Clerics of Diocese of Thailand Took Part in Opening Ceremony of Russian Consulate General on Island of Phuket

On July 15, 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S. Lavrov inaugurated the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Phuket.

The solemn ceremony took place on the site in front of the Consulate General. It was attended by officials from the Russian and Thai sides including senior officials of the ministries of foreign affairs of both countries, representatives of the administration of Phuket province, Russian Ambassador to Thailand Evgeny Tomikhin, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Phuket Vladimir Sosnov, representatives of the Thai public and the Russian community of Thailand.

After the opening ceremony, the Minister held a meeting with Russian compatriots, at which important and pressing issues of concern to Russian citizens were discussed. With the blessing of the Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia, Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and South-East Asia, Interim Administrator of the Diocese of Thailand, the meeting was attended by the representatives of the Diocese of Thailand: Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin), Secretary of the Diocese of Thailand; Hieromonk Paisiy (Ipate), Dean of St. Nicholay Cathedral in Bangkok; Priest Roman Bychkov, rector of the Trinity Cathedral in Phuket with his wife Ksenia.

At the end of the meeting, the delegation of the Diocese of Thailand presented the Minister with a commemorative album on the history of Orthodoxy in Thailand.