Asian and Oceania Division Christian symposium started today, on January 11, 2023, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with the participation of Pastor Tzvetan Petkov, General Conference President at IMS, Pastor Douglas Francis, General Conference Secretary at IMS, and Pastor Adalicio Fontes, Leader of the Family Department at IMS, Pastor Roland De La Paz confirmed on Facebook.

Colombo, the executive and judicial capital and the largest city of Sri Lanka by population with its 5.6 million citizens, was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East–West sea trade routes. The name ‘Colombo’, first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505, is believed to come either from the classical Sinhala name Kolon thota, meaning “port on the river Kelani”, or from the Sinhala name Kola-amba-thota which means ‘Harbour with leafy/green mango trees’, or from kolamba (ford or harbour) in the Vedda language.

  Pastor Tzvetan Petkov during the symposium; a photo from the personal archive of Pastor Roland De La Paz.

Written by Margarit Zhekov