Buddhist leader Tep Vong dies at 93

Tep Vong, Great Supreme Patriarch, prays during the Independence Day celebration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Venerable Tep Vong, the senior monk who headed Cambodia’s Sangha -- its Buddhist community -- died Monday Feb. 26, 2024 at age 93 after an extended illness, the country’s Ministry of Cult and Religion announced. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

TEP Vong, the senior monk who headed the country’s Buddhist community and was vital for its rejuvenation in the wake of the Khmer Rouge genocide in the late 70s, has died. He was 93.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Cult and Religion said Tep Vong died Monday after an extended illness.