Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam

In March 2014, the five diocesan provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and Maguindánao of the Philippine Independent Church (also known as Aglipayans), led by their two bishops Esteban Valmera and Rogelio Ringor together with thirteen other Aglipayan clergy petitioned Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ to accept their dioceses, totaling 28 parishes, into the Orthodox Church.{{Cite web | url=http://www.philippine-mission.org/2014/09/orthodox-developments-in-the-philippines/ | title=Orthodox developments in the Philippines • Philippine Mission| date=2014-09-22}} Inspired by their moves and motives, another Aglipayan group called the Aglipayan Christian Church under the leadership of their eight bishops and superiors, also petitioned to the Patriarch of Moscow that they also wished to bring their entire group to embrace the Orthodox faith.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The Moscow Patriarchate then responded by sending Russian Orthodox missionaries in order to catechize the groups wishing to convert.{{Cite web | url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/en/db/text/5225969.html | title=Administrator of Moscow Patriarchate parishes in East and South-East Asia begins his trip to Philippines / News / Patriarchate.ru}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.journeytoorthodoxy.com/2017/06/philippines-government-pledges-support-orthodox-communities-country/ | title=Philippines Government Pledges Support to Orthodox Communities in the Country · Journey to Orthodoxy| date=2017-06-26}} Among the missionaries who came to the Philippines were Fr. Kirill Shkarbul from Taiwan,{{Cite web | url=http://www.nftu.net/true-orthodoxy-in-the-philippines-how-incompetence-greed-and-dishonesty-led-to-the-sudden-blossoming-of-true-orthodoxy-in-mindanao/ | title=True Orthodoxy in the Philippines: How Incompetence, Greed and Dishonesty Led to the Sudden Blossoming of True Orthodoxy in Mindanao | Notes from the Underground}} Fr. Stanislav Rasputin and Fr. George Maksimov from Russia,{{Cite web|url=http://www.pravoslavie.ru/80561.html|title="God Told Me, You Must Convert to Orthodoxy!" / Православие.Ru|website=Православие.RU|access-date=2019-09-13}} as well as lay missionaries Aleksei, Timothy and Sergei, from Russia, the United States and Ukraine, respectively.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The eparchy is one of the two canonical jurisdictions in the Philippines under the Patriarchate of Moscow, the other being the Philippine Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia under the semiautonomous Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

On February 26, 2019, the Holy Synod formed the Diocese of Korea, the Diocese of Singapore, the Diocese of Thailand, and the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam within the Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia and appointed Metropolitan Sergius as the ruling Bishop of the Singapore diocese and locum tenens of the other three dioceses.

On 18 September 2014, the Moscow Patriarchate was registered with the government of the Philippines as the Philippine Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). On 26 September 2014, the Philippine Orthodox Church Deanery of St. John the Baptist based in Ladol, Alabel, Sarangani was registered and on 29 September 2014, the Philippine Orthodox Church Deanery of the Mother of God and Ever Virgin Mary based in Aglipayan Village, Sto. Niño, Tugbok, Dávao was also registered.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

In a meeting with Archbishop Sergius Chashin of Solnechnogorsk on 19 June 2017, Foreign-Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano pledged to help revive, through state power, services at the Ivī́rōn Church on Taft Avenue in Manila.{{cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2017/06/22/news147798/|title=Archbishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk visits the Philippines - The Russian Orthodox Church}}

On 28 December 2018, in response to the Ecumenical Patriarchate's actions in Ukraine,{{Cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=14829|title=Russian Orthodox Church Synod forms patriarch's exarchates in Europe, Asia in response to Constantinople's actions|date=29 December 2018|website=www.interfax-religion.com|access-date=2019-01-06}} the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to create "a Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia [PESEA] with the center in Singapore." The "sphere of pastoral responsibility" of the PESEA is Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.{{Cite web|url=https://philippine-mission.org/2018/12/exarchate/|title=The Russian Orthodox Church establishes a new Exarchate of Singapore and Southeast Asia.|date=2018-12-28|website=Philippine Mission|language=en|access-date=2019-03-08}}{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/12/28/news168464/|title=Patriarchal Exarchates established in Western Europe and South-East Asia {{!}} The Russian Orthodox Church|date=28 December 2018|website=mospat.ru|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-29}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5330863.html|title=ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 28 декабря 2018 года (публикация обновляется) / Официальные документы / Патриархия.ru|date=28 December 2018|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=2018-12-28}}{{cite web|url=https://philippine-mission.org/2018/12/exarchate/|title=The Russian Orthodox Church establishes a new Exarchate of Singapore and Southeast Asia. • Philippine Mission|date=28 December 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://tass.com/society/1038429|title=Russian Orthodox Synod decides to set up exarchates in Western Europe and Southeast Asia|website=TASS|language=en|access-date=2019-02-23}} Archbishop Sergius (Chashin), was appointed as primate of the newly created PESEA, with the title "of Singapore and South-East Asia"{{Cite web|url=https://philippine-mission.org/2018/12/exarchate/|title=The Russian Orthodox Church establishes a new Exarchate of Singapore and Southeast Asia. • Philippine Mission|date=2018-12-28|website=Philippine Mission|language=en|access-date=2019-03-03}} On the same day, in an interview with Russia-24 channel,{{Citation|last=Россия 24|title=Программа "Церковь и мир" от 28 декабря 2018 года - Россия 24|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZVKcPoVK8|access-date=2018-12-30}} Metropolitan Hilarion, spokesman of the ROC, declared the ROC "will now act as if they [Constantinople] do not exist at all because our purpose is missionary, our task is to educate, we are creating these structures for ministerial care about our flock, there can be no such deterring factors here", and that the ROC will take charge of the Orthodox faithfuls of its diaspora instead of the Eumenical Patriarchate.{{Cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=14831|title=Structures of Russian Orthodox Church to open in all localities that have Constantinople parishes|date=29 December 2018|website=www.interfax-religion.com|access-date=2018-12-30}}{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/ru/2019/01/04/news168566/|title=Митрополит Иларион: Верующих канонической Украинской Православной Церкви пытаются силой загнать в созданную на Украине новую раскольничью структуру {{!}} Русская Православная Церковь|date=4 January 2019|website=mospat.ru|language=ru-RU|trans-title=Metropolitan Hilarion: they try to force believers of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church into the new schismatic structure created in Ukraine|access-date=2019-07-18|quote=Сейчас мы отовсюду вышли и теперь будем создавать наши приходы и епархии, те или иные структуры в дальнем зарубежье без всякой оглядки на Константинополь. Мы будем действовать так, как будто их не существует вообще, потому что наша задача – миссионерская, просветительская. Мы создаем эти структуры для пастырского окормления наших верующих, и здесь не может быть подобного рода сдерживающих факторов.}} The Moscow Patriarchate aims to establish parallel jurisdictions all over the world without consultations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, effectively competing with the latter.{{cite web|url=https://www.russkiymir.ru/en/news/250912/|title=ROC will establish parishes worldwide independently from Constantinople|website=www.russkiymir.ru}}{{cite web|url=http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/11/14/moscow-laying-groundwork-for-alternative-patriarchate-in-muslim-turkey/|title=Moscow laying groundwork for alternative patriarchate in Muslim Turkey|last=A. Goble|first=Paul|date=14 November 2018|website=Euromaidan press}}

On 7 January 2019, during the evening service in the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill elevated Archbishop Sergius (Chashin) to the rank of Metropolitan in connection with the latter's appointment as exarch of the PESEA.{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5338745.html|title=В праздник Рождества Христова Святейший Патриарх Кирилл совершил великую вечерню в Храме Христа Спасителя / Новости / Патриархия.ru|date=7 January 2019|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=2019-03-03}}

On 26 February 2019, the PESEA was divided into four dioceses that were created, of which the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam.{{Cite web|url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=14979|title=Russian Orthodox Church to set up 4 dioceses in SE. Asia|date=26 February 2019|website=www.interfax-religion.com|access-date=2019-02-26}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5379518.html|title=Состоялось первое в 2019 году заседание Священного Синода Русской Православной Церкви / Новости / Патриархия.ru|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=2019-02-27}}

20 September 2019, ROCOR mission in the Philippines was received to Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam{{Cite web|url=https://philippine-mission.org/2019/09/st-john-of-shanghai-parish-released-to-patriarchal-exarchate-of-southeast-asia/|title = St John of Shanghai Parish released to Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia|date = 22 September 2019}}

On February 22, 2020, Metropolitan Paul of Manila and Hanoi celebrated the great consecration of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Makalangot on the island of Mindanao, which became the first full-fledged church building in the diocese. On the same day, a first Diocesan Assembly of the clergy and laity of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese was held was held there. Five deaneries within the diocese were established: deanerу of Manila, deanerу of Davao City, deanerу of General Santos, deanerу of Vietnam, and deanerу of Davao del Sur.{{Cite web|url=https://philippine-mission.org/2020/02/first-diocesan-assembly/|title=First Diocesan Assembly|date=23 February 2020}}[http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5595777.html На Филиппинах освящен первый храм Русской Православной Церкви]

On February 12, 2023, meeting of the clergy of the diocese decided to separate the North Kotobato deanery from the Davaovo deanery, and also to include the Davao del Sur deanery to the Davao deanery. A diocesan Department for Prison Service and a Youth Department were also established.{{cite web |title=Meeting of the clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese |publisher= The Philippines and Vietnam diocese |url=https://phvieparchy.org/en/sostoyalos-eparhialnoe-sobranie-duhovenstva-filippinsko-vetnamskoj-eparhii/ |website=phvieparchy.org |date=February 13, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Состоялось собрание духовенства Филиппинско-Вьетнамской епархии |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/6003711.html |website=patriarchia.ru |language=ru |date=13 February 2023}}

The bishop of the diocese bears the title of Bishop of Manila and Hanoi.

• Sergius (Chashin) (26 February 2019 – 30 August 2019) locum tenens{{Cite news|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Orthodox-church-schism-extends-Putin-s-reach-in-Asia2|title=Orthodox church schism extends Putin's reach in Asia|last1=Furukama|first1=Eiji|date=31 March 2019|work=Nikkei Asian Review|access-date=4 April 2019|last2=Kaneko|first2=Natsuki|quote="Four dioceses have been formed as part of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Southeast Asia: the Singaporean, Korean, Thai and Filipino-Vietnamese," Vladimir Legoyda, head of the Russian church's Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations, told reporters in February.
  "It has been decided that Metropolitan Sergei of Singapore and Southeast Asia will be the governing archbishop of the Singaporean diocese, and he has also been entrusted with the temporary running of the other three," Legoyda said.}}
• {{Interlanguage link|Paul (Fokin)|lt=|ru|Павел (Фокин)|WD=}} (30 August 2019-){{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1498657.html|title=Павел, митрополит Ханты-Мансийский и Сургутский (Фокин Павел Семенович) / Персоналии / Патриархия.ru|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=2019-09-13}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5492005.html|title=ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 30 августа 2019 года / Официальные документы / Патриархия.ru|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=2019-09-13}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://phvieparchy.org/en/ official site]
• [http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5380682.html Information about the diocese on the official website of the ROC]

{{Russian Orthodox Church}}

{{Religion in the Philippines}}

{{coord missing|Asia}}

Category:Eastern Orthodoxy in the Philippines

Category:Christianity in Vietnam

Category:Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church

Category:Christian organizations established in 2019

Category:Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Asia