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For assistance in resolving this issue, the Patriarch Alexiy appealed to the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand Somdet Great Nyanasamvara (Suvadhana Mahathera). In the letter was noted: "The Buddhist temple for the crown Prince of Siam was built in the beginning of the last century in the capital of the Russian Empire St. Petersburg, and today, Buddhism is one of the traditional religions of Russia. The fruitful cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church and Buddhists in many interfaith forums helps believers of different faiths to participate actively in the solution of many humanitarian issues facing modernity. <…> we also refer to your spiritual authority and hope you will support the registration of our parish in Bangkok".5
5 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom Thailand. The letter of Patriarch Alexy II to the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand.
Another difficulty in the operation of the Representation were relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, founded in 1996 under the Hong Kong diocese, in the jurisdiction of which Thailand was. The director of this diocese the Metropolitan Nikitas with the support of the Greek and American diplomatic corps, tried to imagine the Patriarch of Constantinople as an analogous to the Pope of Rome for the Orthodox world in his contacts with the relevant authorities. In this regard, in the first stage, it was offered to the Orthodox parish of the Russian Orthodox Church to recognize the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong bishop for legalization.6
6 Oleg (Cherepanin), the Abbot, the mentioned work. p. 166-168.
It was possible only with time to explain the features of the canonical system of the Orthodox Church to the authorities of the Kingdom Thailand. One decisive role was played during the visit of Thailand by the Chairman of the Department for external Church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill. However, after this visit of the Metropolitan Kirill, the concept of autocephaly demanded explanations for the officials of the Kingdom. The head of the Buddhist traditional Singha of Russia Pandito Hambo Lama Damba Ajusheev wrote in his letter to the King of Thailand on February 25, 2002: "The laws of the Kingdom of Thailand provide in Christianity only two branches – the Roman Catholic and Protestant, which are registered by the authorities of the Kingdom, and 5000 followers of the local population are required from all new religious groups. However, the world Christianity is historically divided into three branches, Orthodoxy is the oldest. And the internal laws of the Orthodox Church do not allow its followers to obtain the registration from the civil authorities under the auspices of any other Christian Church.
All this leads to the fact that the law of Thailand about religions that helps the legalization of various Protestant denominations, hinders the registration of the Orthodox Church exceedingly. Another feature of the Orthodox Church is that Orthodoxy in the modern world is divided into 15 Autocephalous (self-governing) of the Orthodox Churches and the Russian is the largest. In addition, as independent countries cannot represent the interests of each other, the self-governing Autocephalous Churches, having the General rules of faith, cannot, however, be represented by one another. The lack of the state registration of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand as the Representation creates a lot of difficulties, ranging from the provision of certain visas for the priest and construction of the Church to the impossibility of buying a car and opening a Bank account".7
7 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand. A copy of the letter of the head of the Buddhist traditional Singha of Russia to the King of Thailand.
However, in spite of all difficulties, Orthodoxy in Thailand began to strengthen. The Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) noted in an interview in 2009: "The question has moved from a dead point only after the official visit in 2001 in Bangkok of Metropolitan Kirill and his meeting with the Chairman of the Privy Council of the King, with the guidance of the Department for religious Affairs of the Ministry of education, with a number of other senior officials, after reviewing of the Thai authorities with the real situation, what the Orthodox Church is.
I consider myself to be a hardy man. But I believe even I was exhausted from the pace and quantity of the activities of the current visit of his Holiness Patriarch in Thailand. It is unlikely for the entire period of his visit, that he and we, of course, slept more than five hours a day. The Bishop had only three days. Three days of hard work marked the beginning of public recognition of the Orthodox Church in Thailand. The Russian Ambassador Mr. Ostrovenko exclaimed with amazement to the Bishop at parting: "But this is the recognition of the Orthodox Church". And it was so. His Holiness the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia is for the Orthodox flock in Thailand not just the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also the wise Archbishop or a great preacher. Here he is honored above it. He is the Apostle of Thailand. There is no coincidence that all our Thai people, especially those who met him, carry his picture with themselves".8
8 About the Orthodox life in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The Interview with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Abbot Oleg (Cherepanin) // pravoslavie.ru, the 16th of February, 2009. (date of access: 24.07.2014).
Despite in the absence of the state registration, the Thai authorities have informed through the foreign Ministry of the Kingdom the Embassy of Russia, that although the official registration will be in the future, the Orthodox community is allowed to carry out their religious activities on the basis of the Constitution of the country guaranteeing freedom of religions."9
9 Oleg (Cherepanin), the Abbot, the mentioned work, p.172.
The result of visiting Thailand by the Metropolitan Kyrill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was that the Holy Synod`s decision of the 27th of December 2001 was the following: "To reform the St. Nicholas parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Bangkok into the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand. To appoint the rector of the St. Nicholas parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Bangkok the Abbot Oleg ( Cherepanin) as the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand".10
10 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom Thailand. The decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchate) about the opening of a Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand.
The initial period of the formation of the Representation is connected with its support of Samanchit Thamavit, the owner of considerable real estate in the most prestigious area of Bangkok located in close proximity to the residence of the King. Significant restrictions are imposed on private property for foreigners in Thailand; provision by Samanid Thamavit to St. Nicholas parish land, on which two residential buildings were located, allowed initially to place in one of them the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.11
11 Oleg (Cherepanin), the Abbot, the mentioned work, p.170-171.
Over time, the fact that the temple is located in a rented room has brought some problems. The Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) noted in 2012: "Bangkok is the first place where the preaching of Orthodoxy began and our Church started to grow. Fourteen years ago the St. Nicholas parish was founded, which was located in a rented building, because we hadn`t the state registration and had to use the right of private property, renting premises by local citizens. And when we began to build temples in Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, the donor of these constructions was the Bangkok parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It so happened that "the shoemaker is without shoes" – today we have temples in Pattaya, Phuket and in other places of Thailand, but Bangkok is still a very small rented place. It does not correspond to the status of our Church in the country and the demands of the community, because it has increased in recent years. In addition, due to illness of the owner of the property, the rights of our leased premises passed to her niece. But she was not so scrupulous in respect of the leased agreements, as her aunt and the rent for the house began to rise sharply and often enough. Therefore, despite in the fact that we have not finished the construction of temples on Samui and Pattaya, it was decided to begin the construction of the temple in Bangkok and to buy the land.
The total sum amounted more than a million dollars, but I think that thanks to the intercession and prayer by Saint Nicholas, to whom we turn in our prayers, the required amount has been collected for four months. On the first of January we began fundraising in Bangkok, and in May, we purchased the land for 600 thousand dollars. Today the construction of the temple has already begun, and on the 20th of December we, using the unique opportunity of staying in Thailand ark with the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, made in the presence of his venerable relics the foundation of a new temple in the name of the Saint.
We received the blessing of his Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill, who called down God’s blessing on this work and thanked the congregation for the zeal for the Lord".12