Thai Monks Consecrate Temple in Indonesia's Bangka Belitung Islands

On Sunday, July 5, 2026, the Supreme Patriarch instructed Somdet Phra Mahaviravongsa (Suchin Akkachino), a senior member of the Mahatherasangha and secretary of the Dhammayut order, to travel with a Thai Dhammayut monastic delegation comprising five junior monks to perform religious duties on his behalf in the opening and sacred boundary consecration ceremony at Wat Bangka Thamaram in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia.

The Thai Buddhist monastic community in Indonesia established Wat Bangka Thamaram on the Bangka Belitung Islands in 2010 to serve as a center for the Buddhist community in the nation, grounded in faith in Thai Theravada Buddhism. Thai missionary monks had first arrived in Indonesia in July 1969 to establish Theravada Buddhism there. The first Indonesian ordinations took place in 2476 BE, marking the genesis of the Theravada monastic community in Indonesia, which has since grown steadily and spread throughout the country, living harmoniously alongside followers of other faiths.

Indonesian lay devotees and the community raised funds to build and complete the uposatha (ordination hall) at Wat Bangka Thamaram, and invited the Thai Dhammayut monks to perform the sacred boundary consecration according to monastic discipline. The temple became the second Thai Buddhist temple with a consecrated boundary in Indonesia.

Udompon Ekiam, director of the National Office of Buddhism, and Chatchapol Chaiyaporn, an expert on Buddhism serving as acting director of the Mahatherasangha Secretariat, traveled as witnesses to the opening ceremony, offering support to the Thai monks in Indonesia and strengthening relations with officials from Indonesia's Ministry of Religion. The ceremony marked the 50-year anniversary of the Theravada monastic community in Indonesia.