St John of Shanghai Parish released to Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia

The Church of St John of Shanghai in Santa Maria, Davao Occidental, was founded as part of the ROCOR mission in the Philippines and has always been grateful for the prayers and guidance of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, His Grace Bishop George of Canberra, and Hieromonk Philip (Balingit), dean of the ROCOR mission.

With the blessing of our hierarchs, St John’s and Priest Silouan Thompson have cooperated with the Philippine mission of the Moscow Patriarchate for several years and have benefitted from being part of an active mission with the advantages of relationships, coordination, and hierarchal oversight.

Earlier this year the Moscow Patriarchate established a Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam, and His Eminence Pavel, Metropolitan of Khanty-Mansiysk was appointed Bishop of Manila. Soon afterward, the parish council of St John’s discussed the future of the parish as part of the Russian Orthodox community in the Philippines, and voted to request a canonical release to the care of Metropolitan Pavel and the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Philippines. Today that release was received.

Priest Silouan remains a ROCOR clergyman but is assigned to the Philippine Diocese.