A YOUNG Christian from China travelled almost 5000 miles to Melbourne, Australia, so that he could be baptised in an Anglican church.

The teenager, Aaron, was one of a group of young people to be baptised at St Thomas’s, Burwood, The Melbourne Anglican reports. St Thomas’s has both an English-speaking congregation and a Cantonese-speaking congregation, who had originally come from a church that had gathered in Chinatown. In 2007, two churches — St Theodore’s, Wattle Park, and St Michael’s, Bennettswood — had merged, including their names: “Tho” from Theodore and “Mas” from Michael’s.

Aaron’s mother had contacted the minister of the Chinese congregation, the Revd Tzeh Yi Chan, when she heard through a friend who worshipped at St Thomas’s that members of the congregation there were due to be baptised — something that her son had been unable to do under restrictions on religious freedom at home.

Mr Chan said that he had interviewed Aaron, to ensure that he understood the undertaking of baptism. About three months later, Aaron and his mother flew to Melbourne to visit the church. Aaron also went through an “intensive” preparation course with Mr Chan, The Melbourne Anglican reported.

Mr Chan said that Aaron and his mother had felt free to enjoy the service of baptism at St Thomas’s without fear of persecution. Before returning home to China, Aaron had asked his mother to embroider a cloth depicting their journey to Burwood. It was presented as a gift of thanks to Mr Chan.

The Lead Minister of St Thomas’s, the Revd John Carrick, said that being baptised in front of a congregation could be daunting, but that the experience could also strengthen faith. “When Christians see that people are becoming new believers, there is that real sense of hope that the Church is going to continue,” he said. “We’re reminded that it’s not all up to us, that Christ said that he will build his Church, and we worked with him toward that.”