Arhimandrite Daniel B.D. Byantoro

Priest followed logic from Islam to Orthodox Christianity

The search for God led Indonesian Father Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro from Islam through Calvinist, Evangelical and Charismatic Protestantism into Orthodox Christianity.

Although he had adhered to Muslim beliefs, practices and daily prayer, as a child he had no clue what God looked like. Islam prohibits images of God or prophets, which are integral for Orthodox.

"I wanted to understand more personally who and what God is," he said while visiting the Inland Northwest recently to speak at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Spokane and St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Post Falls, Idaho.

Although feeling disconnected from God and worried about his salvation, he was afraid to explore other faiths.

Because his Orthodox understanding resonates with people of oriental traditions, he is worried by growing Islamic radicalism in his homeland. There, 750 churches have been burned, several thousand Christians have been killed, and in many areas Christians live under threat, he said.

Indonesia’s 240 million people of Asian, Polynesian and African descent mix 350 languages and cultures, but are 90 percent Muslim and speak Arabic as a ritual language. Indonesian is the national language, he said.

Before Islam became established, Hinduism and Buddhism were the primary religions.

Born in 1956 in East Java, Daniel was reared by his grandparents, immersed in Islam.