approaching fifteenth anniversary of this event is the basis for the analysis of the history of the mission, having grown up from the parish level – to the level of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The carrying by the author of the ecclesiastical obedience at the Representation as an acting rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in the vicinity of Pattaya, and of the Assumption monastery in Ratchaburi as the Confessor of the Representation, gives the present study not only theoretical but also practical sense. The Church importance of the development of this theme stems from the fact that Thailand attracts a large number of Russian tourists; in addition to this, many Russian citizens choose this country as their permanent residence.
Among them there are those who are here, away from their historic homeland, who for the first time are discovering the spiritual Treasury of Orthodoxy. But also among Thais there are those who become Orthodox; due to the peculiarities of the national mentality, this process does not have a mass character, but the soul of each person is precious in the eyes of God, therefore, quantitative indicators are not the main criterion for evaluation of the peculiarities of the development of the Orthodox mission in Thailand. Sometimes you have to wait for the fruits of the mission many years. In this regard, we can mention the translation of “The Law of God” in Thai by the Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy.
The translation will allow more Thais to get acquainted with the teachings and the history of the Orthodox Church.
The degree of knowledge regarding the modern history of Orthodoxy in Thailand is insufficient for the present. Nevertheless, it must be mentioned from the available research, the work of the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) “The History of Christianity in Thailand”2 . In the introduction to this monograph, containing in addition to the research publications of archival documents of the Representation and photos, J.V. Maximov3 noted:
2 Oleg ( Cherepanin ), the Abbot, History of Christianity in Thailand. Bangkok, 2008. 238 p.
3 Yrii ( Georgii ) Valeryevich Maximov – the orthodox Deacon, the candidate of theology, the writer, the theologian and the publicist, the missionary, the lecturer of the Moscow theological Academy.
“Coming to Thailand, the Father Oleg sincerely loved Thais, so it is no surprise the desire, emerged by him, to share his faith with them. <…> But it was necessary that the witness of the Orthodoxy was adequate, and for this purpose it was necessary to find out how the former Christians of other denominations, Catholics and Protestants, were talking about the name of Christ in Thailand, what difficulties they faced, and how they had decided in what they succeeded and in what was their failure, and, most importantly, how did Thais accept the Gospel over the past three centuries”4. Thus, the recent history of the mission is discussed in the book only to a small extent. In addition, the very year of its publication (2008) shows that developments in recent years could not be taken into account. The book and materials of the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) became the basis for two dissertations on the history of Thailand: one of the Archpriest Daniel Vanna “History of Christianity in Thailand”, protected by him after graduation from the faculty of foreign students at the St. Petersburg`s theological seminary5, and one of Yevgeny Petrov, “The History of Orthodoxy in Thailand”, defended in 2011 at the theological Seminary6 in Tomsk.
4 Oleg ( Cherepanin ), the Abbot, p 3.
5 Vanna D. History of Christianity in Thailand. The thesis of a student of the faculty of foreign students at the St.Petersburg Theological Seminary, Saint-Petersburg, 2008. 239 p.
6 Petrov E. The History of the Orthodoxy in Thailand. The thesis of a student of the 5th course of the Tomsk theological Seminary. Tomsk 2011. 73 p.
We know the book of Jesse Russell and Ronald Koch “Orthodoxy in Thailand”7, that, although released in 2013, has no independent research values, being based on publicly available materials of the mission.
7 Russel D., Koch R. Orthodoxy in Thailand. The publisher VSD, 2013. 109 p.
A source base for the study were the archive materials of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Churchin the Kingdom of Thailand8; the newspaper “Orthodox Thailand”; an interview with the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin), including available online Internet9; the information and news about Orthodoxy in Thailand, also presented in the Internet ( First of all it is necessary to mention the materials from the site “Moscow Patriarchate, The Orthodox Church in Thailand”10, which contains many important documents including the report on the activities of the Representation, the own observations of the author, expressed earlier in his interview11). The author participates in the life of the Representation since its creation in 1999. In this respect, the narrator is, of course, an interested person, but nevertheless, the present study seeks for the maximum degree of objectivity.
8 The report on the life and work of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand for 2013.
9 About the Orthodoxy life in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. An Interview with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Abbot Oleg (Cherepanin) // pravoslavie. ru 16 February 2009; Is it difficult to pray in a tropical Paradise? Talk about Thai Orthodox mission with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) // pravoslavie.ru, July 19th, 2011; Ortodoxy in Thai: Bangkok, Phuket, Samui and then everywhere. The interview with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) // pravoslavie.ru, 28 December 2012; the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin):” Our fundamental position is not to put any pressure and violence upon Thais” // patriarchia.ru 7 August 2013.
10 www.orthodox.or.th/index.php?content=news
11 My path to Christ // Thailand Orthodox. 2013. November.
Its objectivity is conditioned by the fact that it is based on authentic documents, and conclusions, which were conditioned exclusively by data of objective analysis.
The aim of this work is to examine the history of the Orthodox mission in Thailand in the years 1999-2014. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to solve the following research tasks:
1. To study the formation and development of the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand in recent times, including:
– the history of the formation of the structure of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand from 1999-2014, (churches, monasteries, educational work);
– the interaction of the Representation with the state and society of Thailand.
2. To analyze trends in the modern Orthodox mission in Thailand, including:
– the mission among the Russian-speaking population;
– the mission among Thais.
The methodological basis of the work was the comparative-historical method, focused on objective completeness of the study and its critical nature, the method of historicism and the systematic approach.
We understand the historicism as the principle of studying and explaining reality, requiring consideration of objects and phenomena in the specific historical conditions of their formation and development. This requirement is based on the fact that all things and phenomena are interrelated and constantly changing. It is the principle of historicism that allows the consideration of the history of Orthodoxy in Thailand in recent times, and in its entirety, being based on the concrete historical material. . The use of a systematic approach allows us to consider the position of Orthodoxy in the Kingdom in the general religious life of the country.
The object of this research is the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand in its formation and development; the subject of study is its Christian mission realized among the Russian
