Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea
Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea consists of two Eastern Orthodox churches in Korea: the Diocese of Korea of the Russian Orthodox Church,[1] which operates as a diocese within a 'Patriarchal Exarchate' in South–East Asia (PESEA), and the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea,[2] a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church among the Koreans began in 1856 when St. Innocent (Venyaminov), sent Orthodox missionaries to the southern Ussuri region because of an inflow of Korean settlers. Later many of these settlers returned to Korea, and the group that returned formed the first flock of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Korea.[3] The Mission began functioning on the Korean peninsula in February 1900, reached its peak in 1917, and thereafter fell into decline when funding was cut off following the October Revolution. The Mission continued its activities during the period from 1910 to 1945 when Korea was a colony of the Empire of Japan, remaining loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate. However, the Mission's work was suspended in 1949 for political reasons. The South Korean authorities seized the Mission's property and banished its head, Archimandrite Polycarp (Priymak).[4]
In December 1955, the Orthodox community in Seoul requested to come under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Athenagoras I, accepted the request. Pastoral care of the church in Korea was first entrusted to the Archdiocese of Australia, then transferred to the Archdiocese of North and South America, then to the Metropolis of New Zealand.[5] In April 2004 the Ecumenical Patriarchate established the Metropolis of Korea.
In February 2019, the Russian Orthodox Church formally decided to resume missionary activities in Korea. One reason for this decision was the long term trend of a significant influx of Russian-speaking people in South Korea, prompting a need to open new parishes.[6] The other reason the 2018 Moscow-Constantinople Schism, which led to the severing of full communion between the two churches. The person appointed as the first head and archbishop of the Russian Orthodox diocese of Korea within the PESEA is the ethnically Korean-Russian archbishop Theophanes.[7][8]
In North Korea, the Korean Orthodox Committee operates the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity (Pyongyang).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "대한정교회 - Корейская епархия Русской Православной Церкви". 대한정교회. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "한국 정교회 대교구 (Orthodox Metropolis of Korea)".
- ^ "Archbishop Feofan of Korea: We Continue the Work that Was Initiated Several Centuries Ago | A Russian Orthodox Church Website". www.pravmir.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "Archbishop Feofan of Korea: We Continue the Work that Was Initiated Several Centuries Ago | A Russian Orthodox Church Website". www.pravmir.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "The Metropolis of Korea – 한국정교회 대교구(Orthodox Metropolis of Korea)". orthodoxkorea.org. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "Archbishop Feofan of Korea: We Continue the Work that Was Initiated Several Centuries Ago | A Russian Orthodox Church Website". www.pravmir.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "Ethnic Korean bishop appointed for Russian Church's Korean Diocese". OrthoChristian.Com. 5 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
- ^ "ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 4 апреля 2019 года / Официальные документы / Патриархия.ru". Патриархия.ru (in Russian). 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
 | This Eastern Orthodox Christianity–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |