Eastern Orthodox Metropolis of Hong Kong

and Southeast Asia

The Metropolis of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Chinese: 正教會普世宗主教聖統香港及東南亞都
主教教區) is a metropolis or archeparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern
Orthodox Church. It is equivalent to an archdiocese in the Catholic Church. It is centred on the city of
Hong Kong and has jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox Christians in Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan,
Mongolia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. It was established in
November 1996 by the Holy Great Synod of Constantinople.[1] The incumbent metropolitan is Nektarios
Tsilis.

History
For some years, a small band of Eastern Orthodox Christians kept Eastern Orthodoxy prevalent in Hong
Kong; while services with a priest were rare, they continued to live the ancient expression of Eastern
Orthodox Christianity. A small delegation, representing the St. Luke Orthodox Community, approached
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, requesting that the community be given a full-time clergyman,
who could serve the needs of the faithful and offer Orthodox Christianity to the local people. With the
efforts of the then Bishop Athenagoras (later Metropolitan of Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, with
seat in Panama), a systematic plan was developed. Upon the research and advice of the Bishop, the Holy
and Sacred Synod of Constantinople founded the new Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South
East Asia in November 1996, with jurisdiction over: Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan, Mongolia,
Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and also Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Brunei, East Timor, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.[2][3]

On December 2, 1996, Archmandrite Nikitas (Lulias) was elected as the first Orthodox Metropolitan of
Hong Kong and assigned the ecclesiastical responsibilities of Southeast Asia. On January 12, 1997, the
Enthronement of Nikitas Lulias as the first Metropolitan of the OMHKSEA took place. The ceremony was
held at the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Luke, Stanley Fort, Hong Kong, with Metropolitan Athenagoras of
Panama representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate (http://www.ec-patr.org/default.php?lang=en).

Ten years later, in August 2007, Metropolitan Nikitas was transferred as Metropolitan of Dardanellia and
OMHKSEA stayed vacant for a few months. On January 9, 2008, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate took the decision to split the huge area of OMHKSEA, by creating a new
Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia, with jurisdiction over Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Brunei, East Timor, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Under the
jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Hong Kong remained: Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan,
Mongolia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.[4] With the same decision,
Archimandrite Nektarios (Tsilis) was elected as the New Metropolitan of OMHKSEA. His ordination took
place on January 20, 2008, in the patriarchal St George Holy Church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in
Phanar, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, and his enthronement took place on March 1, 2008, in the
Orthodox Cathedral of St. Luke, Stanley Fort, Hong Kong.[5] The Davao parish first opened in 2018 as a
recent addition to the OMHKSEA.

See also
Christianity in Hong Kong
Exarchate of the Philippines
Eastern Orthodox Metropolis of Korea
Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia (Moscow Patriarchate) – an exarchate of the
Russian Orthodox Church

References
1. Official statement of the Church of Constantinople concerning the establishment of the new
"diocese" in Asia (http://orthodox.cn/news/961122omhksea_en.htm)
2. Official Site of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (http://www.o
mhksea.org/about)
3. Kiminas 2009, pp. 146.
4. Official Site of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (http://www.o
mhksea.org/about)
5. AsiaNews: Nektarios is the new Orthodox bishop of Hong Kong (http://www.asianews.it/new
s-en/Nektarios-is-the-new-Orthodox-bishop-of-Hong-Kong-11246.html)

Bibliography
Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates
with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs (https://books.google.com/books?id=QLWqXrW2X-8C).
Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.

External links
Official Site - Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (http://www.omhks
ea.org)
AsiaNews: Nektarios is the new Orthodox bishop of Hong Kong (http://www.asianews.it/new
s-en/Nektarios-is-the-new-Orthodox-bishop-of-Hong-Kong-11246.html)

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