The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity () is a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

church in Jongbaek-dong, Rangrang District in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. It is the first and only

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

church in the country, serving the small Eastern Orthodox community in North Korea, and one of only a handful of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches there overall.

History

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was ...

reportedly wanted to construct an Eastern Orthodox church in North Korea after a trip to the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

in 2002. Kim had visited the St. Innocent of Irkutsk Church in

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

on 22 August and admired its architecture and

rites. A Russian diplomat asked Kim Jong-il whether there were any Orthodox believers in Pyongyang, and Kim replied that believers would be found. There were no Eastern Orthodox priests in the country, so the , established in North Korea in 2002, contacted the Russian Orthodox Church. The committee sent four students to the Moscow Ecclesiastical Seminary in April 2003. 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. After the seminary, they were dispatched to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

to gain practical experience. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony was held on 24 June 2003. The church was dedicated on 13 August 2006 in the presence of Russian religious and political leaders. When the Russian president,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, made an official visit to

in 2024, he visited the church and participated in a brief liturgy.

Worship

The church is presided over by Rector Feodor Kim (Kim Hoe-il) and

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

John Ra (Ra Gwan-chol), graduates of the theological seminary in Moscow. Very few locals attend the church. The church has a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of its own and is under the

Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. However, the Korean Orthodox Church claims that the Eastern Orthodox Church in North Korea is part of its jurisdiction. The shrine is consecrated with a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of . The church also has a Holy Trinity icon.

References

External links

Korean Eparchy of the Moscow PatriarchateKorean Orthodox Church Becomes Separate Metropolis; Begins Dialogue With New Orthodox Group in North Korea

Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Pentecost in Pyongyang
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120617185816/http://www.dprk.mid.ru/xpam.html Православный Храм Святой Живоначальной Троицы В Пхеньяне
Русский священник в Пхеньяне радуется за северокорейцев – жить сложно, но они истинные патриоты

"Bells of an Orthodox Church Ring"
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

{{Portal bar, North Korea, Christianity 2006 establishments in North Korea Churches in North Korea Eastern Orthodoxy in North Korea Russian Orthodox church buildings in Asia Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Churches completed in 2007 Christian organizations established in 2007 North Korea–Russia relations

History

Worship

See also

References

External links