Православная миссия в Таиланде в 1999-2014 гг. | страница 55



15 At the same.

In early March 2014 the Trinity parish in Phuket was recruited by new Thai – parishioners. A mother and a daughterwere baptized in St. Nicholas chapel at the Church, where the baptistery is located. Duengham and Mukdara were called Anna and Maria in Holy Baptism. The head of the family is George, a Bulgarian Orthodox who helped his wife and daughter prepare for the Sacrament and acted as a translator for catechetical talks. The Community of the Holy Trinity temple in Phuket heartily congratulated Anna and Mary on this significant event in their lives.16

16 The Trinity parish in Phuket was recruited by new Thai – parishioners. The 2nd of March 2014. www.orthodox.or.th/index.php?content=news (date of access: 24.072014).

In the fifteen-year history of the Representation there are examples when the representatives of the second generation of Thais become Orthodox.

On the 30th of March 2014 the St. Sacrament of Shawn Vipracasit, who was born in 2004, took place before the divine Liturgy in the Church of St. Nicolas the Wonderworker, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. Shawn was named in Holy Baptism George. His mother and also a citizen of Thailand, received the sacrament of Holy baptism with the name of Darius and currently is an active parishioner of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Bangkok, catechized and prepared Shawn for the entry into the St .Orthodox Church. Although the father of the child continues to be a Buddhist, he gave his consent to the baptism of his son.

The Orthodox Church in Thailand is making significant efforts so that the receiving of baptism of one of the family members served to strengthen the family ties, despite the difference in the faith of the spouses. The sacrament of baptism Shawn was carried out by the rector of the Church the Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) through the full immersion. During the divine Liturgy the newly baptized George received Holy Communion and was warmly congratulated by the believers with joy and tenderness, perceived as a new member of the Orthodox Church. So, George became the second generation in a Thai family Vipracasits, accepting Orthodox.17

17 The second generation of Thais becomes Orthodox. The 30 of March,2014 www.orthodox.or.th/index.php?content=news (date of access: 24.07.2014).

Basically, as we have seen, baptism is accepted by those Thais whose family members are already Christians, by the children of mixed marriages. In general, it can be noted that different areas of the modern Orthodox mission in Thailand for the years 1999-2014 affected not only the Russian-speaking population, but also Thais, and have already yielded their first fruits. The general numerical characteristics of the results of the mission, its growth, and the human and financial situation of the Representation at the end of 2012 are presented in table 1. Maybe they are not very impressive quantitatively, but for God every soul is priceless. And in this sense the Orthodox mission in Thailand is successful.