The Diocese of Korea (russian: Корейская епархия, ko, 대한교구) is a diocese of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

which covers the territory

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It is part of the

Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia The Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia (PESEA, russian: Патриарший экзархат в Юго-Восточной Азии) is an exarchate created by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on 28 December 2018. The primate of the PESEA ...

History

Eastern Orthodoxy in the region

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...

in 1860 created short border between Korea and Russia. Therefore relations between Korea and Russia were improved. History of Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea was started when

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

decided to send

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

missionaries to Korea. On the other hands,

Orthodox Church in Japan The is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church within the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. History Early Orthodox Christianity The first purpose-built Orthodox Christian church to open in Japan was the wooden Russian Consulate chapel of t ...

was also belonged to

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. Therefore

Japanese occupation of Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon, Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji period, Meiji government, military ...

resulted persecution of Orthodox Christian believers but did not terminated whole relations between

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea.

Liberation of Korea The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

terminated relations between

and Orthodox Church in Korea. Furthermore,

Division of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Empire of Japan, Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allies of World War II, Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached ...

cut Russia-South Korean relations. Therefore Korean Orthodox Christian believers in South Korea decided to establish relations with

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

or Greek Orthodox church. Because Eastern Orthodoxy was a minor religion and North Korean authority did not like religions, Russian Orthodox Church in North Korea was also suspended.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

created

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

's interests in South Korea and North Korea. In 2002,

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

decided to construct an Eastern Orthodox church in North Korea. Therefore Church of the Life-Giving Trinity was established. North Korean Orthodox community established relations with

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and

Korean Orthodox Church The Korean Orthodox Church ( ko, 한국 정교회) or Metropolis of Korea is an Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox diocese under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Korea (''de facto'' in South Korea).

opposed and condemned

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

's interests in South Korea and Russian chuch's jurisdictional claim on Orthodox church in North Korea.EXCLUSIVE: How the Moscow Patriarchate Tramples on Church Canons and Undermines Orthodox Unity in Korea
The interview by Metropolitan

Ambrosios Zografos Ambrosius or Ambrosios (a Latin adjective derived from the Ancient Greek word ἀμβρόσιος, ''ambrosios'' "divine, immortal") may refer to: Given name: *Ambrosius Alexandrinus, a Latinization of the name of Ambrose of Alexandria (before 21 ...

of Korea, The Orthodox World, 12 February 2019. After 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism, Russian Orthodox Church formally opened new churches in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and established Diocese of Korea in 2019.

Ruling bishops

Sergius (Chashin) Metropolitan and Exarch Sergius of Singapore and South-East Asia (russian: Митрополит Сергий, secular name Nikolay Nikolayevich Chashin, russian: Николай Николаевич Чашин; born June 19, 1974, Komsomolsky, Mord ...

(26 February — 4 April 2019) *

Theophanes (Kim) Archbishop Theophanes (russian: Архиепископ Феофан, secular name Alexei Illarionovich Kim, russian: Алексей Илларионович Ким; born January 19, 1976, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Chur ...

(since 4 April 2019)

References

{{Russian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Church bodies in Asia Christian organizations established in 2019 Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea