Platon Chartschlaa

Rev. Platon Chartschlaa, 96, of Ashford, Connecticut, died Wednesday, July 1, 2015. He leaves two sons, Peter and Paul Chartschlaa, and three daughters, Lidia Kozycz, Martha (George) Kohl, and Ruth (Bruce) Shenk, 16 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his wife of 56 years, Antonina Chartschlaa, and his son and daughter-in-law, Alex and Helena Charts. Platon was born in Abkhazia, and studied at Moscow University. He was drafted into the Soviet Army during WWII. During this time his life radically changed from being an atheist to becoming a follower of Christ. His life experiences took him to Denmark and then to Argentina and finally to the United States in 1962 where he completed his seminary education at Golden Gate Theological Seminary. He devoted his life to Christian ministry. He taught at the Russian Bible Institute in Argentina. After immigrating to the U.S. he prepared Russian gospel radio broadcasts, wrote and translated many volumes of Christian literature, served as the editor for the Sower of Truth for many years, as well as helped pastor several Russian churches. When Platon returned to visit Abkhazia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was greeted as a national hero, in recognition of his radio work and vast Christian literature production. A funeral service will be held on July 6, 2015 at the Evangelical Christian Center, 574 Ashford Center Road, Ashford, Connecticut at 1:00 PM. Visitation will be one hour prior at 12:00 PM. The service will be followed by a burial at the Woodward Cemetery. Donations in his memory may be made to: Slavic Missionary Publications P.O.Box 103 Ashford, CT 06278-0103 USA