Temple of the Ascension (Samui)

Founding of the Parish

On March 28, 2009, Father Superior Oleg (Cherepanin) paid a pastoral visit to Koh Samui. He held a meeting of the flock, which decided to create an Orthodox parish on the island in honor of the Ascension of the Lord . The Parish Council and the Audit Commission were elected ^[1] . This Orthodox parish was the fourth to open in Thailand ^[2] .

On August 13, 2009, a meeting of the Committee of the Orthodox Church Foundation in Thailand was held, dedicated to the development of church life in the Ascension Church on Koh Samui. It was decided to send after August 20 of the same year to about. Samui Priest Daniel (Danae) Bath and together with local Orthodox believers choose and acquire in the church property the most optimal place suitable for the construction of a church and a house for the clergyman. At the same time, it was decided to start the process in local authorities of obtaining the corresponding status on this land. Whenever possible, it was decided to include Koh Samui in the program for celebrating the 10th anniversary of Orthodoxy in the land of Thailand ^[3] .

On September 22, 2009, the Chairman of the Committee of the Orthodox Church Foundation in Thailand, Priest Daniil Bath, visited the Ascension Parish on Koh Samui. Priest Daniil, together with local Orthodox believers, considered various options for the sale of land on the island for the construction of an Orthodox church. As a result of the meeting, it was decided to buy a church property in the Lamai area of ​​540 m² ^[1] . Priest Daniil (Danai) Bath also visited the Department of the Land Department on about. Samui, where he registered a new land ownership, and also submitted the necessary documents for registration of the corresponding status for land ^[4] .

On April 30, 2010 Priest Danai (Daniil) Vanya paid a working visit to Samui, met with the leadership of the mayor's office of this resort island, and also visited the land department. An agreement was reached on a visit to the administration of the land plot intended for the construction of the temple, after which it was decided to continue consultations. The need for coordination was caused by the fact that almost the entire territory of the island was a national reserve, and therefore the construction of high-rise buildings on the island was strictly regulated ^[5] . By the end of 2010, the project was approved and design estimates were prepared for the construction of the Ascension Church on the island of Samui ^[6] .

Construction

On January 13, 2011, the Committee of the Orthodox Church Foundation in Thailand decided to begin construction of the Ascension Church on o Samui. The amount of money needed for the construction for the project chosen by the parishioners was, according to experts, 14,000,000 Thai baht , which made this temple the most expensive compared to the previously built Orthodox churches in Thailand ^{[7] [8] [9]} .

On March 8, 2011, the Chairman of the Foundation of the Orthodox Church in Thailand, Priest Danai Vanya, was presented with a Land Ownership Certificate in the land department of the Samui Island Administration, which recorded church ownership of a plot of land for the construction of the Ascension Church. Thus, the procedure for registration of land ownership, which lasted more than a year, was completed ^[10] .

On August 3, 2011, the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand, Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) paid a working visit to Samui, where he familiarized himself with the construction progress of the Ascension Church and discussed current issues with parish council members and philanthropists. It was deemed appropriate to appeal for help on the construction of the temple not only to Orthodox believers who live on the island permanently, but also to Orthodox tourists resting on Samui ^[11] .

In January 2012, workers began the final stage of the construction of the reinforced concrete frame of the building ^[12] .

On February 10, 2012, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Office for Foreign Institutions, Archbishop Egorievsky Mark (Golovkov) and Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) performed the order of laying the foundation of the church ^{[13] [14]} .

By the beginning of March 2012, all cement-concrete work (foundation, load-bearing structures, ceilings and screeds, stairs) had been completed, partly communications were carried out. The Committee of the Orthodox Church Foundation in Thailand decided to finance the 5th stage of construction work on the Ascension Church ^[15] .

April 17, 2012 in one of the rooms of the unfinished church, where a prayer hall was arranged and icons were installed, Easter service was held by a lay person, in which about 20 people took part ^[16] .

On April 24, 2012, the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand, Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin), appealed to the flock with an appeal to support the construction of the Ascension Church on about. Samui, in which he noted, “Beloved, as calculations show, the budget deficit for the construction of the Ascension Temple on Samui, which will be extremely difficult to close without your help, is 6,000,000 baht (about $ 200,000). These funds, if we want to build a temple, we need to collect as soon as possible so as not to stop the construction and then not to raise its cost even more ” ^[17] .

On September 27, 2012, at a meeting on the progress of construction work on Orthodox churches erected in Thailand, it was noted that the construction of the Ascension Church was 85% completed. It was decided to amend the project and increase the area of ​​the temple directly on the upper tier. Priest Danai (Daniil) Vann informed those present about the shortage of funds for the construction of the Ascension Church in the amount of 4,000,000 taiil. baht (approx. 130 thousand dollars) ^[18] .

On January 8, 2013, Priest Aleksei Golovin, specially seconded by the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church on Samui ^[19] , the first Liturgy was held in the building of the Ascension Church ^[20] .

On February 14, 2013 Priest Alexei Golovin consecrated eight domes with domed crosses to the church and bell tower. After the consecration, work began on raising and strengthening the domes ^[21] .

On March 14, 2013, the Samui Island Administration Commission accepted and issued a registration certificate for the Ascension Church building. Upon registration, the commission assigned the following mailing address to the Ascension Temple: “127/245 Moo 3, Tamboon Maret, Mooban Banthung, Amper Ko Samui, Chanvat Surat Thani, 84140, Kingdom of Thailand” ^[22] .

On June 5, 2013, an iconostasis was installed in the temple ^[23] . On June 8, 2013, Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) visited the Ascension Church and stated that the temple was ready for worship and confirmed that he personally would lead the celebrations on May 13, and handed over. about. rector of the new church priest Alexei Golovin antimins , consecrated by Patriarch Cyril ^[24]

After opening

On June 13, 2013, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, a small consecration of the temple took place and the Divine Liturgy was held, which was performed by Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin). Believers from Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket arrived at the celebrations ^[25] . Local Thais also came to see the Orthodox service ^[26] . The territory of the pastoral responsibility of the clergy of Voznesensky entered three islands - Samui, Phangan and Tao ^[27] . In 2016, a private Orthodox parish appeared on the island of Phangan.

On September 1 of the same year, a Sunday school was opened at the church in the name of St. Rev. Sergius of Radonezh ^[28] .

In December 2013, icon painters Yevgeny Vypov and Olga Solovyova from the workshop "North Athos" completed three-month work on painting the walls of the temple. Five frescoes were performed - the Epiphany , the Descent into Hell , the Sermon of the Apostle Thomas , the Adoration of the Sacrifice, and Jesus Christ together with the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Artists painted the temple for free ^{[29] [30]} .

On February 8, 2014, Archbishop Mark Yegorievsky (Golovkov) celebrated the Liturgy and prayer service at the Trinity Church on the island of Phuket and consecrated a new belfry. On February 9, 2014, Archbishop Mark Yegoryevsky performed the rank of great consecration of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord on the island of Samui and the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church ^[31] .

Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko noted in 2015: “almost every year the parish is updated. Despite this, the community lives in one big family, all the parishioners, in addition to the ministry, are engaged in any activity - site building, teaching, translations. Mother Maria (regent by education) constantly “calculates” people with good vocal skills among the parishioners and invites them to the church choir, then conducts singings and rehearsals. On Christmas, Easter and other great holidays, everyone gathers for a joint meal ” ^[2] .

The temple is located in the western part of Koh Samui. Administratively, the church is located in the Maret district in one of the tourist places called Lamai. The white temple with golden domes harmoniously fits into the mountain landscape of the island. From the terrace of the temples overlooking the sea and the surrounding area ^[32] . Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko described the temple in 2015: “Shining with snow-white facades against the boundlessly high blue sky, a five-domed church with golden and blue onion bulbs rises in the shade of palm trees on a bright green hill overgrown with lush vegetation” ^[2] .

Divine services in the temple are held daily at 10.00 and 18.00.

In the temple there are particles of the relics of the great noble Prince Alexander Nevsky in the ark, the Monk Alexei the Man of God , as well as an icon with the relics of St. John of Tobolsk . Every Wednesday and Friday special prayers and akathists are held in front of these shrines.

There is a parish school at the temple, classes in which are held four times a week in specially equipped classes. In addition to religious subjects, children can study some general educational subjects, such as Russian, reading, literature, the history of Russia, and natural sciences ^[33] .

At the temple, a baptistery was arranged for adult baptism, and rooms for parish events were provided ^[25] .

The library of the temple has more than 300 titles of books ^[34] . Books are presented, both Christian themes, and on the history of Russia, classical literature and books for children ^[35] .

• www.samui.orthodox.or.th
• priest Konstantin Parkhomenko Temple under palm trees, or How we met Easter on the tropical island