fr. Daniel Byantoro is also featured in my book, Facing Islam: What the Ancient Church has to say about the Religion of Muhammad.

via 'I Believe in the Future of Orthodoxy in Indonesia' — A Conversation with Archimandrite Daniel (Byantoro)
Pravoslavie — June 23, 2015 (Thanks to Bill)

Fr. Daniel at Sretensky Monastery, Moscow

On Monday June 15, Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro arrived in Moscow with his fellow priest Fr. Alexios. Fr. Daniel is the first Indonesian convert to Orthodoxy and the founder and heart of the struggling Orthodox Church there. He came to Russia for several days to visit holy sites, hierarchs and friends, and to spread the word of his mission to his spiritual brothers and sisters in Russia. On Wednesday he sat down for an interview with Pravoslavie.ru in which he spoke about his country and its Christian history.

At a public lecture the night before given at the Fund of Slavic Culture Fr. Daniel spoke more about his own conversion experience. Raised in an entirely Islamic village, all that he knew of Christianity came from the Koran: as Christians worship three Gods, turned a prophet into God and made God weak, unable to save His prophet from crucifixion, they are going to hell. Islam denies that Christ is the Son of God; they deny the Trinity as well as the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, and therefore, as Fr. Daniel noted, they deny the entirety of Christian teaching (see Koran 5:72, 73, 98:6 which Fr. Daniel referenced easily from memory).