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Church of the Life-Giving Trinity
Exterior of the church
Church of the Life-Giving Trinity
38°58′55″N 125°44′45″E / 38.981836°N 125.745733°E / 38.981836; 125.745733
Location	Jongbaek-dong, Rangrang District, Pyongyang
Country	North Korea
Denomination	Russian Orthodox Church
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Holy Trinity
Dedicated	13 August 2006 (2006-08-13)
Relics held	Sergius of Rakvere [ru]
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Groundbreaking	24 June 2003 (2003-06-24)
Administration
Division	Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia
Parish	Trinity Parish
Clergy
Rector	Feodor Kim (Kim Hoe-il)
Deacon(s)	John Ra (Ra Gwan-chol)

The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity (Korean: 평양정백사원) is a Russian Orthodox church in Jongbaek-dong, Rangrang District in Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the first and only Orthodox church in the country, and one of only a handful of Christian churches there overall.

History

Kim Jong-il reportedly wanted to construct an Eastern Orthodox church in North Korea after a trip to the Russian Far East in 2002. Kim had visited the St. Innocent of Irkutsk Church in Khabarovsk on 22 August and admired its architecture and Russian Orthodox 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 Korean Orthodox Committee [nl], 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 to gain practical experience.

The groundbreaking 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, made an official visit to Pyongyang 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 John Ra (Ra Gwan-chol), graduates of the theological seminary in Moscow. Very few locals attend the church.

The church has a parish of its own and is under the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia. 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 of Sergius of Rakvere [ru]. The church also has a Holy Trinity Icon.

See also

• Religion in North Korea
• Korean Orthodox Church
• Eastern Orthodoxy in Korea

References

1. ^ Do Kyung-ok; Kim Soo-Am; Han Dong-ho; Lee Keum-Soon; Hong Min (24 September 2015). White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2015. Korea Institute for National Unification(South Korea). p. 221. ISBN 978-89-8479-802-1.
2. Institute for Unification Education, Ministry of Unification (South Korea) (30 January 2015). Understanding North Korea: Totalitarian dictatorship, Highly centralized economies, Grand Socialist Family. 길잡이미디어. pp. 389–. GGKEY:Q35FXTAE44S.
3. ^ "Orthodox Church of the Live-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang". Embassy of Russia to the DPRK. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
4. Lankov, Andrei (9 September 2013). "North Korea's irreconcilable relationship with Christianity". NK News. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
5. Burdick, Eddie (26 May 2010). Three Days in the Hermit Kingdom: An American Visits North Korea. Jefferson: McFarland. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7864-5653-6.
6. AsiaNews.it. "Pyongyang: Orthodox community subject to authority of Alexei II". asianews.it. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
7. "Kim Jong-Il and Religion: North Korea Builds an Orthodox Church". Spiegel Online. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
8. ^ Hoare, James E. (13 July 2012). Historical Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6151-0.
9. "Visit to Church of Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang". kremlin.ru. 19 June 2024.
10. Presvytera Theodoti (26 August 2017). 암브로시오스 한국의 대주교 : “위험에 처한 것은 제가 아니고, 그리스도의 교회입니다.”. Orthodox Metropolis of Korea 한국정교회 대교구 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
11. "The church of the Life-Giving Trinity consecrated in Pyongyang. The Russian Orthodox Church delegation on a visit to the KPDR". orthodox.cn. 14 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

External links

• Korean Eparchy of the Moscow Patriarchate
• Korean Orthodox Church Becomes Separate Metropolis; Begins Dialogue With New Orthodox Group in North Korea Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Pentecost in Pyongyang
• Делегация Русской Православной Церкви приняла участие в торжествах по случаю пятилетия освящения Троицкого храма в Пхеньяне (in Russian)
• Православный Храм Святой Живоначальной Троицы В Пхеньяне (in Russian)
• Русский священник в Пхеньяне радуется за северокорейцев – жить сложно, но они истинные патриоты (in Russian)
• "Bells of an Orthodox Church Ring" at Naenara

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• North Korea
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• Churches in North Korea
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