The Russian Orthodox Church enters the battle for Seoul with the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Orthodoxy in the Republic of Korea

is a Christian denomination in South Korea that has developed in the country since the 19th century, thanks to the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and the existing Russian Spiritual Mission in Korea.

As of 2021, the number of Orthodox Christians in South Korea was estimated at 4 thousand people[1].

Story

early years

The history of Orthodoxy in Korea began with the establishment, by decree of the Holy Synod of July 2-4, 1897, of the Russian Spiritual Mission, whose task was to care for Russian Orthodox Christians living on the Korean Peninsula, as well as preach Orthodoxy among the local population. The fact of the mass resettlement of Koreans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the territory of the Russian Empire played a certain role in the creation of the Mission[2]. In January 1897, about 120 Russian employees and 30 Orthodox Russian Koreans lived in Seoul[3]. On April 17, 1903, the solemn consecration of the church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Chong-dong) took place in the center of Seoul[4].

Since the Japanese occupation of Korea, the church's activities have undergone various difficulties.[2] During the Russo-Japanese War the church was closed. By the beginning of the revolution, in addition to the church in Seoul, the Korean Mission had five parishes in the province, with several hundred Christian Koreans. However, the mission suffered disaster due to the loss of its livelihood. Some of the property was sold, some was rented out. In these difficult conditions, support was provided from non-believers: from the head of the Mission of the Anglican Church, Bishop Mark Trollope, and the pioneer of Russian trade in Korea, the Jew Moses Akimovich Ginsburg. In addition, the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, which operated until 1925, provided some assistance. In 1937, on the estate of Yu. M. Yankovsky “Novina”, located near the port of Chongjin, the Resurrection Church was built for Russian emigrants who came to North Korea from Manchuria for the summer. By the period 1936-1939. include attempts to revive missionary activity in Korea.[2] In 1936, the construction of a church-chapel was organized in Ompo (North Korea).[5] However, starting in 1940, the Japanese administration consistently expelled preachers from Korea and in 1941 completely banned Orthodox services in the Korean language. After the end of the war and the occupation of Korea in 1945, oppression of Christians in the north began, which contrasted with American support for Christians in the south and thus caused "religious emigration" to the south.[2]

After World War II

In the post-war years, the Russian Mission expanded its activities in the South. However, the presence of the Soviet consulate in close proximity to the Mission, as well as rumors and scandal associated with the visit of members of the embassy to St. Nicholas Cathedral, led to the fact that in 1949, as a result of the forceful takeover of the Mission, supported by the American administration, the last Russian head of the Ecclesiastical Mission in Seoul, Archimandrite Polycarp (Priymak) was forced to leave South Korea.[2] The remaining priest at the Mission, Alexei Kim Eui Han, went missing at the beginning of the Korean War. With the introduction of the UN contingent of troops, the Greek Orthodox chaplain Archimandrite Andrei (Halkilopoulos) arrived[6]

On August 13, 2006, the temple in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang was consecrated.[5] During the construction of the temple, several North Koreans underwent theological training at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, two of whom were ordained to the priesthood and are currently serving.[6]

A request from the Russian Embassy in 2009 for a plot of land to build a church in Seoul was refused. According to the Korea Times newspaper, the place that the embassy requested is located next to the historical building of the Russian Diplomatic Mission, where in 1896-1897. The king of Korea had been in hiding since the Japanese coup and led the country[7].

Russian Orthodox Church

On February 26, 2021, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, a decision was made to form a Korean diocese within the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia. Bishop Feofan of Kyzyl and Tyvin was appointed its ruling bishop. Bishop Feofan spoke about the history and current situation of Orthodoxy in Korea, as well as about the organization of the parishes of the newly formed diocese in an interview with the Pravoslavie.ru portal.

— Bishop Theophan, what, in your opinion, determined the decision of the Holy Synod to establish a diocese in Korea?

— The Holy Synod rightly decided that the Russian Orthodox Church is called today to resume its pastoral and missionary work in Southeast Asia, the work that began here several centuries ago.

The emergence of Orthodoxy in Korea is closely connected with the development of Russian-Korean relations in the 19th-20th centuries. In the second half of the 19th century, Koreans moved en masse to the Far East of Tsarist Russia. The missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church among Koreans began in 1856, when Saint Innocent (Veniaminov), Archbishop of Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleutian, began sending preachers of Orthodoxy to the South Ussuri region, where a flow of Korean immigrants headed. Koreans adopted the Orthodox faith in entire villages. Many of them then returned to Korea, forming the first flock of the Russian spiritual mission in Korea, which was established in 1897 and began its work on the Korean peninsula in February 1900, and only tragic events in the history of Russia and Korea prevented the continuation of its normal functioning. I am referring to the Russian revolution in 1917, which led to the formation of the Soviet state, which pursued hostile policies towards the Church, and the division of Korea at the end of World War II into North and South, followed by civil war in 1950-1953.

In 1949, the South Korean authorities expelled the head of the mission, Archimandrite Polycarp (Priymak), from the country. For political reasons, the mission's activities were suspended and property was confiscated. Today, when there are no longer any obstacles to missionary and pastoral work in Korea, we can talk about continuing the work that began long ago.

The circumstances of modern times, when a significant number of children of the Russian Orthodox Church come to Asian countries for permanent residence and on temporary business trips - not only Russians, but also citizens of other states of canonical responsibility of the Russian Orthodox Church - encourage the hierarchy of our Church to show pastoral care for these people who do not want to sever spiritual ties with their Church. Thus, in the Republic of Korea alone, the number of registered Russians is approximately 20 thousand people, and in 2021, 300 thousand Russian tourists visited South Korea. It is obvious that a considerable part of these people want to actively participate in church life and attend divine services, which are performed in accordance with the traditions and church calendar adopted in Russia.

As for the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia, this is also not some kind of innovation in the history of our Church, but rather a revival of existing church structures. In December 1945, the parishes of China and Korea were united into the East Asian Metropolitan District, which, by decree of Patriarch Alexy I in 1946, was transformed into the East Asian Exarchate with its center in Harbin. The Exarchate was abolished by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1954 due to the circumstances of the time. Today it has been recreated taking into account changed conditions.

I would say that it would be good to revive the structures of the Russian Church in Korea earlier. However, when diplomatic ties between Russia and South Korea were established in 1990, the Russian Church in the Fatherland was experiencing a difficult period of revival after decades of atheistic captivity. Russian-speaking parishioners visiting the Republic of Korea found spiritual support in the existing parishes of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Now the Church in Russia is actively developing its missionary service, trying to accompany its children in all circumstances of life.

The flow of the Russian-speaking population to Korea has increased tens or even hundreds of times; the need to open parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Korea has obviously become ripe. In addition, due to the cessation of Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which occurred through no fault or desire of ours, our believers found themselves in a situation where they had nowhere to go, and therefore the opening of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Korea and other countries of Southeast Asia fully meets the urgent need.

— Vladyka, shortly after the decisions made by the Synod of our Church, an interview was published with Metropolitan Ambrose of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, serving in Seoul, criticizing the actions of the Moscow Patriarchate in Korea. How would you comment on this?

“I would like to testify to my respect and love for Metropolitan Ambrose and all the clergy working under his omophorion in Korea. My ten years of service in Korea were a significant experience for me personally, and I would like to forever maintain warm relations with all of them. However, now, with pain in my heart, I read the unfair reproaches against the Russian Church, which are published in online publications signed by Bishop Ambrose. I think that they do not contribute to peace in the minds and hearts of readers.

I would also like to fraternally remind Bishop Ambrose that, despite the problems that currently exist between our Churches, none of us should allow an aggressive tone or insults towards the hierarchs of other Local Churches. This is not at all conducive to constructive dialogue.

I believe that instead of trying to find out who has more rights to engage in mission in Korea, it would be much better to work peacefully and calmly, maintaining mutual love and communication - this would be a more real testimony to the unity of the Church before the heterodox and secular world. The field for work is large and there is enough for everyone.

— Is it possible to think about some kind of “deliberate plan” that Metropolitan Ambrose speaks about in his interview?

— It would be more correct to talk about the work of organizing church life for compatriots abroad and about caring for people who live far from the Fatherland.

Indeed, for many of our compatriots, Orthodox parishes are not only places where believers gather for worship, but they are also places for communication, providing mutual assistance, maintaining national traditions and celebrations. In many countries, temples become the places through which people preserve their cultural identity.

Of course, the impossibility of Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople to some extent stimulated the formation of new parishes, but even without this, parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate would sooner or later reappear in the Republic of Korea, since there was a need for this.

The lack of canonical communication between the Russian and Constantinople Churches is a painful situation for any Orthodox person. We continue to hope that it will be resolved over time and believers will be able to participate in the sacraments in any Orthodox church, regardless of jurisdiction. At every Divine Liturgy we pray for the restoration of church unity.

— Vladyka, please tell us about how you see work in Korea at this stage. Has any property of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Korea survived? What already exists and what remains to be done?

“Now, unfortunately, we have neither a plot of land nor buildings. The old site of the Russian Spiritual Mission, located in the center of Seoul in the Jeongdong area, the funds for the acquisition of which at one time came from money allocated by the Government of the Russian Empire and donations collected in Russia, now does not belong to us. By the decision of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon of November 4, 1921, the mission in Korea became subordinate to Archbishop Sergius (Tikhomirov) of Tokyo, therefore the land and buildings were registered in the name of the property society of the Japanese Orthodox Church. Subsequently, the local Orthodox community, which by that time had joined the Patriarchate of Constantinople, through the court received rights to all the property of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Korea and, after its sale, acquired a new plot in Seoul in the Mapo district, where the St. Nicholas Church was subsequently built.

Now, for the new Resurrection Parish, a small space is being rented in the Yongsan area, where services are held. On Easter it was already a bit crowded, as more than 100 people attended the service. The parish in Seoul was formed from citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the USA. Despite the fact that the services are held in Church Slavonic, they are also attended by Korean citizens. Some Orthodox Koreans, expressing their disagreement with the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, or for some other reasons, visit our parish in Seoul.

There are many Russian-speaking parishioners who live in Busan; divine services were also organized for them several times, including on Easter. In addition to Seoul and Busan, there are other cities where the Russian-speaking population lives compactly - everywhere it is necessary to establish a full-fledged church life.

—Who performs services in the new Resurrection Parish?

— From the very beginning, in the process of organizing the parish in Seoul, priests from the parishes of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia were sent to Korea for short periods. Now we will need to select permanent clergy. Also serving in Seoul is a citizen of the Republic of Korea, Archpriest Pavel Kang, who is a clergyman of the Russian Church Abroad. Another priest from South Korea, Hieromonk Pavel (Choi), is now completing his studies at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. I hope that after completing his studies he will return home and help us.

— It is known that the DPRK has a Trinity Church in Pyongyang. Tell us about it.

— The decision to build the first Orthodox church in the DPRK was made by Kim Jong Il in 2002 after visiting the Khabarovsk Church of St. Innocent of Irkutsk. Soon a temple was built in Pyongyang, and in July 2006 the community of the temple in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity was accepted into the fold of the Russian Orthodox Church. The consecration of the temple in August 2006 was performed by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (now His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'). The clergy of the temple were trained in theological schools of Russia and were ordained by Russian hierarchs. Now the temple is mainly visited by members of diplomatic missions located in Pyongyang.

— Vladyka, what would you like to say to our readers?

— Through your publication, I would like to appeal to all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church living in Korea, with a call to unite around their Church and its Primate, and also to express my support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and the entire canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who are going through difficult times today time. Now that parishes are just being formed in Korea, your active help in creating new communities will be needed. I invoke God's blessing on all of you!

Patriarchy.ru

Subordination

From its founding until 1908, the Korean mission was under the jurisdiction of the St. Petersburg diocese, and from 1908 to 1921 - under the jurisdiction of the Vladivostok diocese, from 1921 to 1944 under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo diocese, since 1944 - under the jurisdiction of the Harbin and East Asian diocese .

After the end of World War II, the decree of Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow and All Rus' dated December 27, 1945 confirmed the presence of the mission under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Russian spiritual mission in Korea continued its activities until 1949, when the South Korean authorities expelled the last head of the mission, Archimandrite Polycarp, from the country and seized its property. In 1953, the Greek archimandrite in South Korea began to reorganize the existing parish in Seoul.

In 1955, the remaining parishes, which in those years did not have the possibility of contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church, came under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople[5], and the property of the Russian Spiritual Mission after the Korean War was subordinated to the American Archbishop (1955), and since 1970[6 ] - Australian-New Zealand Metropolitanate.[8]. By the decision of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 20, 2004, a separate Korean Metropolis was formed on the territory of Korea, the first head of which was Bishop Sotirios (Trambas), who served in Korea for more than 30 years in the rank of archimandrite and bishop. In May 2008, Metropolitan Sotirios was replaced as head of the Korean Metropolis by Metropolitan Ambrose (Zographos), who had previously served in Korea for more than 10 years.

From 2000 to 2011, the Russian-speaking parish of the church in honor of St. Maxim the Greek, located on the territory of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Seoul, according to an agreement between the Constantinople and Moscow Patriarchates, was cared for by Hieromonk Theophan (Kim), and with his departure to Russia, since 2012 it has been cared for by Archpriest Roman Kavchak, Ukrainian clergyman of the Patriarchate of Constantinople[9].

Organization[edit]

Patriarchate of Constantinople[edit]

The Korean metropolitanate, according to 2007-2008 data, consists of 7 church communities, making a total of 25 churches and chapels, 9 priests and 2 deacons.

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia[edit]

The mission is subordinate to the Sydney and Australian-New Zealand diocese.

• Holy Trinity Skete and Temple of the Holy Righteous Anna, Samcheok, Gangwon Province.
• Korean Orthodox Mission, Community of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

Moscow Patriarchate[edit]

• Temple in the name of St. Maximus the Greek, located on the territory of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Seoul. Russian temple website

Jurisdictions

Patriarchate of Constantinople

Main article: Metropolis of Korea

The Korean metropolitanate, according to data for 2021, consisted of “6 parishes, 2 monasteries and 1 cemetery. The parish in Seoul has 3 churches, two of which - St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Church of St. Maxim the Greek - for the Russian community. The number of the flock is more than 4 thousand people, but about 300-400 of them regularly come to services.”[1].

Moscow Patriarchate

Korean diocese

Main article: Korean Diocese

In November 2021, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) announced the intention of the Moscow Patriarchate to establish a parish in Seoul[10].

On February 26, 2021, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate formed the Korean Diocese within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea with the title of diocesan bishop “Korean”[11].

On July 9, 2021, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, the following parishes were accepted into the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church[12]:

1. Parish of the Resurrection of Christ in Seoul
2. Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Busan

Korean spiritual mission of the ROCOR

Main article: Korean Spiritual Mission

The mission is subordinate to the Sydney and Australian-New Zealand diocese[13]. The administrator of the mission is priest Pavel Kang[14]. As Philaret Choi noted in 2021: “The size of the flock of the Korean Mission of the ROCOR is unknown. It is only known that it mainly consists of members of Father John’s family and several of his close associates”[1].

• Holy Trinity Skete and Temple of the Holy Righteous Anna, Samcheok, Gangwon Province.
• Korean Orthodox Mission, Community of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

Orthodoxy in South Korea[edit]

Orthodoxy in the Republic of Korea

is a Christian denomination in South Korea that has developed in the country since the 19th century, thanks to the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Spiritual Mission operating in Seoul.

As of 2011, the number of Orthodox Christians in South Korea is estimated at 3 thousand people, which is about 0.005% of the country's population. The Orthodox churches in the country are represented by: the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has on the territory of the country the Korean Metropolis, headed since 2008 by Metropolitan Ambrose (Zographos) and the Korean Spiritual Mission in the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, headed by Priest Pavel Kang.

Notes

1. ↑ 1 2 3 Filaret Choi.
   Orthodoxy in Korea: history and modernity // Bulletin of the Historical Society of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. - 2018. - No. 2. - P. 188-195.
2. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5
   Russian Orthodox Spiritual Mission in Korea - Mikhail Shkarovsky, 11.24.2009 - Bogoslov.ru
   (unspecified)
   . Access date: October 29, 2011. Archived May 27, 2012.
3. Archimandrite Theodosius (Perevalov). Russian Spiritual Mission in Korea (1900-1925) // History of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Korea. M., 1999. S. 179-180.
4. Bishop Chrysanthos. From the letters of a Korean missionary. M., 1905. P. 6-7; Anisimov L. Orthodox mission in Korea (to the 90th anniversary of its founding) // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (JMP). 1991. No. 5. P. 57.
5. ↑ 123
   Russian spiritual mission in Korea
6. ↑ 123
   The current situation of Orthodoxy on the Korean Peninsula. - Abbot Feofan (Kim).// Official website of the Vladivostok diocese of the MP ROC
7. Russia Wants to Build Orthodox Church in Seoul – Korea Times – 11/29/2009
8. Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary // Keith L. Pratt, Richard Rutt, James Hoare. — ISBN 0-7007-0463-9
9. Russian temple website
10. Because of the actions of Constantinople, the Russian Orthodox Church will send a priest to South Korea (unspecified)
    . RIA Novosti (November 23, 2018). Access date: December 14, 2018.
11. Dioceses were formed as part of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Southeast Asia (undefined)
    .
    patriarchia.ru
    . Patriarchia.ru (February 26, 2019). Date accessed: February 28, 2019.
12. Journal No. 89 // Journals of the meeting of the Holy Synod of July 9, 2019 (unspecified)
    .
    patriarchia.ru
    . Patriarchia.ru (July 9, 2019). Date accessed: December 29, 2019.
13. List of parishes and clergy - www.synod.com
14. ROCOR mission in Korea (unspecified)
    (inaccessible link). Access date: August 17, 2011. Archived October 3, 2011.