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→Orthodoxy in the Philippines
== Orthodoxy in the Philippines ==
Orthodoxy arrived in the Philippines when Greek Syrian and Lebanese merchants and sailors settled arrived in Legaspi city on the island of Luzon about Manila after Manila was opened to outside trade. The first recorded Orthodox Christian is a century agoLebanese family in 1802. Descendants any of these Greek Orthodox Christian sailors now number no more than 10 the Lebanese families, who have kept their Greek surnames still reside in the Philippines and have become distinguished public figures and intellectuals in the Philippines. They do not, however, speak GreekFilipino citizens.
An influx of Russian emigrees fleeing the Soviet regime occured during the American colonial regime. In 1935, a Russian [[parish]] was established in Manila, and the [[Patriarch]] of Moscow and All Russia appointed Father Mikhail Yerokhin as vicar. The Episcopal Church then permitted Fr. Mikhail to use the north transept of their cathedral for worship. In 1937, the first Orthodox church was built and was named after the Iberian [[Icon]] of the Mother of God. This also became the first Orthodox [[altar]] in the Philippines. Later, both the Episcopal Cathedral and the Russian Orthodox church in Manila were destroyed during the Second World War. [[Image:John Maximovitch Tubabao.jpg|left|thumb|Abp. John Maximovitch in Tubabao]]
