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It appears that the first Orthodox Christians on the islands were Syrian and Lebanese merchants and sailors, who arrived in Manila after it was opened to outside trade. The first recorded Orthodox Christians in the Philippines were Syrian and Lebanese sailors in 1802 according to the Syrian Consulate in Manila. [http://www.orthodox.org.ph/content/view/583/1/] Many of the Lebanese sailors married and their families still reside in the Philippines and have become Filipino citizens, including the owners of a famous pizza parlor in Manila. The oldest living Orthodox Christian in the Philippines, a Lebanese by the last name of Assad, was born around 1904.