Bangkok, November 28, 2024
Photo: mospat.ru
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the 25th anniversary of its work in Thailand yesterday, November 26. The event was celebrated at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bangkok.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), who is visiting for the occasion, and a host of the Russian Church’s bishops serving in southeast Asia: Their Eminences Metropolitan Sergei of Singapore and South-East Asia, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, Archbishop Theophan of Korea, and His Grace Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, vicar of the Singapore Diocese, reports the DECR.
The hierarchs were joined by priests and deacons serving in Thailand, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Laos, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Australia, Iran, and Indonesia.
Before the service, a reliquary containing a particle of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker’s relics was received at the church.
The service was celebrated in Church Slavonic, Thai, and English.
Photo: mospat.ru
After the service, Met. Anthony of Volokolamsk greeted the participants of the celebration on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia gave a response speech, followed by the granting of awards for those who have labored for the building up of the Church in Thailand.
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Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) describes the beginning of Orthodoxy in Thailand:
After many letters from Russian people living in Thailand were sent to the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow, I was sent here in 1999 to see and learn about the spiritual situation of the people who went abroad, especially to this region and to Thailand.
What I saw was not only Russians, but also Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians as well as Orthodox people from other western countries who are also Orthodox but didn't have any spiritual care, so I reported to His Holiness and he blessed me to try to organize an Orthodox parish in Bangkok, and that was the beginning of Orthodoxy in Thailand. The St Nicholas parish was opened in Bangkok and I was appointed as its rector.
However, at that time, I could do nothing but pray. People came and prayed with me, and, step by step, it became a parish with other nationals joining and Thai people became interested as well.
Read more in the article, “The Orthodox Approach to Thailand.”
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