Metropolitan of Singapore on the Orthodox mission in Southeast Asia
For Metropolitan Sergey, the Russian Orthodox Church is ready for the mission in Asia. The metropolitan see includes four dioceses and 70 parishes in 13 countries. Sergey spoke about encountering various cultures, getting involved in Papua New Guinea, and opening charities in the Philippines and Vietnam. Orthodox priests can now be trained in Davao (Philippines). Pastoral courses are offered on Phuket island (Thailand).
Moscow (AsiaNews) – Metropolitan Sergey (Chashin) of Singapore and South-East Asia gave a long interview published last Thursday on the Moscow Patriarchate's website saying that the Russian Orthodox Church is ready for the mission in Asia.
The Metropolia was created in December 2018 to provide care to the Orthodox in the region after the Moscow Patriarchate broke off relations of ecclesial communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The new entity includes four dioceses in 13 countries where Orthodox Christians are obviously a small minority.
The Metropolitan spoke about Easter during the ongoing pandemic and the various health restrictions in countries still in full lockdown; for example, in Cambodia it is forbidden to move between interior regions; in Thailand it was not possible to meet for traditional banquets at the end of the Easter liturgy; in many parishes, it was necessary to book ahead to go to church.
Unlike Mother Russia, Easter in these countries is celebrated in hot and humid summer-like weather. Although the churches were open, they were subject to restrictions.
Sergey’s Metropolia covers a territory with about a billion people, and their own ancient religious traditions. “We have a lot of respect for the centuries-old multicultural traditions of the peoples of our Exarchate,” he said. “Our service here is organised first of all for the pastoral care of orthodox Christians from the canonical territories of the Russian Church, who are here for work and who did not have the opportunity to go to church.”
However, he noted that in the past, Russia did send missions to Asia, especially to the Pacific coast, following the annexation in the 17th century of Siberia and Asia’s Far North-East by the Russian Empire, and the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations with China, Korea and Japan (where the Orthodox Church has been autonomous since 1897).
The spread of Russian Orthodoxy in Asia did not stop even during the Soviet era. In the 1930s, a church was opened in Manila (Philippines), and shortly afterwards in Java (Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia). In 1946, Alexy I (Simansky), patriarch under Stalin, decided to open the East Asian Exarchate , which was closed by Khrushchev in 1954, during the new persecution of the Church he led.
The Southeast Asian Metropolia now has 70 parishes, some restored, many new. One of the most recent missions was to Papua New Guinea, which not so long ago was officially proclaimed a “Christian country” based on, as the preamble to the country’s constitution reads, “our noble traditions and the Christian principles that are ours now”.
Explorers from the Russian Empire, like Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, visited the region in the 19th century. Last year, in August, Papua New Guinea and East Timor were included in the Diocese of Singapore, and new Orthodox parishes opened.
In October Sergey himself celebrated the first baptism of a Papuan Orthodox. He praises the local Orthodox “for strictly observing the fast”, which is very important in the Orthodox liturgy; at the same time, he does acknowledge that it is easier for them to do so because “of the great abundance of plant foods” compared to Russia. This said, “fasting,” he said, “is first and foremost a spiritual commitment in the struggle against one's passions and sins, and in one’s dedication to virtue”.
Here, too, he acknowledges the good disposition of South-East Asians, “amazed at the sincere interest in Christ of these peoples, in the purity of their faith”, worshipping in churches that are “mostly bamboo huts or rooms in private homes.
“I met so many people who had never heard the sound of an Orthodox choir, happy to welcome us. To me, this seemed an experience close to the original Christianity. While we are used to the practices of Christianity, here the people who meet Christ know how to radically change their lives.”
The development programmes of the Russian Exarchate in Asia are centred on providing social services to the needy. A new charity was opened in the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam, especially for children and poor families.
Local Orthodox priests are now trained at a facility that opened in Davao (Philippines), while pastoral courses are offered on Phuket Island, Thailand.
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12/02/2016 15:14
