On Sept 27, 2023, Professor of Systematic Theology, Dr Peter Bouteneff, gave a lecture at Seoul National University, South Korea, entitled The Orthodox Church: Its Teaching, Ethos, and Art.

Dr Bouteneff was invited by the Center for Religious Studies at Seoul National University, which is South Korea’s leading institution of higher learning. This three-hour lecture provided an introduction to the Orthodox Church for students and faculty engaged in Christian studies, and featured a lively question-and-answer period.

The lecture was also attended by His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, Fr Antonios Lim, and Dr Eleni Cho of the Eastern Orthodox Metropolis of Korea. Dr Cho provided consecutive interpretation from English to Korean. After the event, Prof. Bouteneff— joined by his wife Dr Patricia Bouteneff, and daughter Elizabeth (currently living in Daejeon, South Korea)—were invited to St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Seoul for a tour of the new iconography and the extensive missionary work of this diocese, which includes an active press that publishes Orthodox Christian literature in Korean. They were also able to discuss many issues of Orthodox Christian mission and education.

In reflecting on his experience lecturing and meeting with Orthodox Church leaders in South Korea, Dr Bouteneff remarked, “It was an unforgettable day. I found the University students and faculty to be deeply engaged and interested. Afterward, I was very deeply impressed by the extensive missionary work of the Metropolis of Korea under the guidance of His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosius."

We just saw an amazing race! Defar, a talented athlete, running as hard as she could to win a gold medal! And what did she do when she realized she had won? Immediately she held up an icon of the Theotokos, to give thanks to God.

She cried, she knelt and she held that icon up for all to see. Without words she sent a spiritual message to countless people watching around the world. It's likely she had endured great struggles to make it to where she was. She had not given up and perhaps she was now saying, "Thank you for all things in my life my Lord. My Theotokos you were always with me as I pounded the track, my Christ you were beside me when I thought I could no longer stand up, and my God you gave me courage to go on running." Knowing that she had not won alone, and with all eyes on her, she gazed to the heavens, to give thanks to God.

We may never compete in such an event as Defar, but each and every one of us can all run the race of our life following Jesus. St Paul writes that we can compete to obtain "an incorruptible crown" (1 Cor 9.25). It does not matter who we are or where we come from. Even if we encounter great obstacles we are not alone, for the Theotokos is with us. And let us also remember, to give thanks to God.