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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Orthodox Church</span> Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church

The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthodox Church in America</span> Eastern Orthodox church in North America

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latvian Orthodox Church</span> Eastern Orthodox denomination in Latvia

The Latvian Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox church in Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodoxy community. The primate of the church carries the title of Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia. This position has been occupied since October 27, 1990, by metropolitan Aleksandrs Kudrjašovs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia</span> Semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church

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. Currently, the position of First-Hierarch of the ROCOR is occupied by Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky).

Russian Church may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church</span> 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.

The Catacomb Church as a collective name labels those representatives of the Russian Orthodox clergy, laity, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods, etc., who for various reasons, moved to an illegal position from the 1920s onwards. In a narrow sense, the term "catacomb church" means not just illegal communities, but communities that rejected subordination to the acting patriarchal locum tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) after 1927, and that adopted anti-Soviet positions. During the Cold War of 1947-1991 the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia popularized the term in the latter sense, first within the Russian diaspora, and then in the USSR. The expression "True Orthodox church" is synonymous with this latter, narrower sense of "catacomb church".

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, Central America, and the Caribbean. 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.

Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe</span> Diocese with a special status within the Russian Orthodox Church

The Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe is an archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church with special status, headquartered in Paris. It comprises various Russian Orthodox parishes located throughout Western Europe.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate</span> Self-governed church of Russian Orthodox Church

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe</span> Religious sect

The Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), encompassing all of western Europe but with communities primarily on territories of the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Orthodox Catholic Church</span> 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), was 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 Nicholas (Olhovsky), First Hierarch of the ROCOR. As of August 2013, there are four missions in the country.

The Indonesian Orthodox Church is a diocese which has been under the jurisdiction of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece since 2019. The theology and praxis of the church is essentially the same as any other Eastern Orthodox Church, though they are not in communion with the larger body of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The legal entity of the Indonesian Orthodox Church was founded and is still managed in day-to-day affairs by Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro, and its history is in many ways inseparable from his own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam</span> Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

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).

On 15 October 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church broke the communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate because of a dispute concerning the canonical jurisdiction over Ukraine. This led to the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism. Numerous Orthodox churches took position concerning the dispute over the canonical jurisdiction over Ukraine, whether before or after this schism.

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.