Moscow, August 26, 2020
The newly-elected Fr. Pitirim. Photo: orthodoxchurchcambodia.org
Meeting under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russian in Moscow yesterday, the Russian Holy Synod resolved to elect a bishop for Jakarta, Indonesia.
Having heard a report from His Eminence Metropolitan Sergius of Singapore, the head of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia, on the need for a vicar bishop, the Synod decided to elect Hieromonk Pitirim (Dondenko), a cleric of the Diocese of Singapore, with the title “of Jakarta,” reports the official site of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The internal regulations of the Southeast Asian Exarchate stipulate that diocesan and vicar bishops of the Exarchate are elected and appointed by the Russian Holy Synod.
According to the Union of Orthodox Journalists, Fr. Pitirim was born in Ukraine and graduated from the Odessa Theological Seminary, then the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He has been serving in Singapore as priest and secretary of the recently-formed Exarchate.
The Synod also resolved to include the states of East Timor and Papua New Guinea within the pastoral responsibility of the Diocese of Singapore.
The Exarchate of Southeast Asia was established in December 2018, with four dioceses being created for the Exarchate in February last year. In addition to the newly-added states, the Exarchate exercises pastoral care over Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.
