On the feast of the Entry into the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Divine Liturgy was served at the parish on Cebu Island by the dean of the Manila Deanery, Hieromonk Alexei (Lapshin).
This parish differs from other parishes of the ROC in the Philippines in that its main parishioners are our compatriots. Russians temporarily or permanently reside in small numbers on different islands, but it was here that a sufficient number of Orthodox (about 20) gathered to organize a parish. The initiator was a local entrepreneur Nikita Osharov, whose travel company Pelagos, focused on Russian-speaking tourists, was the best in its sector before the pandemic. Services were held monthly.
Unfortunately, the pandemic hit tourism the hardest. In addition, most of the compatriots had to leave the Philippines during this period, so only a few people remained from the parish who had not been able to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for two years. Only recently, for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, all restrictions on flights between Manila and Cebu were lifted.
Hopefully, the worst time is over, and the parish will recover over time. Perhaps local residents will join the Orthodox family, although for this, of course, the constant presence of a priest and more frequent services are necessary, for Filipino believers, as a rule, care about regular attendance of the temple and participation in the Holy Sacraments seriously.
