On the 29th of February 2000 the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Kingdom stated in response to a request from the Embassy of the Russian Federation that “the Regulation of Religious Organizations of 1969 and the Article 4(b) of the Regulation of Religious Organizations 1982 regulate that for registration of the Representation of the Church in Thailand it is necessary that this Church has not less than five thousand people registered in the census as the Thais, as well as the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church in Thailand have given their consent to the opening a Representation of this Church”.3 On the 27th of March, 2000 his Holiness, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexiy II sent a letter to the King of Thailand Phumipong. In the appeal it was said: “We know that Your Majesty is the patron of all believers in the Kingdom of Thailand, and we hope that Your care and concern will also extend to the Russian Orthodox parish. In this regard, we appeal to You for support in case of state registration of our parish as the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand”.4
3 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom Thailand. A copy of the letter of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Thailand on the 29th of February 2000.
4 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom Thailand. A letter of Patriarch Alexy II to the King of Thailand.
For assistance in resolving this issue, the Patriarch Alexiy appealed to the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand Somdet Great Nyanasamvara (Suvadhana Mahathera). In the letter was noted: “The Buddhist temple for the crown Prince of Siam was built in the beginning of the last century in the capital of the Russian Empire St. Petersburg, and today, Buddhism is one of the traditional religions of Russia. The fruitful cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church and Buddhists in many interfaith forums helps believers of different faiths to participate actively in the solution of many humanitarian issues facing modernity. <…> we also refer to your spiritual authority and hope you will support the registration of our parish in Bangkok”.5
5 The archive of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom Thailand. The letter of Patriarch Alexy II to the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand.
Another difficulty in the operation of the Representation were relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, founded in 1996 under the Hong Kong diocese, in the jurisdiction of which Thailand was. The director of this diocese the Metropolitan Nikitas with the support of the Greek and American diplomatic corps, tried to imagine the Patriarch of Constantinople as an analogous to the Pope of Rome for the Orthodox world in his contacts with the relevant authorities. In this regard, in the first stage, it was offered to the Orthodox parish of the Russian Orthodox Church to recognize the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong bishop for legalization.6
