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12 Orthodoxy in Thailand: Bangkok, Phuket, Samui and then everywhere. The interview with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) // pravoslavie.ru, the 28th of December 2012 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
The construction of the new temple was completed by 2014, and on the 16th of February, the Consecration of St. Nicholas Cathedral took place in Bangkok – now the largest Orthodox Church in Thailand. The festive divine service was celebrated by the Archbishop Mark of Yegorievsk, the head of the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate for foreign institutions. The service was attended by the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand and the rector the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin), the clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church, the parishioners and the members of the Orthodox community in Bangkok and other parts of the country.
On the day of the consecration of the Cathedral, inside the Cathedral, erected was the Shrine of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Archbishop of Myra, brought by the Charitable Fund of the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Archbishop of Myra, brought by the Charitable Fund of the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker from Moscow specially for this festive occasion.
On the eve of the 15th of February during the feast of the presentation of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, the Archbishop Mark of Yegorievsk had performed the consecration of the Pokrovsky Church in Pattaya, and celebrated the divine Liturgy at the newly consecrated Church.
The Pokrovsky temple is located in a cottage suburb of Pattaya, and among its inhabitants are immigrants from countries where Orthodoxy is dominated. The opening of the temple in this small, but closely-knit Orthodox community, suited its spiritual needs best of all. I was appointed as a rector of this temple.13
13 The consecration of the Orthodox temples in Bangkok and Pattaya // rusthai.n4.biz.>news/-/news. (date of access: 25.07.2014).
The construction of each of the Orthodox churches in Thailand had its own specific needs to be met. So the idea of building the Ascension temple on the island of Samui had arisen among Russian-speaking people, from living in those places for a long time. In January 2011 the Committee of the Fund of the Orthodox Church in Thailand came to a decision to begin the construction. The blessing and the opening of the temple took place on the 13th of June 2013 at the feast of the Ascension. A Sunday school was opened by the temple in honor of St. Sergiy of Radonezh and a library was formed.
The Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) noted: "The Samui temple was built because of the strong-willed decision, the desire of one person who owns maybe 80 percent of the funds for the purchase of land and the construction. He is not a businessman, but a top manager, and these were significant disbursements for him, but his faith was so that, because he visits Samui quite often, several times a year, he wanted the temple to be there. <…> when the walls and domes have already appeared, the people began to respond more quickly, seeing that construction <…> But we are very grateful to this man who showed his will and inspired me to this".14
14 The Ascension Cathedral, isl. Samui // Orthodox Thailand. 2013. November.
Analyzing the situation in the Orthodox temples in Thailand the Archimandrite Oleg made the following conclusion: "All temples are located there where mainly a large number of our citizens and citizens of the CIS live or rest. Basically, these are the resort areas. Bangkok, clearly, is the capital, there are a lot of missions here – the diplomatic, the trade missions. Pattaya, Phuket, Samui are the largest resorts. Huahin is also a famous resort, where one can note in recent years the increase of the Russian presence. Compatriots often acquire real estate here.
In Huahin there is already a Russian restaurant and its own Diaspora. And of course there is a need in the Orthodox Church. I must say that all our churches are selfsufficient, they are all demanded and profitable. To talk about the number of congregations in Thailand is difficult because the Orthodox churches here are visited here both by those compatriots who reside in Thailand and tourists. Our churches are also visited by the locals".15
15 The Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin): "Our fundamental position is not to put any pressure and violence upon Thais" // patriarchia.ru, August, 7, 2013 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
The idea of necessity to create an Orthodox monastery arose from recognition of the need to have in Thailand an Orthodox cemetery. The Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin ) reported in an interview in 2011: "Recently we were able to purchase land in the province of Ratchaburi to stage the Orthodox cemetery – because, as you know, in Thailand, the bodies of dead people are not buried but burned. The cremation is carried out in the Buddhist monasteries here, although the local monks say they do not perform any rites, it could not be so because there is a particular order of cremation in religious institutions. Therefore, the question what will happen to us after death, is very important and I mean not only the soul but also the body: To bring the body to the home-land and to be buried as a Christian, the relatives have to pay 6-7 thousand dollars. And I urge upon tourists, who usually come to Thailand to do some extreme things, to remember about this".16
16 Is it difficult to pray in a tropical Paradise? The talk about the Thai Orthodox mission with the Archimandrite Oleg Cherepanin. // pravoslavie.ru, July 19, 2011 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
And because this is a very conservative Buddhist region, the father Oleg told that "we appealed to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill with a petition to organize in Ratchaburi the monastery, and to build a cemetery and an Orthodox Church in that place, you need to be there constantly. The Patriarch blessed this idea. At the present time the monastery was consecrated, it includes a Church in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God, a chapel in honor of the Iberian icon of the Mother of God, an Abbot`s chamber, monastic cells, other outbuildings".17
17 Is it difficult to pray in a tropical Paradise? The talk about the Thai Orthodox mission with the Archimandrite Oleg Cherepanin. // pravoslavie.ru, July 19, 2011 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
The Archimandrite said about the first inhabitants that "There are among our novices a Serb, an American and a Laos. To everyone is given the disciplinary regulation, and they are doing it very clearly. Of course, among the inhabitants should be – and we`d like it very much, – an experienced monk, since staying in the monastery implies spiritual growth under the supervision of an experienced elder.
For the present we can`t speak about the elders, but it is obvious that we need a person with experience of life in the monastery"18.
18 Is it difficult to pray in a tropical Paradise? The talk about the Thai Orthodox mission with Archimandrite Oleg Cherepanin. // pravoslavie.ru, July 19, 2011 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
As a confessor of the Representation I guided this place, made in it divine services. Therefore I agree with the Archimandrite Oleg, who replied to the question "We’ve learned that the monasteries usually are arranged in areas characterized by a harsh climate, for example in the North or in the waterless desert. And is it difficult to pray in the tropics, where the climate is similar to Paradise?": "Yes, there is by us, in the new monastery a real Paradise by us in the new monastery! Wild herons live by us and monkeys come from the mountains; almost a home Cobra creeps constantly… And to create the conditions for life is not difficult – there are comfortable cells built newly… Come and pray! And if without irony – a man who desires to live with God doesn’t care where he lives: in the wilderness or in the city. I am convinced that it is not necessary to pay attention to some external factors – it has taught me life in the East. Maybe it’s important for beginners, but the man who has deliberately made this way, must build the desert inside himself".19
19 Is it difficult to pray in a tropical Paradise? The talk about the Thai Orthodox mission with the Archimandrite Oleg Cherepanin. // pravoslavie.ru, July 19, 2011 (date of access: 24.07.2014).
Among the educational projects realized by the Representation, you can mark the release of the newspaper "Orthodox Thailand". It may be noted as one of the evidences of the significance of this publication that in 2014 it won a grant provided by the charitable Fund "The Russian World" in 2014. This grant, in the amount of 200,000 Thai baths, will allow the company to finance the publication of the newspaper during the year. The editorial office of the newspaper "Orthodox Thailand" is located at the Ascension Church on the island Samui (Surat Thani province) and the newspaper is published with the blessing of the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin). The editor in chief is the priest Alexey Golovin. The newspaper is published once in three months with the print run of 1000 copies and distributed to Orthodox churches in Thailand.20
20 The newspaper "Orthodox Thailand" has won a grant from the Fund "The Russian World" www.orthodox.or.th/index.php?content=news (date of access: 24.07.2014).