Photo credit: kremlin.ru
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte invited the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to expand its presence in the country, TASS reports. He spoke about this during his speech at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. Duterte is sure that Orthodoxy will help curb the spread of the ideology of terrorists. The head of state proposed the construction of an Orthodox church in the Philippines.
The head of the Synodal department for the relationship of the church with society and the media of the Moscow Patriarchate Vladimir Legoyda thanked Rodrigo Duterte. According to him, the Russian Orthodox Church is now discussing the possibility of rebuilding the Orthodox church in Manila. The church in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God was erected in the Philippine capital in the late thirties of the last century. In 1945, during the liberation of the Philippines, an American air bomb hit the temple.
In addition, the ROC plans to create Orthodox communities in Mindanao and other islands of the Philippine archipelago. Legoyda recalled that some of the islands were very popular among Russian tourists. The Russian Church believes that the mission in Southeast Asia was very important, Legoyda emphasized.
Russkiy Mir reported that at the end of last year the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia of the Russian Orthodox Church was established with its center in Singapore.
Russkiy Mir
