In Thailand, on the border with Myanmar there will be a new Orthodox..

In Thailand, on the border with Myanmar there will be a new Orthodox church.

Bangkok, June 08 (New Region, Vasilisa Egorova) - The representative of Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand, Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) visited the province of Ratchaburi.

During the pastoral visit Archimandrite Oleg hallowed the dome for the newly built temple in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin and familiarized himself with the decorating.

This is the official site of the Orthodox Church in Thailand.

Note of "HP": The first Orthodox priest in Bangkok appeared in late December 1999.

It was after the meeting of the Holy Synod of the ROC the decision was taken to open in the Kingdom the first Orthodox parish of the Moscow Patriarchate - St. Nicholas.

This date is considered to be the beginning of the Orthodox era in Thailand.

The rector of St. Nicholas parish in Bangkok was appointed the abbot Oleg Cherepanin, the cleric of Yaroslavl diocese.

In 2001, Thailand, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill made a pastoral visit, in that time the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of Moscow Patriarchate, now Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Since that time the Curacy in Thailand has gained the status of the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Father Oleg has lived in this country for ten years and learned Thai language.

He is currently working at translations of official texts, official documents of the ROC into Thai.

All this greatly facilitates the understanding of Thai orthodoxy.

He selected the candidates for training in the theological schools of Russian Orthodox Church.

One of them - Fr Daniel Bath - has already completed a course in Russian theological seminary and is now a priest of the church of St. Nicholas in the city of Bangkok.

Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand received its official position only in June 2008.

Today in the UK, there are only two churches for a few thousand followers.

In the year of the tenth anniversary the Government made them an invaluable gift, allowing to build another Orthodox Cathedral on its territory.

Today building of a church in the name of All Saints in Pattaya has been completed.

It is expected that soon there will be a few Russian Orthodox Churches in the Kingdom - in the city Chaguri and in Phuket and Samui.

Not so long ago, a site for Orthodox cemetery was purchased.

Moscow Patriarchate is confident that all this will help in the conductions of religious rites and traditions not only to Russian compatriots, but also the Orthodox from other countries who are now living in Thailand.