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In 1860, Fr. Antonin served as the priest of the Russian embassy church in Constantinople where he was introduced into a new circle of acquaintances with influential Russians and Greeks in the Near East.
In 1865, Fr. Antonin joined, as chief, the [[Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem]], a mission that had been officially established and recognized by the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] Sultan in 1857. During Fr. Antonin's administration of the mission, he worked intently to strengthen the mission and its responsibilities to help Russian pilgrims to Jerusalem. In accomplishing the task, he began a vigorous activity of land acquisitions in Palestine and established hospices. These acquisitions were also inspired as a means of resisting the activities by Protestants and Roman Catholics who were active acquiring land and buildings in Palestine.
In November 1868, Fr. Antonin made his first acquisition, that of the [[Oak of Mamre]], that according to the Scriptures was where the [[Old Testament]] Patriarch Abraham provided hospitality to three [[angel]]s. In 1874, he had built near the Oak a hostel for the pilgrims.
