In February 2005 His Grace Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney received into the ROCOR Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, clergy and parishioners of the Indonesian Orthodox Church, who were formerly under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Hong Kong (Ecumenical Patriarchate). There are now a growing number of parishes and mission centres scattered throughout the Republic of Indonesia.

From 1 to 15 March 2005, Archbishop Hilarion visited the Orthodox community of Jakarta, Indonesia. During his stay in Indonesia, His Eminence performed Divine Liturgy daily at the Orthodox Church of Holy Apostle Thomas. His Eminence also ordained six priests for the Indonesian Orthodox Mission of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

The founder of the Orthodox Mission in Indonesia is Archimandrite Daniel (Byantoro), who recently joined the Russian Church Abroad.

The Russian Church Abroad first opened a Russian Orthodox mission in Java in the 1930s but it failed by the 1950s.

Archbishop Hilarion's Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russian (ROCOR). Within the diocese, of which the Archbishop is the head and sole bishop, there are various deans who are in charge of one or more states. There are 24 parishes and communities, along with 6 monasteries and sketes across Australia.

There are also 4 parishes and communities in New Zealand, and one mission-church in South Korea.

The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was a founding member of the Standing Council of Canonical Orthodox Churches in Australia (SCCOCA).

According to Father Nicholas Gan, the archbishop's official representative to SCCOCA at the time, there was disquiet within ROCOR about some of the ecumenical activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. But he said ROCOR was driven out of SCCOCA after one too many screaming matches from the chief antagonist in that organisation, and because of that hierarch's invective about ROCOR being "totally non-canonical" and "having no right to be in Australia, because it is a territory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate".

The Greek Archdiocese of Australia later put it about that ROCOR chose to depart in protest over the involvement of other jurisdictions in the ecumenical movement.

The return to Indonesia by ROCOR is not expected to exacerbate tensions between the Patriarchate in Turkey and ROCOR, or between the representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Australia and ROCOR,  because there is no contact at all between these two jurisdictions anyway.

The Indonesians are said to be delighted that under ROCOR they are now permitted to use their native language in Indonesia.

ROCOR Australia website: http://www.rocor.org.au/ 

A History of Orthodoxy in Indonesia

Official website of the Indonesian Orthodox Church