Online missionary work in the 21st century

Lazar Katić, 1st grade student, Diocese of Šabac

,,Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you(Mt. 28, 18-20)".
We are aware that science and technology have advanced a lot in the 21st century. Seen from the
spiritual side, the Church is timeless and cannot be placed in a small corner of the present, past or
future. Certainly, we are aware that there is some progress in this external and temporal representation
of the Church. It is much easier today to sew clothes for a priest, print books as well as make various
church apparitions. Even the construction of temples itself is much easier today, because there are
various machines that help in the construction of such structures. Likewise, the use of electricity, the
Internet, and other technological advances in the church should not be rejected.
Today, we notice that there are a large number of priests who address their flock mostly by
phone, and even that some of them publish their sermons on social networks. Can this be beneficial or
soul-destroying? Many Saints such as Saint Nicodemus, John Chrysostom, Saint Luke of Crimea,
Bishop Nikolai came to the conclusion that science and technology are certainly given to us by God
and are good when we use them in a moral sense, in accordance with God's intentions and in the
service of humanity. Technology gives us the ability to improve the world we live in. If it leads to
separation from God and morality, it is certainly negative and against the commandments of God. In
the very book of Genesis, when God creates the world and man, it is said: "And God saw that it was
good (Gen. 1, 10)". Everything was created for good and should serve good, however, deluded by the
devil's charm, we often know how to abuse it. Today, it is perhaps the easiest for a person to make a
mistake because we have a lot of opportunities. "Everything is permitted to me, but everything does
not build me up (1 Cor. 10, 23)".
We reach the connection of the clergy with the spiritual child through the phone and social
networks. Is there a possibility that we might even save someone through social networks? Online
missionary work? Our school's first grade student, Lazar Katić, will tell us about his experience with
spreading the Word of God through social networks.

-Often on social networks and on my Facebook I like to share some spiritual teachings of the
Holy Fathers as well as a lot of interesting Orthodox content. I accepted various people as friends on
Facebook (which is not at all safe), hoping that maybe some of the foreigners will wonder what the
Orthodox faith is. By the grace of God, that happened.
On Saint Nicholas Feast, I received a message from a man named Jake. He wrote me his address,
name, surname and that he is interested in the Orthodox faith. The man turned out to be a Korean
living in Los Angeles. He asked me if I could somehow help him and explain something about the
Orthodox Church. I accepted such an invitation with great joy and did not refuse it. Although, at first I
thought someone was playing a joke on me, because it sounded a little unbelievable. Jake was a
Protestant and regularly went every Sunday to their prayer together. However, all the time he was
looking for something that would completely fulfill him. He wanted to know God.
I started sending him various compositions and tried to explain to him some basics of Orthodoxy
and ways of glorifying God in the Orthodox Church. I mostly sent him the works of Bishop Nikolaj
and Thomas Hopko in English.
I told him that he should attend Holy Liturgies at the Temple of Saint Sava in Los Angeles.
There, for the first time, he practically learned what the Holy Liturgy is. He felt the grace and fullness
of church singing and chanting, as well as the very relationship of man to God and God to man.
He was simply delighted. In that church(St Sava Temple), he met priest Predrag Bojović, and he was
also present at several Archbishop's Liturgies served by Bishop Makism. Listening and researching
even more deeply about the Orthodox faith, going to services and slowly adopting the symbols of
Orthodoxy, Jake simply fell in love with our faith.
After some time, he wrote to me that he had a great desire to be baptized. I was very happy and
excited when I heard his wish. He particularly liked the Tronoša Monastery and wanted to be baptized
there. The Tronoša Monastery is close to my hometown, Loznica. We agreed that I would be his
godfather at the baptism and that he would come to Serbia in May.
Unbelievably, he came from Los Angeles to Serbia. He stayed in Amsterdam. And on that
twelfth of May, the plane from Amsterdam landed in Serbia. My mother and I waited for him at the
Belgrade airport. It was a beautiful meeting. From Belgrade we went to Loznica, where Jake had
pleasant accommodation in a nearby hostel. He is stayed in Serbia for a week.
When Jake told me he wanted to be baptized, I asked him in what name he wanted to be
baptized. He told me that he wanted to become Jacob. On the thirteenth of May 2022, Jake was
baptized as Jacob in the Tronoša Monastery. It is interesting to point out that we didn't even fit
anything about the date and it just happened that he was baptized as Jacob on the feast of the
celebration of Saint Jacob Zebedee. Archimandrite Nikolaj Veselinović and Mother Magdalina
welcomed us to the Monastery. My family and close friends attended the baptism. He was the first man
from the Asian continent to be baptized in Tronoša. Archimandrite Nicholaj gave us a blessing to see
and kiss the relics of Saint Stephen the Tronoški. The whole monastery was filled with the beautiful
smell of the relics, reminiscent of the most beautiful roses. We served ourselves a little in the
Monastery and had lunch. That day itself and that experience was incredible as far for brother Jakob as
for me.
After the baptism, we went to lunch and Jakob tried "Drina specialties" for the first time. All the
time, while he was staying in Serbia, he was enthusiastic about food. He said it was excellent and of
good quality. For the first time in his life, he tried prebranac, kebabs, sarma, goulash, cracklings,
brandy...
During his short stay, he managed to be present at one of my cousin's weddings. He also got
acquainted with other Serbian customs such as Slava. Simply, he was delighted and amazed by so
much mutual love and the very association with the Serbs.
One of the great clergymen who had enormous importance and influence on him was Bishop
Lavrentije Trifunović. Jacob says he has never seen so much humility and love in any man. He found
out about Bishop Lavrentije a few days after his death. He listened to some of his sermons on the
Internet and although he could not understand anything, he was delighted by his humility as well as the
biography of our Bishop. Jakob wanted to visit Soko Grad (the endowment of Bishop Lavrenti). My
grandmother, Jakob and me went to Soko Grad. There, Brother Jakob prayed over the grave of the
deceased Bishop. He was surprised by such a beautiful place and the Monastery itself.
He stayed a few more days in Loznica, attended the Liturgy in the Church of the Intercession of
the Blessed Virgin Mary and visited a few other temples in the area. He visited Tršić, Banja Koviljača
and other famous places in the Podrinje and Radjevina regions. He spent a few days in Belgrade before
returning to Los Angeles. He visited the Church of St. Mark, the Cathedral Church, and he was most
excited when he arrived at the Temple of St. Sava. His reaction was "Wow!". He was speechless before
the size of the temple and before the mosaics, which are truly incredible.
He went back to Los Angeles on the nineteenth of May, just as the Reconciliation Liturgy of the
SPC and MPCOA was being celebrated in the Church of Saint Sava. From Serbia, he brought a lot of
blessings, gifts, icons... But above all, he brought the Holy Spirit inside him. He was baptized. When I
asked him why he wanted to be baptized, he answered: "It seems that the path of faith must be quiet,
humble, and prayerful. Just like the atmosphere when you are at an Orthodox service. I was fascinated
by the skinny monks. I was deeply impressed by the monks of Mount Athos (he especially highlighted
the monks of Elder Thaddeus, Paisius and Porfirio Kavsokalivit). Even though they are in old mantles
 and dresses, even though they eat very little, I was amazed at how they are always smiling, how they
always have time for God. In America, life is too fast. Everyone puts God last. The monks delighted me
- the purity of their souls, smiles, eyes and hearts. They only need God!“.
- Exactly, just as the Lord says - "Look at the birds of the sky, how they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather
into granaries; so your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you much more important than them (Mt. 6,
26)?". Likewise, in many places in the Gospel, he tells us - Don't worry! Indeed, we are not worried. That
is the goal. Monks do not need anything else but God and that constant prayer. First of all, we need to
seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and everything else will be added to us (Mt. 6, 36). Brother Jakob continued
to regularly attend religious services in his town. He regularly receives Holy Communion, fasts and
performs all his Christian duties, and teaches others as well. He is a very good parent and also a faithful
husband to his wife. He became a true Christian. We hope for his modest arrival in Belgrade and a visit to
our seminary.
- From all this we can conclude - you can be a missionary through the Internet. Everything is meant for
good. Our little, our small prayer can mean a lot to someone. God gave us the ability to save each other.
It's amazing how many ways we can save not only ourselves, but also others. In a word, a little effort
around someone can save their soul. We can also preach online! The Word of God is universal,
immutable, surpasses and transcends all time!
"And I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to
you. Because everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks, finds; and he who knocks is opened to him.
(Lk. 11, 9-10)". Amen!