Jeremy Woodham is tall, quietly spoken, unassuming, ‘laid back’ and humorous. He was educated at a school in Bath and took a BA in French and Russian at Sheffield University. He comes from a Baptist background but sees himself ‘as an ecumenist at heart’ and believes that "coming into contact with another denomination or cultural expression of the faith brings refreshment and stimulation".

In 1996, at the age of 24, shortly after leaving university, he was working at a Christian conference centre but ‘was very dissatisfied with the job’ he was doing. He had no idea’ what he wanted to do; he ‘didn’t really have any future plans’ but he was searching for an opening, ‘something’, ‘to slot into a fulfilling and valuable role’.

That year Jeremy went on a week’s pilgrimage to lona. While on the island, during a Sunday service, he heard the preacher wax eloquent about ‘the world Church’ and express the hope that "some of you, who are young enough and haven’t got onerous responsibilities, will take some time to go and stand in solidarity with your Christian brothers and sisters around the world". The challenge of those words stayed with Jeremy.

Later that year he attended the Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival. He ‘wasn’t looking for information and was not really aware of the Church Mission Society’ but he ‘picked up a leaflet’ about CMS, filled in his details and ‘sent it in’.

He applied for a CMS Overseas Experience Placement "and then a very rapid session of exhaustive interviews followed". He was selected for the programme.

In early 1997 the Orthodox Research Institute of Missiology, Ecumenism and New Religious Movements (known as PIMEN for short), which is closely associated with the Russian Christian Institute (RHGI), indicated its willingness to receive him for a six-month placement in St Petersburg in March.

It was suggested that he offer to do some practical tasks at PIMEN. His role was to be worked out on arrival but he was quickly to learn that "the concept of ‘voluntary work’ is still quite alien to Russians". His initial accommodation would be on the 17th floor of a student hostel right on the Finnish Gulf, "the windiest place in town".

"Living in St Petersburg," Jeremy felt, "was like living in a film set. It was a pleasure to walk along the side of a canal, past all the palaces, and think ‘Gosh, I live here’, and to watch the ice flows sailing down the River Neva at the end of Spring. The city, the ‘Venice of the North’ as it’s been described, has undeniable atmosphere and oozes history.

"It was also a beautiful summer, especially during the height of the ‘white nights’ in the first half of June, when it’s barely dusk for a short while at around 2 am and then just begins to get light again."

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