Eastern Orthodoxy in Pakistan

Last updated

Eastern Orthodoxy in Pakistan is a Christian denomination in the country of Pakistan. In 2011, the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Pakistan was estimated at 500 people. The present population of Orthodox Christians in Pakistan is around 3,000. It represents approximately 0.0002% of the population. [1] Eastern Orthodox churches in the country are represented by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) The five Eastern Orthodox parishes are Parish of Constantinople Patriarchate (Wazirabad), Parish of the Russian Orthodox Church (MP) (Lahore) Community of the Russian Orthodox Church (MP) (Islamabad), Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) (Sargodha) and Rahimyarkhan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi Islamabad (Ghotki Sindh).

Contents

Organization

Patriarchate of Constantinople

In 2005, an Eastern Orthodox mission, headed by Pakistani priest John Tanveer, opened in Pakistan. In 1986 he began serving as a Catholic priest in Lahore. In 1990 he met with the Greek Orthodox general. [2] Following the meeting, Tanveer visited Australia, where he became acquainted with Eastern Orthodoxy. In 1996, he resigned as Catholic priest in 1997, and married a graduate of the University of Oxford. In 1998, Tanveer came in contact with the representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and wrote a petition to adopt it in Eastern Orthodoxy. In 2001, his application was approved, and in 2003 he had his first meeting with the Eastern Orthodox bishop. In 2005, Tanveer and his family, as well as many other people, adopted Eastern Orthodoxy.

During his missionary activity Tanveer opened a churchand catechetical school in his home. He translated into Urdu liturgical texts and books (including "Conversations with St. Seraphim of Sarov"). He raised the issue of the official registration of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Pakistan to gather funds to build a spiritual center. Action also came in Wazirabad.

On April 21, 2013 construction of the first Eastern Orthodox church began in Wazirabad. It was consecrated on February 6, 2014.

Moscow Patriarchate

The parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Islamabad was established on July 26, 2010, in compliance with the decision of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod. In October 2012, the foundation stone of the future church was laid in the territory of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Islamabad. Construction began in 2015 and finished in October 2016. In August 2017 a graduate of Tomsk Theological Seminary, Priest Paul Sushil (Anjum) started missionary work in Pakistan. Sushil was responsible for looking after the Orthodox communities in Lahore and Islamabad as the Representative of Russian Orthodox Church in Pakistan (Moscow Patriarchate). [3]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

ROCOR in Pakistan is headed by Bishop, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First-Hierarch Hilarion Kapral. Its Mission is St.Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission of Pakistan. The priest is Father Joseph Farooq, the only canonical ROCOR priest in the country. [4]

The Mission was started in 2008, canonically established in 2012 and registered in Pakistan in 2014. 780 believers make up the Russian Orthodox Family in Pakistan. The Church has spiritual and canonical union with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. [5]

St. Matrona of Moscow Adult Education Center and Sewing Center was founded in March 2016 as an outreach program of Mission to poor women. [6] In April 2017 Father Farooq visited Russia to venerate the Holy Sites and Relics. [7] Father Farooq wrote Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II’S Journey To Pakistan Notes of a Pakistani Orthodox Priest. [8]

ROCOR Believers live in Sargodha, Ghotki, Rahimyarkhan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad under the pastoral care of Father Farooq.

Father Farooq translated books into Urdu for the benefit of Believers in Pakistan: Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom,Eastern Orthodox Prayer book,Catechism of Eastern Orthodox Church, often referred as a New Chrysostom [9] Life of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, Blessed Mother Matrona of Moscow and Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia along with various Liturgical Texts,

Russian Orthodox Church Old Rite

The Russian Orthodox Church Old Rite in Pakistan was started in 2006, but canonically establish 2016 with the blessing of Eminence Metropolitan Korniliy and registered in 2017. Instrumental to the foundation of the Old-Rite church in Pakistan was Cyril Shahzad, a former Russian Orthodox priest who joined the Old-rite church after visiting Rogozhskoye. Russian Orthodox old believers live in Sargodha, Wazirabad, Islamabad, Bhalwal. They worship primarily in English and Urdu. [10]

Related Research Articles

Eastern Orthodox Church organization Structure and organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion comprising the fourteen or sixteen separate autocephalous (self-governing) hierarchical churches that recognize each other as "canonical" Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.

Russian Orthodox Church Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church, headquartered in Moscow, Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'. The ROC, as well as its primate, officially ranks fifth in the Eastern Orthodox order of precedence, immediately below the four ancient patriarchates of the Greek Orthodox Church: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

Orthodox Church in America Eastern Orthodox church in North America

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2011, it had an estimated 84,900 members in the United States.

Russian Orthodoxy

Russian Orthodoxy is the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Russian Orthodoxy is a part of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russian Church may refer to:

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church Member of the Eastern Orthodox Church

The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church is an Orthodox church in Estonia under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Estonian law it is the legal successor to the pre–World War II Estonian Orthodox Church, which in 1940 had over 210,000 faithful, three bishops, 156 parishes, 131 priests, 19 deacons, two monasteries, and a theological seminary; the majority of the faithful were ethnic Estonians. Its official name is the Orthodox Church of Estonia.

Eastern Orthodoxy in North America represents adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and other North American states. Estimates of the number of Eastern Orthodox adherents in North America vary considerably depending on methodology and generally fall in range from 3 million to 6 million. Most Eastern Orthodox Christians in North America are Russian Americans, Greek Americans, Arab Americans, Ukrainian Americans, Albanian Americans, Macedonian Americans, Romanian Americans, Bulgarian Americans and Serbian Americans, with Americans from other Eastern European countries and growing minorities of converted Americans of Western European, African, Latin American, and East Asian descent.

Western Rite Orthodoxy Congregations within the Eastern Orthodox Church which use liturgies of Western or Latin origin rather than adopting Eastern liturgies

Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the autocephalous churches of Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy which perform their liturgy in Western forms.

Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe Diocese with a special status within the Russian Orthodox Church

The Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe, also called Archdiocese of Parishes of the Russian Tradition in Western Europe, is a Paris-headquartered diocese consisting of parishes in Russian orthodox tradition, located in Western Europe. The diocese hails from the Provisional Administration of Russian Parishes in Western Europe, created in 1921.

The timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America represents timeline of the historical development of religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America.

The Act of Canonical Communion of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia with the Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate reunited the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church: the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and the Moscow Patriarchate. The accord was signed on 17 May 2007, which for the Eastern Orthodox Church in that year was the Feast of the Ascension of Christ.

Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is a semi-autonomous church in the canonical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow whose primate is appointed by the Holy Synod of the latter.

Eastern Orthodoxy in Taiwan represents Christians in Taiwan who are adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Patriarchal Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada is a canonical unit of the Moscow Patriarchate in Canada. The headquarters of the church is in Edmonton; home to St. Barbara Cathedral. From Edmonton, two traveling priests serve a number of rural churches. Other parishes are located in Toronto and Ottawa.

American Orthodox Catholic Church Christian denomination, founded 1927

The American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC), or The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America (THEOCACNA), and sometimes simply the American Orthodox Patriarchate (AOP), is an independent Eastern Orthodox Christian church with origins from 1924–1927. The church was formally created on February 2, 1927 and chartered in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in 1928 with the assistance of Metropolitan Platon Rozhdestvensky of New York; the American Orthodox Catholic Church was initially led by Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh before his disputed suspension and deposition in 1933.

The ROCOR Canonical and Official Representation in the Philippines is a jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a semi-autonomous jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate under Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), First Hierarch of the ROCOR. As of August 2013, there are four missions in the country.

True Orthodoxy, or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively referred to as "Zealotry", is a movement within Eastern Orthodox Christianity that has been separated from the mainstream Eastern Orthodox Church over issues of ecumenism and calendar reform since the 1920s.

Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam

The Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam is a diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow created on 26 February 2019, directly under the Patriarchal Exarchate in Southeast Asia (PESEA).

References

  1. ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "History of the Orthodox Mission in Pakistan – Orthodox Mission in Pakistan". Orthodoxpakistan.org. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Russian Orthodox Church in Pakistan – Moscow Patriarchate" . Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  4. ↑ "Fr. Joseph". Православие.RU. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  5. ↑ "Archangel Michael Mission in Pakistan". Archangel Michael Mission in Pakistan. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  6. ↑ "St. Matrona Sewing Center festively opened in Pakistan". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  7. ↑ archangelmichaelmission (2017-06-28). "Visit to Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Sparrow Hills Moscow". Archangel Michael Mission in Pakistan. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  8. ↑ "Fr. Joseph Farooq. Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II's Journey to Pakistan". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  9. ↑ Saint Nikolai Velimirovich
  10. ↑ "Christianity in Pakistan". Russian Oldbeliver Church. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.