His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun presided over the ceremony to formally install Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong, the abbot of Wat Ratchabophit, as the 20th Supreme Patriarch in the ubosot at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on Sunday evening.
The investiture ceremony was attended by members of the Privy Council, the cabinet, presidents of the National Legislative Assembly and the Supreme Court and members of the Supreme Sangha Council among others.
Thousands of people of different walks of life gathered outside the ubosot to join the auspicious occasion while over 40,000 temples across the country and in foreign countries also joined the celebration of the installation of the new Supreme Patriarch.
Monks chanted prayers as bells and gongs were sounded during the ceremony which was broadcast live nationwide. (Agencies)
