German (Timofeev)

Born November 11, 1937 in Tashkent in a family of employees.

Since 1950, he was called by the bishop of Tashkent and Central Asia Guriy (Egorov) to serve at the bishops' services.

In 1955 he graduated from high school and with the blessing of the Tashkent Archbishop Yermogen (Golubev) entered the Saratov Theological Seminary , in 1956 he moved to the Leningrad Theological Seminary also with the permission of Archbishop Yermogen.

In 1958-1960 he served in the ranks of the Soviet Army ^[1] .

In 1960-1961 he was the clerk of the Tashkent Diocesan Administration ^[1] .

In 1962 he graduated from the Leningrad Theological Seminary and entered the Leningrad Theological Academy ^[1] , which he graduated in 1966 with the degree of candidate of theology for the essay “The service of Holy Easter in its historical development.”

On December 19, 1965, Metropolitan Nicodemus (Rotov) was tonsured a monk ^[1] with the name Herman in the academic John the Theologian Church.

On December 26, 1965, he was ordained bishop of Zaraisk Juvenal (Poyarkov) ^[1] .

On May 29, 1966 he was ordained a hieromonk by Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga Nicodemus (Rotov) ^[1] .

In the 1966-1967 academic year, he was a professor scholarship holder in the department of Byzantology , taught liturgy in the seminary and dogmatic theology at the academy ^[1] .

January 17, 1967 was appointed senior assistant inspector of the Leningrad Theological Academy ^[1] .

On August 11, 1967 he was appointed inspector of the Leningrad Theological Academy and Seminary with the elevation to the rank of archimandrite , which took place on September 12 of the same year ^[1] .

In the academic year 1967-1968 he taught canon law at the academy ^[1] .

In February-March 1968 he was a member of the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the West European Exarchate , visited the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Holland ^[1] .

In March-April of the same year, as a member of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was at the III All-Christian Peace Congress in Prague.

In July, as a member of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation, he participated in the IV Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala (Sweden).

On August 29, 1968 he was appointed Acting Rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy ^[1] .

Bishop of Tikhvin

On November 28, 1968, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, Archimandrite German was determined to be Bishop of Tikhvin , Vicar of the Leningrad Diocese , as well as Rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy and Seminary ^[1] .

At noon on December 5 of the same year, in the church of the Leningrad Theological Academy, the appointment of Archimandrite German as Bishop of Tikhvin took place. When making the rank of prejudice, Archimandrite Herman delivered a speech in which, in particular, he said: “At this trembling hour, when I stand before you, experiencing what a person entering the path of the apostolic ministry can experience and experience, I recall attention, friendliness and the kindness of the people whom the Lord told me to meet. These were school teachers and priests, mentors of seminaries and academies, bishops and lay people, great friends and just acquaintances, comrades and employees. I remember the joy of my parents when the late Vladyka Guri took me to his altar in the Tashkent Cathedral and I became his book-holder, I remember all my confessors who worked to create in me a "man hidden in my heart." I know that the episcopal miter is the crown of thorns of Christ. "The bishop is called to serve, and not to rule, he is called to give his soul for the deliverance of many."

December 6, 1968 in the academic John the Theological Church in Leningrad, was ordained bishop of Tikhvin, vicar of the Leningrad diocese. The consecration was performed by the Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Nicodemus (Rotov) , the Archbishop of Ivanovo and Kinesham theodosius (Pogorsky) , the Bishop of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsky Nikon (Fomichev) , the Bishop of Dmitrov, the Bishop of Episcopal, the Bishop of Episcopalism .

Since March 20, 1969 - Member of the Commission of the Holy Synod on Christian Unity.

On June 24 the same was included in the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate at the Conference of Representatives of All Religions in the USSR for cooperation and peace between peoples.

In December of the same year, he participated in the work of the Commission to study the question of the sizing of the ever-memorable archbishop of Japan, Nicholas.

Serving in Europe

On June 25, 1970, he was appointed bishop of Vienna and Austria .

In the parish of St. Nicholas of Vienna, Bishop German founded a children's school of the Russian language and Orthodox education; began once a month to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in German for parishioners who do not speak Russian; He regularly preached and read the Word of God on Austrian radio.

September 16-18, 1972 participated in the consecration celebrations in the city of Debrecen (Hungary) of the renovated building of the Reformed College.

September 3, 1974 he was appointed bishop of Vilna and Lithuania .

In Lithuania, he spoke with religious readings at meetings of the diocesan clergy.

March 3, 1976 was elected to the Commission of the Holy Synod on Christian unity and inter-church relations.

In August of that year, at the head of a pilgrimage group, the Russian Orthodox Church visited Mount Athos.

September 13-21 of the same year with the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate participated in interviews between theologians of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Union of Evangelical Churches of the GDR.

In October of the same year, he led the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the celebrations in Bulgaria on the occasion of the 1100th birthday of the Monk John of Rylsky .

April 19, 1978 he was appointed bishop of Tula and Belevsky .

From October 6 to 20, 1978, he participated in interviews with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church from delegations of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In November 1979, he traveled to a meeting of representatives of Christian Churches from the socialist countries of Europe and the USA (Karlovy Vary-IV).

In 1980, he organized a diocesan celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Kulikov victory with the participation of permanent members of the Holy Synod, for which Holy Patriarch Pimen on September 14 of the same year was awarded the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II degree.

Bishop German annually held several pastoral meetings of the clergy, which was not very common at that time; He was criticized by an authorized Religious Council for demanding baptism of adults by immersion.

September 9, 1983 was elevated to the rank of archbishop .

In June 1984, he visited Jerusalem with a pilgrimage group of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On July 29, 1986, Vladyka German was determined to be the archbishop of Berlin and Central Europe , the patriarchal exarch of Central Europe.

In 1987, in connection with the 50th anniversary, Patriarch Pimen was awarded the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir II degree .

In 1988, the archbishop held separate celebrations in West and East Berlin, dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia , with the support of local authorities and the religious community with the invitation of the Warsaw Orthodox Choir.

On the 20th anniversary of the hierarchy, Vladyka Herman was awarded by His Holiness Patriarch Pimen an inscribed Panagia and awarded the State Order "Friendship of Peoples . "

In 1989, the bishop initiated an international scientific conference in connection with the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia .

By the definition of the Council of Bishops of January 30–31, 1990, the Central European Exarchate that it ruled was abolished, and the title of Archbishop German was changed to “Berlin and Leipzig”.

At the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990 , he proposed to seek the return to the ownership of the Church of its shrines, including churches, monasteries and other types of church property, which was approved by the participants of the Council.

Archbishop of Volgograd and Kamyshin

January 31, 1991 by the decision of the Holy Synod appointed Archbishop of Volgograd and Kamyshinsky .

On February 25, 2000, by Decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II No. 586, for the diligent service of the Church of God, Archbishop German was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan ^[2] .

On March 15, 2012, the Holy Synod, after hearing a report from Metropolitan German, singled out two new ones from the Volgograd diocese: Kalachev and Uryupinsky, while all three dioceses became part of the newly formed Volgograd Metropolis , headed by Metropolitan German. Since the ruling bishop was not elected for the Kalachev diocese , Metropolitan German was appointed its interim manager ^[3] and governed it until November 2, 2013 ^[4] .

On December 28, 2018, by the decision of the Holy Synod, he was put to rest. The place of stay is determined by the city of Volgograd with contents from the Volgograd Diocesan Administration ^[5] .

On January 17, 2019, in the Hall of Military and Labor Glory, the Governor of Volgograd Region Andrei Bocharov presented Metropolitan German with the medal “Peace. Friendship. Consent ”for many years of work to develop and strengthen interfaith harmony in the Volgograd Region, noting the contribution of Metropolitan German to the revival of Orthodox shrines and the spiritual and moral education of the younger generation ^[6] .

• "The service of Holy Easter in its historical development" (Candidate's essay)
• Speech in the name of Bishop of Tikhvin (Dec 5, 1968) // ZhMP. 1969, No. 2, p. 7.
• "The purpose of fasting is the transformation of man." (Pronounced in German on March 14, 1971, during the 2nd week of Great Lent at the ecumenical service in Vienna. It was broadcast on Austrian radio) // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1972. No. 2. P. 31-32.
• Session of the Inter-Orthodox Commission on the Dialogue with Old Catholics // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1972. No. 5. P. 54-56.
• Pastoral Congress in Vienna // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1972. No. 8. P. 61-62.
• Hermit in the service of humanity // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1974. No. 6. P. 38-39.
• Fraternal visit of the delegation of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1976. No. 2. P. 13-15.
• 4th Ecumenical Symposium // Stimme der Orthodoxie , 1972, No. 11, 42-44.
• Das Reich Gottes als gegenwartige und zukunftige Wirklichkeit // Stimme der Orthodoxie, 1977, No. 2, 31-46.
• Attempts to arrange spiritual education in the Volgograd diocese // Christmas Readings, 6th. M., 1998. pp. 96-103

Church:

• Medal of St. Sergius of Radonezh, I degree (1979).
• Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd degree (September 14, 1980).
• Order of St. equapap. blgv. Prince Vladimir of the 2nd degree (in consideration of church merits and in connection with the 50th anniversary of his birth, November 11, 1987).
• Order of St. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow II degree (May 13, 2003) ^[7] .
• Order of St. Seraphim of Sarovsky II degree (2005).
• Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh I degree (2007).
• Order of St. blgv. Prince Daniel of Moscow II degree.
• Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, 1st century; (2012) ^[8]
• Order of St. Makaria, Met. Moscow 1st art .; ( May 26, 2016 ) ^[9]

Secular:

• Order of Friendship of Peoples ( June 3, 1988 ) - for active peacekeeping and in connection with the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia ^[10]
• Order of Honor ( December 28, 2000 ) - for a great contribution to the strengthening of civil peace and the revival of spiritual and moral traditions ^[11]
• Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, IV degree ( April 21, 2008 ) - for his great contribution to the development of spiritual and moral traditions, the strengthening of interfaith relations, the construction and restoration of churches ^[12]
• Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd ( 2010 ) ^[13]
• Medal "For Merit to the Volgograd Region" ( 2017 ) ^[14]
• medal "World. Friendship. Consent ”(January 17, 2019) ^[6]

• "Volgograd diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church." Metropolitan German Volgograd and Kamyshin (Russian) (unavailable link) (September 21, 2004). - Biography of Bishop Herman. Date of treatment November 8, 2013. Archived October 18, 2013.