7 The Sunday schools // Orthodox Thailand. 2013. November. №5.
Not all Russians in Thailand are well-disposed to the Orthodox Church. As Leonid Borisov rightly noted in his article, “the most surprising thing for me is the speed with which former Soviets, in the past almost all atheists, were divided into Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims and Buddhists overnight. In fairness I must say that there is a category of the Russian people, who after some time began to treat the Russian Orthodox Church almost like once the dissidents treated the Communists, sometimes seeking refuge in other religions, including Buddhism, if we talk about the Russian Diaspora in Thailand. They criticize Orthodoxy so that an atheist would like to intercede for it. While the temple in Pattaya was being built, many of our citizens discussed hotly on one Russian forum television appeals of the father Oleg to sacrifice for its construction. The main subject of discussion was the question – if the ROC (РПЦ) steals the collected money? The impression from this discussion was so that the detractors of the Orthodox Church were not less than the helpers. Meanwhile, on one fine December day in 2009, when debate on the subject “Is ROC a righteous man or a thief?” has not subsided, it became clear that the most beautiful temple in Pattaya was already built and ready for consecration”.8
8 Borisov Daniel L. – a Thai priest Pattaya Daily (date of access: 28.07.2014)
The Representative’s activity is evaluated by the hierarchy positively. After reviewing the summary information of the Assembly of the Orthodox Church in Thailand, held on the 24th – 26th of March 2013 in Bangkok, the Archbishop Mark of Yegorievsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s foreign institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a letter to the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin), to whose spiritual care also the Orthodox parishes in Cambodia and Laos belong. The letter contains a high evaluation of the regional Church`s Representation in 2013 and, in particular, says: “I note with satisfaction a serious work on the development of the Church’s presence in the region that was carried out in the past year. The results of these works are clearly visible and attest a zealous and fervent attitude of all workers of the Representation for their ministry… I dare hope that the taks delivered for the year 2014, will be carried out timely and well”.9
