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Christianity in Thailand |
Christianity was first introduced to Thailand by European missionaries in 16-17th centuries. The large part of the Christian converts came from ethnic minorities. By the information of United Bible Society, Thailand had 1.7% of Christians among the total population by 1998.1 The US State Department 2006 Report said, that there were 438,600 Christians (0.7%) in the country.
Christians made and are making substantial contribution to health care and education in Thailand. Such facilities, as Saint Louis Hospital, Bangkok Mission Hospital, Camillian Hospital, Bangkok Christian Hospital are considered to be among the best in the country.
European and American missionaries introduced printing press, western surgery, smallpox vaccinations, taught foreign languages and wrote linguistic dictionaries.
In November 2007, Bangkok’s Assumption Cathedral became the venue of ecumenical Pilgrimage of trust, when Christians from different backgrounds gathered to pray together. Among the present were religious leaders of Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Thailand, Church of Christ in Thailand, Russian Orthodox Church and also the young people from Laos, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia who came specially for the prayer2.
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First Roman Catholic missionaries in Siam were Friar Jeronimo da Cruz and Sebastiâo da Canto, both Dominicans, who came in 1567. They were killed by the Burmese in 1569. Later arrived Franciscans and Jesuits.3 The following period (17-th, 18-th, 19-th centuries) was marked by different stages of persecution and ease between Siamese official powers and Roman Catholic missionaries.
At the beginning of 20th century, there were about 23,000 Catholic believers, 55 churches and chapels, representatives of such monastic orders, social and educational institutions (e.g. orphanages, schools and a seminary, college). 4 During the 20th century, many Roman Catholic congregations arrived to work in Thailand. 3
On October 22, 1989, the catechist Philip Siphong Onphitak and six companions, who had been killed in 1940 under the suspicion of being French spies, were beatified as the Martyrs of Thailand.
Among the Roman Catholic orders presented in the country are Salesians, Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, Redemptorists, Camillian Fathers, Brothers of St. Gabriel, De La Salle Brothers, Jesuits, Franciscans, Sisters of Charity of St. Paul, Good Shepherd Sisters, Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and some others.
Several Protestant denominations belong to one of the four umbrella organizations. The oldest of them is Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) formed in the mid-1930s. The CCT consists of Thai, Chinese, Karen, and English-speaking congregations. It is a member of the World Council of Churches and has about 60,000 members. 5
One of the largest Protestant groups is the Evangelical Foundation of Thailand. Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists are recognized by local authorities as separate Protestant denominations and organized under the same umbrella groups.6
Among the other Protestant groups represented in Thailand are Lutherans 7, the already-mentioned Baptists 8, Adventists9, Methodists10, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians 11, and Anglicans 1213.
Thailand Bible Society was officially established in 1966, though its organised work began in 1828. Part of the Bible in Thai was first published in 1834. The New Testament in Thai was printed for the first time in 1843. The first full collection of Bible texts in Thai came out in 1883.14 In 2005, Thailand Bible Society distributed 43 740 examples of the Bible and 9 629 examples of New Testament in Thai language.15
Orthodoxy in Thailand is presented by the Representative Office of Russian Orthodox Church, including the Orthodox parish of Saint Nicolas in Bangkok.1617
The mission is headed by Father Oleg Cherepanin (by 2008 information)16 and serves not only Russian touirists or citizens in Thailand, but some local believers of Thai origin.18
Besides Bangkok, there are small Russian Orthodox communes in Phuket and Chonburi province. The mission of Russian Orthodox Church since its establishment translated into Thai language the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the Orthodox Book of prayer and the book about the history of Russian Orthodox Church. In July, 2008, the representative office of Russian Orthodox Church was officially registered by Thailand authorities as foundation "Orthodox Christian Church in Thailand"19.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Great Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church also have plans to establish their parishes in Thailand20. Time after time, representatives of Ecumenical Patriarchate organize Church services and Divine Liturgy for their faithfull in Thailand with help of the Embassy of Greece in Bangkok21.
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