The Russian Orthodox Church has held several events in Hong Kong to mark 300 years since Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) issued a decree approving the founding of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Beijing.
As well as liturgy services there was a roundtable conference yesterday to discuss various issues the Orthodox Church encounters in China today.
The Orthodox Church is not among the five government-recognized religions in China. There are four churches in the country which are officially allowed to hold services but there are no full-time priests.
There are roughly 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese believers across China.
Books featuring a Russian-Chinese translation on catechism, missiology, liturgy and history were also on display while commemorative stamps depicting former bishops and churches in China were issued in Hong Kong earlier this year.