College was built and opened on the island of Phuket to train clergy from the native people of South-East Asia who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. Three parishes in Cambodia were established, with permanent churches were built for two of them. Attempts were made to begin missionary work in Laos. On 21 October 2016, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the Patriarchal deanery within the Kingdom of Thailand, appointing Archimandrite Oleg (Cherepanin) as Dean of these parishes. At the same time, parishes in Cambodia and Laos, fell under the jurisdiction of Bishop Sergius (Chashin) of Solnechnogorsk. Creation of the PESEA 28 December 2018 Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia (PESEA) with Sergius (Chashin) as its primate. On February 26, 2019, the Holy Synod abolished the Deanery of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in Thailand and established the Diocese of Thailand comprising the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The bishop of the diocese of Thailand bears the title of bishop "of Bangkok and Phnom Penh". In March 2019, Eastern Orthodox believers in Myanmar formed an Eastern Orthodox community in the country. Ruling bishops Sergius (Chashin) (since 14 February 2019) locum tenens References Eastern Orthodox Church bodies in Asia Christian organizations established in 2019 Eastern Orthodoxy in Thailand