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Updated info on the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Philippines with external links.
In 1949, 5,500 Russian Orthodox from China, including then -[[Archbishop ]] [[John (Maximovitch)]], was were relocated to a former US Army base on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubabao Tubabao ], in the south-central Philippines by the International Refugee Organization and with the permission of the newly independent Republic of the Philippines. Under Archbishop John Maximovitch then established 's direction a wooden church, orphanage, and other buildings in Tubabao for were established on the refugees. Until grounds of the present timebase, older Filipinos still remember for the "Holy Man"Russian refugees.
Tubabao, however, was (and still is) an underdeveloped island which is humid, prone to typhoons, and at times inaccessible due to the ocean conditions. Through the persistent lobbying of Archbishop John Maximovitch When a Russian commented on their fear that a typhoon would destroy their camp to the US Congresslocal Filipinos, they replied that there was nothing to worry about because "your holy man blesses your camp from four directions every night." There were no typhoons or floods while the Russian refugees were allowed to settle in the United States and Australiasheltered at Tubabao.
[[Image:Manila_orthodox_cathedral.jpg|left|thumb|The Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Paranaque, Manila]]One of the first Greek Orthodox to arrive in the Philippine province of Albay was Alexandros Athos Adamopoulos (aka Alexander A. Adamson), who came to Legaspi city in 1928. Together with his brother and cousin he co-founded Adamson University in 1932, which is now owned by the Vincentian Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. Adamopoulos was appointed in 1942 by the Greek government to take charge of Greek interests in the Philippines. He was later promoted to the rank of Consul General of Greece. In 1989, Adamopoulos saw the need to establish the first true Greek Orthodox church in the Philippines and thus established the Hellenic Orthodox Foundation Inc. Although he died in 1993 before the church was completed, the Orthodox Cathedral was finished in 1996 and is constructed in true Byzantine style, with all the interior furnishings imported from Greece, and is home to approximately 520 Filipino Orthodox and 40 expats[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exarchate_of_the_Philippines]in Metro Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. This cathedral was consecrated by His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on March 5, 2000. On April 20, 1990, a Filipino [[hieromonk]], Fr. Vincentius Escarcha (a former Benedictine Abbot and a Roman Catholic priest for more than 20 years in Bajada, Cataingan, Masbate island), together with four nuns and faithful members of his community, were received into the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan [[Dionysios (Psiahas) of Proussa|Dionysios]] of the [[Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Zealand]] and assisted by [[Sotirios (Trambas) of Korea|Bishop Sotirios of Zelon]]. On January 19, 1994, Metropolitan Dionysios, assisted by Bishop Sotirios, received by [[Chrismation|Holy Chrismation]] several Filipino Christians in Manila. In 1996, the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia was created for the needs of the faithful under the [[Church of Constantinople]]. In 2004, the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Bajada, Masbate was consecrated by His Eminence Metropolitan [[Nikitas (Lulias) of Hong Kong|Nikitas]] of Hong Kong and South East Asia. At present, the nuns of the Theotokos Orthodox Monastery in Bajada run a kindergarten. ==Orthodoxy in the Philippines today==[[Image:Filipinorthodox.jpg|left|Filipino Orthodox faithful in Paranaque, Manila]]Within the Ecumenical Patriarchate's [[Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia]], there are currently three Filipino Orthodox priests in the Philippines, along with four nuns, and are administratively under an ecclesiastical vicar from Greece. In these communities, the Divine Liturgy and other Orthodox worship services are said in English, Greek and Filipino. In 2007the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission in the Philippines[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochian_Orthodox_Christian_Mission_in_the_Philippines], was established under the [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand]]. In 2008, two Filipino denominations were received into the Antiochian church, including 32 communities with some 6000 believers. These denominations - one ex-protestant, led by Fr Jeptah Aniceto, and one ex-independent, led by Fr Pascualito Monsanto - formed two vicariates, based in Davao and Manila respectively. In 2009 Jeptah Aniceto [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochian_Orthodox_Christian_Mission_in_the_Philippines left the Orthodox Church] to pursue native religious teaching in Africa, and now [https://www.facebook.com/BangsaLumad identifies as a Muslim]. Many of his followers left the Antiochian Church; some connected with an [[Old Calendarist]] group under Bishop Kleopas (Daclan). In 2013, clergy from both ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate responded to requests from Filipino groups for catechism. Two dioceses of the [http://www.ifi.ph/ Iglesia Filipina Independiente ("Aglipayans"] entered into a period of catechism, very preliminary discussions and beginning in 2015 several parishes were also being held received in mass baptisms[http://orthochristian.com/82584.html][http://orthochristian.com/81728.html]. In 2017 a hieromonk was sent from Russia to rereestablish the parish of the Iveron Icon of the Theotokos, originally established in 1935 but destroyed by bombing during World War II. In February, 2019, a [http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5379588.html Diocese of the Philippines] was established within the Russian Orthodox [http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5330863.html Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia]. [https://philippine-mission.org/about/clergy-establish of-the-philippine-diocese/ Eight priests] now serve the Russian mission which now numbers approximately thirty parishes and mission communities. There are also some [[Independent Orthodox churches|independent groups]] in the Philippines that use the term ''Orthodox'' in their names but are not in communion with or are recognized by any canonical Orthodox church. ==See also==* [[Exarchate of the Philippines|Exarchate of the Philippines, Ecumenical Patriarchate]]* [[Philemon (Castro)]] ==External links== *[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orthodox-Church-in-the-Philippines/187805037902231 Affiliate in the Philippines - Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia]*[http://filorthodoxia.googlepages.com/church.htm History of the First Filipino Orthodox Community in the Philippines] by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis*[http://www.orthodoxnews.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=WorldNews.one&content_id=7354&CFID=29993857&CFTOKEN=90155693 Ecumenical Patriarch Consecrates Annunciation Church in Manila]*[http://www.orthodox.cn/news/20000420philippines_en.htm Orthodox Patriarch Visits Fledgling Local Orthodox Church]*[http://www.cs.ust.hk/faculty/dimitris/metro/AUG03.pdf The Theotokos Orthodox Church & Monastery in Masbate] (Information in an issue of The Censer)*[http://www.cs.ust.hk/faculty/dimitris/metro/Phil_major_events.html Major Events of Orthodoxy in the Philippines] *[http://www.cs.ust.hk/faculty/dimitris/metro/Phil_history.html A priest's description of Orthodox missionary work in the Philippines]*[http://www.rocor.org.au/lives/stjohnsanfranciscoshanghai Life of St. John Maximovitch]*[http://www2.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/Articles/en-US/03042007_KL1949.htm The Greek Community in the Philippines]*[http://www.hri. Plans are still being formulatedorg/forum/life/adamson.html Greeks in the Philippines and their contributions to the Filipinos]*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=philamer;idno=AFK2830.0001.044 The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 by Emma E. Blair & James A. Robertson, Volume XLIV, 1906] Online edition from the University of Michigan.*[https://philippine-mission.org/ Philippine Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church] {{Parishes of South, East, and Southeast Asia}} [[Category:Jurisdictions]]