Eastern Orthodoxy in North Korea
Eastern Orthodoxy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a Christian denomination in North Korea, which has developed in the country since 2006.[https://archive.today/20120729034726/www.dprk.mid.ru/xpam.html Православный храм Святой Живоначальной Троицы в Пхеньяне]
As of 2011, the number of Orthodox Christians in North Korea is estimated at 50-60 people, which is about 0.0002% of the country's population.
There were no Eastern Orthodox priests in the country, so the {{interlanguage link|Korean Orthodox Committee|nl|Koreaans Orthodox Comité}}, established in North Korea in 2002, contacted the Russian Orthodox Church.{{cite book|last=Burdick|first=Eddie|title=Three Days in the Hermit Kingdom: An American Visits North Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3TJ_-Tw3q0C&pg=PA181|date=26 May 2010|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson|isbn=978-0-7864-5653-6|page=181}}{{Cite web | title = Pyongyang: Orthodox community subject to authority of Alexei II | author = AsiaNews.it | work = asianews.it | access-date = 5 March 2016 | url = http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pyongyang:-Orthodox-community-subject-to-authority-of-Alexei-II-6742.html | archive-date = 25 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160325214602/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pyongyang:-Orthodox-community-subject-to-authority-of-Alexei-II-6742.html | url-status = live }} The committee sent four students to the Moscow Ecclesiastical Seminary in April 2003.{{cite book|author1=Do Kyung-ok|author2=Kim Soo-Am|author3=Han Dong-ho|author4=Lee Keum-Soon|author5=Hong Min|publisher=Korea Institute for National Unification(South Korea)|title=White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3GdQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221|date=24 September 2015|isbn=978-89-8479-802-1|page=221}} All four were freshly baptized Christians who had formerly worked for the North Korean intelligence service. One of them, Feodor Kim (Kim Hoe-il), said it was difficult for them to adopt the Orthodox faith.{{Cite web | title = Orthodox Church of the Live-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang | publisher = Embassy of Russia to the DPRK | access-date = 1 March 2016 | url = http://www.rusembdprk.ru/en/russia-and-dprk/orthodox-church-in-pyongyang | archive-date = 4 August 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160804195414/http://rusembdprk.ru/en/russia-and-dprk/orthodox-church-in-pyongyang | url-status = live }} After the seminary, they were dispatched to Vladivostok to gain practical experience.{{Cite web | title = Kim Jong-Il and Religion: North Korea Builds an Orthodox Church | work = Spiegel Online | date = 11 August 2006 | access-date = 20 November 2016 | url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/kim-jong-il-and-religion-north-korea-builds-an-orthodox-church-a-431310.html | archive-date = 8 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160308061608/http://www.spiegel.de/international/kim-jong-il-and-religion-north-korea-builds-an-orthodox-church-a-431310.html | url-status = live }}
Of the Orthodox churches, only the Russian Orthodox Church is represented, which, with the assistance of Kim Jong Il, built the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the capital Pyongyang, located in the Jongbaek-dong, Rangrang District.{{cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1598569.html|title=Делегация Русской Православной Церкви приняла участие в торжествах по случаю пятилетия освящения Троицкого храма в Пхеньяне|author=patriarchia.ru|date=2011-08-16|access-date=2011-08-16|archive-date=2011-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104033236/http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1598569.html}}
When the church was consecrated in 2006 by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, the first North Korean priests were ordained - Feodor Kim and John Ra.
On December 28, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the Patriarchal Exarchate in Southeast Asia, which included North Korea,{{Cite web |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5331393.html |title=Учреждены Патриаршие экзархаты в Западной Европе и Юго-Восточной Азии / Новости / Патриархия.ru |access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-date=2019-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413080309/http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5331393.html }} and on February 26, 2019, the Korean Diocese was established within the exarchate, which included North and South Korea.{{Cite web |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5379505.html |title=Образованы епархии в составе Патриаршего экзархата Юго-Восточной Азии / Новости / Патриархия.ru |access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-date=2019-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227182031/http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5379505.html}}
In March 2019, Metropolitan Sergius Chashin noted that {{blockquote|For many years, there has been the Trinity Cathedral there, built by order of the now deceased leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il. Students from the DPRK have studied at the Moscow Theological Academy and have been ordained to the priesthood. Another group of five people is currently studying at the {{ill|Khabarovsk Theological Seminary|ru|Хабаровская духовная семинария}}. Patriarch Kirill ordained two of them in Moscow in August 2018... The authorities are very favourable to the Russian Orthodox Church. Our diplomats, as well as employees of the Bulgarian and Romanian embassies, come to the temple and pray. We have no difficulties with North Korea in terms of carrying out our activities}}.{{Cite web |url=https://ria.ru/20190304/1551521005.html |title=РПЦ не испытывает проблем с работой в Северной Корее|date= 2019-03-04|publisher=РИА Новости|access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-date=2019-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306235302/https://ria.ru/20190304/1551521005.html }}