Metropolitan Sergiy visited the second Orthodox parish on the island of Bali

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.