Hilarion (Corporal)

Childhood and Youth

Parents came from the village of Obenizh of the former Volyn province (today in the Turi district of the Volyn region in Ukraine ). In 1929 , when Volyn was part of Poland, parents emigrated to Canada, where they received 160 acres of land and $ 100 in cash in Alberta , as well as a hammer and an ax for building a house ^[1] .

He was born on January 6, 1948 in Spirit River, at home, as his mother did not have time to leave for the hospital. In the birth certificate registered by Gregory, in the baptism received the name Igor ^[2] .

The childhood of the future hierarch was rather difficult: “the family did not get out of need. The farm allowed only to make ends meet, despite the fact that they sowed wheat, oats, barley, kept cattle, but in harsh climatic conditions life was unpredictable. Due to poverty, his father always had to look for work ” ^[2] .

From an early age he visited the Holy Trinity Russian Church, located near the Spirit River. In the parish, which passed in 1959, together with Archbishop Panteleimon (Rudyk) into the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate ^[3] , Ukrainian autocephalous sentiments were strong. Since childhood, I wanted to be a priest, although I did not think about monasticism ^[2] .

In 1966 he graduated from high school and aimed at entering the seminary. Initially, the Archbishop of Panteleimon of Edmonton invited Igor to study in France at the theological seminary of the Moscow Patriarchate in Wilmusson , created by Metropolitan Nikolai (Eremin) . But by that time the seminary had closed, and Archbishop Panteleimon began to bother about Igor entering the theological seminary in the USSR: “For a year, Vladyka negotiated with the Leningrad seminary , but in the end he received a decisive refusal. Much later, I found out that the KGB was interrogating my relatives in Ukraine in order to find out why I want to study in Russia. I was only 18 years old then. At this time, I received copies of two open letters compiled by Fr. Gleb Yakunin and Fr. Nicholas Ashlyman addressed to Patriarch Alexy I, Prime Minister A. N. Kosygin and Secretary General L. I. Brezhnev regarding the persecution of faith in the USSR. These letters opened my eyes to much. I was particularly embarrassed by the article by the famous Metropolitan Nicodemus of Leningrad in the magazine “The One Church ”, in which he praised communism and said that communism and Christianity have one common idea. This article shocked me. I realized that I can no longer remain in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate and my place is to be with the Foreign Synod ” ^[2] .

Moving to the Russian Church Abroad, he became the spiritual son of the bishop of Edmonton Savva (Sarachevich) , under the influence of which Igor decided to accept monasticism.

In 1967 , 19 years old, he entered Holy Trinity Theological Seminary in Jordanville , New York .

At the end of the seminary in 1972, he entered the Holy Trinity Monastery as a novice .

On December 2, 1974, he was tonsured in a Riasophore with the name Hilarion in honor of the Monk Hilarion, the clergyman of Pechersk .

Since 1975, he taught at the Holy Trinity Theological Seminary the Holy Scripture of the New Testament, moral and comparative theology, biblical archeology ^[4] .

On December 4, 1975, Archbishop Averkiy (Taushev) († 1976 ), who was a cell man, was ordained a hierodeacon . He was the last henchman of Archbishop Averky before his death and served him as a cell-man .

In 1976 he graduated from the University of Syracuse with a master's degree in Slavic studies and Russian literature ^[4] .

Priestly Ministry

April 17, 1976, Bishop of Manhattan Lavra (Shkurla) was ordained a hieromonk ^[4] .

In 1973 to 1988 he was the editor of the English version of the journal "Orthodox Life", while working as a typesetter in a monastery printing house. In the summer of 1979 he was sent to Jerusalem for the spiritual nourishment of women's monasteries. At the end of the trip, he was appointed confessor of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Georgeville ^[4] .

On August 30, 1983, by decision of the Synod of Bishops, the ROCOR was awarded the Golden Synodal Cross ^[5] .

Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese

December 10, 1984 was consecrated bishop of Manhattan , Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Filaret (Voznesensky) , Archbishop of Chicago and Detroit Seraphim (Ivanov) , Archbishop of Los Angeles and Southern California Anthony (Sinkevich) , Archbishop of Montreal and Canada Vitaly (Ustinov) , Archbishop of Syracuse and Syracuse Sydney and Australian-New Zealand Pavel (Pavlov) , Bishop of Washington Gregory (Grabbe) , Bishop of Berlin and Germany Mark (Arndt) and Bishop of Cleveland Alipius (Gamanovich) ^[6] . He fed parishes in the state of Pennsylvania .

The Council of Bishops was approved as the Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops .

As an official representative of the Synod of Bishops, the ROCOR repeatedly visited Russia.

He first came to his homeland in 1990 and in two months of pilgrimage - June and July - visited Valaam and St. Petersburg , Kiev and the Pochaev Lavra , where he met the governor Archimandrite Onufry (Berezovsky) . Then he first met with his relatives in Ukraine ^[7] . He took part in the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Vladimir-Suzdal Russia in the Tsarekonstantinovsky Cathedral of the city ​​of Suzdal , which joined the ROCOR, in 1990, led a press conference in the magazine “ Spark ”, dedicated to the provocative attempts of the Pamyat society to draw the ROCOR into its political activities, in 1992 ^[8] .

In December 1995, he received the title of Bishop of Washington with his seat in New York .

On January 14-20, 1996 he visited the mission of the ROCA in Haiti , the arrival of Bishop Hilarion was the first visit to the country by the Russian Orthodox bishop ^[4] .

Archbishop of Sydney and Australian-New Zealand

On June 20, 1996 , due to inconveniences in the Australian diocese that arose after retirement due to the illness of Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) , he was appointed to the Sydney and Australian-New Zealand departments with the elevation to the rank of archbishop . Since that year, he has been the chief editor of the officially published organ of the Sydney diocese of the monthly Church Word magazine ^[4] .

In 1999, after the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO forces, he sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Australia, in which he expressed disagreement between the clergy and the flock of the diocese with NATO’s aggression against the Serbian people and asked the government not to support military actions in Yugoslavia ^[4] .

At a Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in New York from December 13 to 17, 2003, at the proposal of Metropolitan Laurus, he was awarded the right to wear a diamond cross on a hood ^[9] .

On January 27, 2005, by a decision of the Synod of Bishops, he was appointed chairman of the Pre-Council Commission for the Organization and Holding of the IV All-Diaspora Council ^[10]

March 16, 2008, on the day of the death of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Laurus, the Chairperson of the Synod of Bishops and the Chairperson of the Pre-Council Commission that prepared the Council of Bishops ^{[11] [12] were} appointed intercessor.

ROCOR First Hierarch

On May 12, 2008, the ROCOR Council of Bishops was elected its First Hierarch ^{[13] [14] [15]} , receiving 9 votes out of 11 ^[16] . According to Archpriest Seraphim Gan, “The election of the new first hierarch took about 30 minutes. After the election, the newly elected Metropolitan thanked the members of the council for the trust placed in him and asked him to pray for him ” ^[17] . May 14 of the same year was approved by the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate as First Hierarch with the elevation to the rank of Metropolitan ^{[18] [19]} .

On May 18, 2008, at the Synodal Znamensky Church in New York, his consecration was held, which was held with special solemnity. In addition to the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, bishops and priests of the Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem Patriarchates, the Orthodox Church in America, as well as the Russian diplomatic corps attended the services ^[20] .

December 10, 2008 he was approved as a member of the Commission for the Preparation of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church . ^[21]

On December 24, 2008, the Holy Synod, “taking into account the importance of participation in the leadership of the Council of Bishops’s Council of self-governing Churches as part of the Moscow Patriarchate,” was included in the Holy Synod, which, under the Charter, is the Presidium of the Council of Bishops for the duration of the Council’s work in 2009. ^[22]

On January 30, 2013, the Holy Synod, “taking into account the importance of the participation of the Primate of the autonomous and self-governing parts of the Moscow Patriarchate in the leadership of the Council of Bishops”, was included in the Holy Synod for the duration of the Council ^[23] .

On December 24, 2015, the Holy Synod, “taking into account the importance of the participation of the Primate of the autonomous and self-governing parts of the Moscow Patriarchate in the leadership of the Council of Bishops”, was included in the Holy Synod for the duration of the Council ^[24] .

On July 18, 2017 at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, for church services and in connection with the 10th anniversary of the restoration of canonical communion in a single Local Russian Church, he was awarded the right to wear a second panagia within the Russian Church Abroad ^[25] .

In the fall of 2017, he turned to the head of the non-canonical Kiev Patriarchate Filaret (Denisenko) , saying that the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church wants to come closer to the Kiev Patriarchate. On November 11, a delegation of the Kiev Patriarchate arrived in Moscow and held talks with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) , who persuaded them to invite the Kiev Patriarchate to prepare a letter on behalf of Filaret, which could be read out at the upcoming Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church ^[26] . On November 16, Filaret (Denisenko) wrote 2 letters - one addressed to the Bishops' Council of the ROCOR, the other addressed to the Rector of the ROCOR ^[27] .

On November 28, 2017, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, “taking into account the importance of the participation of the Primate of the autonomous and self-governing parts of the Moscow Patriarchate in the leadership of the Council of Bishops”, he was included in the Holy Synod for the duration of the Council ^[28] .

On September 20, 2018, he was exempted from the interim administration of the British Diocese and the Western European Diocese ^[29] .

At the end of May 2008, Protodeacon German Ivan the Thirteenth , a cleric of the St. Nicholas Church in Lyon (France), who went into schism, answered the question of the correspondent about whether the first hierarch would be an independent figure, answered: “Well, of course not. He is a man limp and always has been. <...> He always looked towards Moscow. In the old days, I remember, I could even put in my car to listen to the patriarchal choir, which many did not like. He is kind, yes, but spineless. ” ^[30]

In a conservative church environment, the idea that worship in Russian was heard in his interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda ^{[31] [32]} aroused bewilderment: in an interview published on May 13, 2008, the named First Hierarch Hilarion said, obviously referring to “Old Slavonic” modern Church Slavonic language : “if you change something, so, for example, I think there is a need to translate prayers from Old Slavonic into Russian” ^[33]

Metropolitan Pavel (Ponomarev) , who served in the United States in the 1990s, noted: “I also had to meet with the current First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, long before reunification. He always impressed me as a sane person, very charming, with whom it was pleasant to communicate even then ” ^[34] .

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov in 2010 said ^[35] :

for a long time, according to the stories of my friends, among whom there are many priests of the Russian Diaspora, I heard about Metropolitan Hilarion as an approachable, simple, unusually cordial person, full of archpastoral love, able to speak any interlocutor in his language. And this information turned out to be not just true - it still remains a matter of surprise to me in many ways how closely here, abroad, bishops communicate with their children, with pastors, how much this communication is simple and foreign to officialdom.

According to archimandrite Peter (Kondratiev):

Vladyka Hilarion is an amazing shepherd, gracious, caring. You can approach him with any question. I can call him on a cell phone, and he always picks up the phone and if he can’t talk, he always calls back. He knows how to find amazing examples from the gospel to smooth out corners in difficult situations. It happens and is demanding, but if you approach him with the word “I'm sorry”, you immediately become a brother and a friend to him. This word is holy to him ^[36] .

• The word in the name of the bishop of Manhattan // " Orthodox Russia ." 1984. No. 24 (1285). S. 8-9;
• Greetings from the Committee Rus. law Youth Abroad // Orthodox Russia. 1987. No. 24 (1357). S. 7;
• House of Mercy // "Orthodox Russia". 1991. No. 24 (1453). C. 4;
• Synod of Bishops // "Orthodox Russia". 1992. No. 14 (1467). C. 7;
• In memory of the archim. about. Lazarus (Mura) // "Orthodox Russia". 1992 No. 24 (1477). C. 12-13;
• To the 40th day since the death of the archim. Arsenia // "Orthodox Russia". 1993. No. 6 (1483). S. 5-6 (in co-authorship with L. M. K.);
• In memory of Archimandrite Gelasius // "Orthodox Russia". 1994. No. 21 (1522). C. 14;
• The mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in Korea // "Orthodox Russia". 1994. No. 24 (1525). C. 14-15;
• The death of Archbishop Paul // Orthodox Russia. 1995. No. 5 (1530). C. 12-13 (in co-authorship with E. Shirinskaya);
• Illustrated calendar of the Committee Rus. law Youth // "Orthodox Russia". 1995. No. 21 (1546). C. 12;
• A visit to the mission of the ROCA in Haiti // Orthodox Russia. 1996. No. 5 (1554). S. 8-9, 15;
• The word Rev. Archbishop Hilarion upon arrival at the Department of Sydney // Church Word. Sydney, 1996. No. 6/7. S. 1-2;
• Welcome Word Archbishop Hilarion, said in the Cathedral of St. Apostles Peter and Paul to the new vicar of the Australian-New Zealand diocese Gabriel, Bishop Brizbensky // "Orthodox Russia". 1996. No. 9. S. 6-7;
• Holy Scripture and our attitude to it // "Orthodox Russia". 1997. No. 2. C. 15-17;
• Introductory report of the ruling bishop of the Australian-New Zealand diocese at the 11th diocesan congress, Sydney, April 29-30. and May 1, 1998 // Orthodox Russia. 1998. No. 3. S. 4-7;
• Report of the ruling bishop on the status of registration of property at the 11th diocesan congress // Orthodox Russia. No. 3. S. 8-12, 14;
• Help our missionary in Korea // "Orthodox Russia". No. 4. C. 25;
• The history of Russian Orthodoxy in Australia and thoughts about its future // "Orthodox Russia". 1999. No. 2. S. 3-9;
• Copy of the letter sent by the archbishop. Hilarion to Prime Minister John Howard // Orthodox Russia. No. 3. S. 22;
• Help put a monument on the grave of Fr. Innocent // "Orthodox Russia". No. 7/8. S. 27;
• Christian hospitality // "Orthodox Russia". 2000. No. 1. S. 8-13;
• Short biography about. Michael Lee // "Orthodox Russia". No. 5. S. 20-21;
• Judge Not, That Ye be Not // // Orthodox Russia. 2001. No. 1. C. 1-2, 7-8;
• A word on the day of the glorification of new Rus. saints // Orthodox Russia. No. 4. S. 3-7;
• Rev. report archbishop. Hilarion about the life of the Australian-New Zealand diocese // Orthodox Russia. 2002. No. 1. S. 5-8;
• Report of Archbishop Hilarion at the Diocesan Congress of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese March 13-26, 2005 // Orthodox Russia. 2005. No. 4. P. 23-26;
• About the upcoming All-Diaspora Council // Orthodox Russia. 2006. No. 3. S. 4-6;
• Statement by the Archbishop of Sydney and Australian-New Zealand Hilarion, 1st Deputy Chairman of the Synod of Bishops at the Diocesan Congress of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese March 13-26, 2005 // Orthodox Russia. No. 9. S. 10-11;
• The word of Archbishop Hilarion at the absentee funeral service of Metropolitan Vitaly // Orthodox Russia. 2007. No. 1. S. 8-9.
• Speech by Metropolitan Hilarion of East America at a ceremony dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the restoration of the canonical unity of the Russian Orthodox Church (2012)
• Message from Metropolitan Hilarion on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Eastern American Diocese (2014)

• Centenary Medal (Australia, January 1, 2001) ^[37]
• the right to wear a diamond cross on a hood (December 2003)
• Imperial Order of St. Anne of I degree (August 4, 2007, “Russian Imperial House”) ^[38]
• Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, II degree (May 17, 2008) ^[39]
• Order of St. Innocent, Enlightener of America (December 10, 2011; Orthodox Church in America) ^[40]
• Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, II degree (January 6, 2013, “In Attention to Hard Work and in Connection with the 65th Anniversary” ^[41] )
• insignia “For zeal” (February 12, 2016; “for his great personal contribution to strengthening relations between the Trans-Baikal Territory and Russian compatriots of Australia, active assistance in organizing the premiere screening of the Trans-Baikal Cossacks film“ Trans-Baikal Odyssey ” ^[42] )
• the right to wear the second panagia within the Russian Church Abroad (July 18, 2017; “For church services and in connection with the 10th anniversary of the restoration of canonical communion in a single Local Russian Church” ^[43] )
• Order of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, 1st Degree (January 31, 2018, from the Antioch Archbishopric of North America in connection with the 70th birthday) ^[44] .

• Иларион, митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский, Первоиерарх Русской Зарубежной Церкви (Капрал Игорь Алексеевич) на официальном сайте Русской православной церкви
• Митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский Иларион (Капрал) на сайте pravoslavie.ru
• Биография на официальном сайте Восточно-Американской епархии
• Первоиерах (буклет)

interview

• «Да восторжествует Христова истина». Интервью данное архиепископом Сиднейским и Австралийско-Новозеландским Иларионом австралийской газете «Слово» , 2003
• «У каждого своё предназначенье…». Интервью с архиепископом Сиднейским и Австралийско-Новозеландским Иларионом , 2003
• «В России мы чувствовали себя как дома» Интервью с архиепископом Сиднейским и Австралийско-Новозеландским Иларионом // pravoslavie.ru , 26 августа 2005
• «Для меня быть русским — значит быть Православным» , 2007
• Избранный Первоиерарх РПЦЗ Иларион: «Преклоняюсь перед блаженной памятью моего предшественника, великое дело которого я намерен, с Божией помощью, продолжать» , 2008
• Значение Православной Миссии на Гаити для РПЦЗ // ПОПЕЧИТЕЛЬСКИЙ ФОНД О НУЖДАХ РУССКОЙ ПРАВОСЛАВНОЙ ЦЕРКВИ ЗАГРАНИЦЕЙ, 6 января 2009
• Интервью первоиерарха Русской православной церкви заграницей митрополита Илариона , 2009
• Веб-конференція Первоієрарха Руської Православної Церкви Закордоном митрополита Східно-Американського і Нью-Йоркського Іларіона , «Оф. Сайт УПЦ», 25 мая 2010
• Экстремизм — всегда источник зла // Журнал «Экономические стратегии», № 8 (74) 2010
• Митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский Иларион: «Воссоединение двух частей Русской церкви — заграницей и на родине — это величайшее благо» , 2012
• Интервью «Журналу Московской Патриархии» митрополита Восточно-Американского и Нью-Йоркского Илариона, Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви (2012)
• Надо идти к Богу (2012)
• «Восточно-Американская епархия — виноградник, возделывать который нам повелел Господь.» Доклад митр. Илариона о положении дел в епархии , 10 октября 2012
• Первоиерарх Иларион «Спасение России в её праведниках» // Новый Журнал 2013, стр. 271
• «Нам подобает следовать примеру Святых Отцов» Беседа с Митрополитом Восточно-Американским и Нью-Йоркским Иларионом, Первоиерархом Русской Зарубежной Церкви , 17 мая 2013
• «Спасение России в её праведниках» Апрель 2013
• Зарубежной Церкви нравится консерватизм Москвы // « Независимая газета », 17.07.2013
• Митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский Иларион: «Радостно быть в Австралии на Святую Пасху». (интервью Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви газете «Единение») , 30/4/2014
• О духовных недугах у границ православной России и Православии на Западе // pravoslavie.ru , 5 мая 2014
• Митрополит Восточно-Американский Иларион: «Узнайте Россию, и вы поймете, что она не враг, а друг» // «Православие и мир», 13 сентября 2014
• Беседа с Первоиерархом РПЦЗ о 30 годах его архиерейства // pravoslavie.ru , 10 декабря 2014 года
• Мы, русские люди, не можем жить без Церкви // фонд Питирима Сорокина
• Глава РПЦЗ: мы должны призывать к миру, а не к бомбардировкам // ТАСС, 15 апреля 2017 года
• «У НАС ЦЕРКОВЬ — СЕМЬЯ» Митрополит Иларион (Капрал) о Зарубежной Церкви и проповеди в зарубежном мире // pravoslavie.ru, 11 декабря 2017
• Интервью с митрополитом Иларионом // «Единение», 7 мая 2019