ENG-1953 — Page 215

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

The Sikh community and followers of the Sikh faith, numbering about 1,000, have had a temple in Hong Kong since 1870. The building was demolished during the Japanese occupation but it has since been rebuilt on a site in Queen's Road East.

The Parsis were among the foreign communities which arrived with the British in 1841. They had, in 1829, established a prayer-house and cemetery in Macao, and in 1852 they established their first cemetery in Hong Kong, in Happy Valley. In 1874, they established a prayer-hall in Elgin Street, which was moved in 1931 to a new site on Leighton Hill Road. There is no Fire Temple or Tower of Silence.

The Jews, whose community numbers about 250, were also established in Macao prior to the foundation of Hong Kong where they were among the earliest residents. Their cemetery, on the slopes of Happy Valley, was founded in 1855, and their religious services were originally held in premises rented in the Peel Street, Staunton Street area of the Central district of Victoria. The present Synagogue, built in 1901, is the gift of the late Sir Jacob Sassoon.

The first Hindu temple to be built in the Colony was com- pleted in September and opened by the President of the Hindu Association. Followers of Guru Nanak have their temple known as the Sikh Temple at the Gurudwara Gap Road. Apart from this there is only private worship.

The Russian Orthodox congregation, which is about 150 strong is divided between those who recognize the present Patriarch of Moscow and those who do not. The former founded their Church in 1934 and have a current membership of about 85. The latter hold their services in the Church Hall of St. Andrew's, Kowloon, by arrangement with the-Anglican Church authorities. They are known as the Orthodox Church and formed a separate organization in 1949.

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