Author: Сингапурская епархия

On May 30, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan of Singapore and South-East Asia Sergiy, accompanied by Priest Ilia Melnichenko, Dean of the Church of St. Sergiy of Radonezh in Nusa Dua, visited the parish of St. Nicholay, the Wonderworker of Myra in the city of Singaraja located in the northern part of the island of Bali.

Singaraja is a port city with a population of over 800,000 people. Until 1958 it was the capital of the island. In terms of its area and the number of inhabitants, Singaraja is slightly smaller than Denpasar, the administrative center of the province of Bali.

Translated from Malay, Singaraja means “Singa” – “lion”, “raja” – “king”. The residents themselves often call the city – Buleleng – this is how the variety of rice grown here in the Middle Ages was called.

It harmoniously combines different cultures and religions. The bulk of the population of Singaraja are Muslims, but apart from mosques, the city also has Catholic churches and Hindu temples, but it should be noted that representatives of different religions and teachings get along well with each other.

Among this variety there is also an Orthodox parish in honor of St. Nicholay the Wonderworker. The community is cared for by priest Alexander Kobesi, who has served in the church for over 10 years now.

Father Alexander and the parishioners gave a warm welcome to Vladyka. Metropolitan Sergiy gave a blessing to the believers, talked to the parishioners, and answered questions of concern to the faithful.

On May 29, the 6th Sunday after Pascha, Of the blind man, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Sergiy of Radonezh in the Nusa Dua area on Bali island, Indonesia.

This is the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that Metropolitan Sergiy has visited the parish on Bali. In his sermon, Vladyka noted that the life of the community was noticeably reviving. In the church, one can see the regular parishioners again and a large number of new faces from the local population.

On May 17, during his archpastoral visit to the Diocese of Singapore, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia visited the newly formed Orthodox community in honour of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Lukut, a suburb of Port Dickson, Malaysia.

His Eminence was accompanied by Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, Vicar of the Diocese of Singapore, and clerics of the parish of the Archangel Michael in Kuala Lumpur, Dean Hegumen Pavel (Khokhlov) and Priest Seraphim Choi.

Vladyka Sergiy performed a prayer service and presented the parish with the icon of the Savior “Not Made by Hands” as a gift and then continued to communicate with the faithful.

On May 16, at the Embassy of Russia in Malaysia, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia in Malaysia, N. M. Latypov.

In addition, Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, vicar of the Diocese of Singapore; hegumen Pavel (Khokhlov), dean of the Church of the Archangel Michael in Kuala Lumpur; and Naydenov P.I., secretary-referent, assistant to the Ambassador, also participated in the meeting.

One more meeting that day took place at the parish of the Archangel Michael in Kuala Lumpur – Metropolitan Sergiy, together with Reverend Dr. Hermen Shastri, former secretary of the Malaysian Council of Churches, discussed such aspects of cooperation as exchange of students with theological education.

On May 15, the 4th Sunday after Pascha, of the Paralytic, the day of transferring the relics of the Holy Noble Princes of Russia Boris and Gleb, in the Holy Baptism – Roman and David, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan of Singapore and South-East Asia Sergiy celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Archangel Michael in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The day before, vladyka Sergiy served the All-Night Vigil here.

His Eminence was co-served by: Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, vicar of the Diocese of Singapore and clerics of the parish, rector of the church Hegumen Pavel (Khokhlov) and Priest Seraphim Choi.

Since the start of the pandemic, Vladyka Sergiy has been physically unable to visit the parish in Malaysia, and now, two years later, the church is again hosting its archpastor.

After the Liturgy, Vladyka presented Priest Seraphim Choi with a church award – the medal of St. Nicholay Equal-to-the- Apostles, Archbishop of Japan. This medal has the status of a Patriarchal award and was established by the decision of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 6, 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the day of the repose of St. Nicholay, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, the outstanding missionary and enlightener of Japan.

At the end of the service, Father Pavel, on behalf of the parish, congratulated vladyka Sergiy and Bishop Pitirim on the Lord’s Pascha and presented them with memorable gifts – wooden Paschal eggs. After that, everyone joined a festive meal.

On May 8, on the 3rd Sunday after Pascha, of the Saint Myrrh-Bearing Women, Righteous Joseph of Arimathea and Righteous Nicodemus, Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Singapore.

His Eminence was co-served by Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, Vicar of the Diocese of Singapore, and the clergy of the parish.

Upon the end of the Liturgy, Vl. Sergiy cordially congratulated all the faithful and especially women of the parish on the feast of the Saint Myrrh-bearing Women. He also shared the special joy of returning to the parish after a absence.

Speaking about the feast, vl. Sergiy emphasized that the resurrected Lord appeared first to the myrrh-bearing women as a gratitude not only for their courage, but also for their humble labour because it was they who were taking care of the food and life conditions of those who were following Christ. And despite the very insignificant position of women in the society of that time, the Lord eliminates this unfair inequality, showing that everyone is equal before Him, because it is the soul that is most important to God rather than gender, nationality or status.

Similar to the Myrrh-bearing Women, who went through Golgotha together with Christ, let us remember that each of us has our own Golgotha and trials leading to salvation and resurrection. So let us not try to avoid it because “without our personal Golgotha there will be no personal Pascha” — emphasizesd Vladyka Sergiy. And let us remember that the first words of the Lord after His Resurrection were “peace and joy”, and this is exactly what modern people lack so much. Thus, instead of replenishing the cup of evil with our negative thoughts, let us smile and multiply the peace and joy around us.

After the sermon, as a greeting, all the women received roses. Vladyka continued communicating with the flock at the festive meal.