The Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Sucat, Parañaque

The Annunciation of the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Sucat, Parañaque was consecrated in March 2000 by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Because of its distinction as the first church in South East Asia to be consecrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch, it is now being referred to as the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral.

The Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral is one of the three parishes of the Exarchate of the Philippines, the other two are the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Cataingan, Masbate and the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Los Baños, Laguna. The Cathedral serves Filipino Orthodox Christians as well as Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian and American Orthodox Christians living in the Philippines. The current parish priest is Fr. James Doronela, a Filipino.

The Cathedral was built in the true Byzantine architectural style with all the interior furnishings including the icons coming from Greece. We first visited the cathedral back in 2005 and were able to attend a Sunday service. We were warmly welcomed by our Filipino Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters and by the parish priest.

Dome of the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral

Since then, the church has undergone a lot of structural improvements, repainting works and addition of more icons and a polyeleos lamp. This blogpost contains photos of the Cathedral when we revisited it last November 2012.

Main Entrance Door

The posting of the article is in time with the celebration of the Feast of Epiphany, one of the most important feasts in the Orthodoxy. It is traditionally celebrated every January 6, twelve days after Christmas Day. This celebration is commonly referred to as the Orthodox Christmas.

the Arch and the Door 

The Orthodox Church in the Philippines is still quite young. As of 2009, there were only a less than 1,000 Orthodox Christians in the Philippines, but the number increases every year as new chapels are being built around the country and new missions are being established in Mindanao. Globally, there are estimated 300 million Orthodox Christians making the Orthodox Church the second largest Christian Church in the world after the Roman Catholic Church.

During the Divine Liturgy celebrated every Sunday morning

Here's a short history of the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral. Zoom in and out of the image for a better resolution.


The Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral is located along Filipinas Avenue, inside United Parañaque(UPS) 5 Subdivision, San Isidro, Sucat, Parañaque City. It is accessible via Sucat Road.