Changes

*1993 A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church including [[Kyrill I (Gundyayev) of Moscow|Kirill]] the Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad visited China.

*1996 [[Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia]] (OMHKSEA) founded, with its status recognised by the city's parliament, and the church operating freely in Hong Kong and Taiwan; Metr. [[Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia]] becomes first Metropolitan of Diocese of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (1996-2007).

*1998 300th anniversary of the consecration of the first Orthodox church in China.

*1999 The ''Russian-Chinese Orthodox Missionary Society'' is founded in Sydney, Australia, under [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|ROCOR]], with the aim of spiritual enlightenment of the Chinese speaking population of the country.

*2001 [[w:2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship|Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship]] is signed by Jiang Zemin and Vladimir Putin.

*2002 A notable improvement in the situation for China's Orthodox may be traced to the installation of Hu Jintao as the country's leader in 2002, according to a Chinese Orthodox source from Shanghai.<ref>Geraldine Fagan. [http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=416 CHINA: Will Orthodox Christians soon be allowed priests?]. ''Forum 18 News'', Oslo, Norway. September 22, 2004.</ref>

*2004 Attempts are made to grow the church through cyberspace, as Mitrophan Chin, a young Chinese-American who converted to the Orthodox religion, volunteers as the webmaster for [http://www.orthodox.cn/index_en.html www.orthodox.cn]; the Chinese government allowed hieromonk Fr. Moisei (Pilats) of the Monastery of the New Russian Martyrs in Alapayevsk, Russia to visit the [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/harbin/pokrov_en.htm Pokrov Church] in Harbin to hear confessions in both Russian and Chinese in July; in August a Russian Orthodox Church delegation led by Bishop Mark of Egorevsk [http://www.orthodox.cn/news/040826beijing_en.htm met with Chinese officials] and representatives of the country's various religious organizations; ''Brotherhood of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul'' parish ([[Church of Russia|MP]]) is established in Hong Kong under Fr [[Dionisy (Pozdnyaev)]], dedicated to assist the revival of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church; the first Sunday school in China began in the fall on the grounds of the Russian Embassy, for the Orthodox community in Beijing.

*2005 As of 2005 there were only five priests, a number expected to grow because several Chinese nationals are currently studying in Orthodox seminaries with the intention of returning to China to serve as priests (depending on the blessing of the Chinese government).

*2007 50th anniversary of the autonomy of the Orthodox Church in China; the Holy Synod of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] decided to open a department concerned with the [[Church of China|Chinese Orthodox Autonomous Church]] (COAC), stressing the need to continue efforts taken by its ''Department for External Church Relations'' in the dialogue with the Chinese authorities to normalize the situation of the Orthodox Church in China; Easter liturgies were offered in Russia’s diplomatic missions in China, with over 300 walking in an Easter procession in the Russian Embassy in Beijing, and 120 more attending the Easter liturgy in the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai; the Municipal Housing Bureau of Shanghai mandated the restoration of the [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/cathedral_en.htm Shanghai Cathedral] to prepare it as a historical museum; death of Protopresbyter [[Elias Wen]]; world's first [http://www.orthodox.cn/news/20071101dictionary_en.htm Russian-Chinese dictionary of Orthodox vocabulary] is printed in Moscow; Patr. [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] criticized the People's Republic of China for the fate of China’s Orthodox Church, which is denied freedom of religion and deprived of clergy<ref>AsiaNews.it [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=8981 Aleksej II criticises China, Taiwan accepts to open a church]. ''AsiaNews.it'', April 12, 2007.</ref>; Metr. [[Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia]] called on the government of Beijing to recognise Orthodoxy among the country’s official religions and expressed [http://kkp.catholic.org.hk/lo/lo3307/lo3307_04.htm concern about the plight of Christians in Asia].

*2008 Fr. [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/frmichaelwang_en.htm Mikhail Wang Quansheng] and Protodeacon [http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/shanghai/frdnevangellu_en.htm Evangelos Lu Yaofu], the only indigenous Orthodox clergy left in China, took part in Divine Services for the first time in 46 years, at the Russian consulate in Shanghai, and were awarded medals of the Venerable [[Sergius of Radonezh]] (I Degree) by Patr. [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei of Moscow]]; Metr. [[Nektarios (Tsilis) of Hong Kong|Nektarios (Tsilis)]] becomes new Orthodox Bishop of Diocese of Hong Kong; Holy Synod of the [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]] glorifies Archimandrite [[Gury (Karpov)]]; an Orthodox Liturgy was Celebrated at the Olympic Village in Beijing; a [[Memorial Services|Memorial Service]] in memory of those killed during WWII was served at the Cross Shrine on the grounds of the Embassy of the Russian Embassy, on [[w:Victory in Europe Day|Victory Day]].

==Notes==