Diocese of Sourozh

Russian Orthodoxy in Britain

The basis of the Diocese of Sourozh was the Assumption Parish in London , which existed as an embassy church since 1716. During its existence, it changed several addresses and is currently located in the building of the former Anglican Church of All Saints.

After 1917, the parish was under the jurisdiction of the Overseas Higher Church Administration. In 1926, the parish was divided into supporters of the ROCOR and the Western European Diocese. Services were performed alternately.

In 1931, the parish was adopted by the Patriarchate of Constantinople .

In 1945, together with the West European Exarchate, reunited with the Moscow Patriarchate and remained in his charge after the departure of the West European Exarchate to the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1946. The rector of the Assumption parish in those years was Archpriest Vladimir Feokritov .

In 1948, Hieromonk Anthony (Bloom) arrived in London, appointed confessor of the Orthodox-Anglican community of the martyr Albania and St. Sergius of Radonezh . On September 1, 1950, Hieromonk Anthony became rector of the Russian parish in London.

By that time, the Assumption Parish was no longer the only parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain . So, in Oxford in 1945, the St. Nicholas parish, led by Nikolai (Gibbs), transferred to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1947, the Commonwealth of St. Albania and St. Sergius , founded on the initiative of Nikolai Zernov , began from time to time to organize the celebration of the Orthodox Liturgy (in English) in various Anglican churches of Oxford ^[3] . Later, other parishes appeared, created by Russian Orthodox communities.

On November 30, 1957, the Sergius Vicariate of the Western European Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate was formed in Great Britain. Archbishop Anthony (Bloom) was consecrated bishop of Sergiev.

Diocese in 1960-1980s

On October 10, 1962, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church , the Sourozh Diocese was formed as part of the West European Exarchate, headed by Archbishop Anthony (Bloom) with the title of Sourozh. Anthony gave her a name in honor of the ancient Crimean diocese with its center in the city of Sugdei (modern Sudak ), known in Russian chronicles under the name Surozh. The choice of this department name is connected with the desire to avoid problems in relations with the Anglicans, who already had their own London bishop ^[4] . One of the saints of the ancient Sugdean diocese , Stefan of Sourozh , was elected the patron saint of the diocese. London became the cathedral city ^[5] .

Founded primarily as a church community of Russian emigrants, under the leadership of Metropolitan Anthony, the diocese was replenished, including many believers from the local population who had converted from Anglicanism . The way of life of the church was noticeably rebuilt in comparison with the prevailing practice of the Russian Orthodox Church ^[5] . The charter appeared in the diocese: “We at one time provided the Patriarch with a draft of a possible charter, corresponding to both the Ecumenical canons and the Council’s Resolutions of 1917-1918, and, importantly, the laws of Great Britain. <...> We assumed the silent consent [to accept this Charter], referring to the words spoken to me by the late Patriarch Alexy I : “We cannot accept this Charter at this time, but live on it” ” ^[6] .

According to Archbishop Anatoly Kuznetsov, “there were always priests and laity in the Sourozh diocese, who were under the influence of“ Paris jurisdiction ”- the Archbishopric of the Russian Churches of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . In general, we must clearly understand: the old emigration of the first wave, the refugees passed away. Their descendants remained. They have already become British, some Orthodox, but they have lost the spirit of Orthodoxy that exists in Russia. For example, they were full of worship. For the sermon, they put forward the demands: “no more than five minutes.” <...> For them, the spiritual existed as a memory of the former Russian life, but everything had to be in abbreviated form. They wanted to quickly complete the service and live their lives ” ^[7] .

Numerical growth and conflict. 1990s - 2000s

Since the collapse of the USSR , when a wave of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union surged into Great Britain, a separation between newcomers and old-timers was brewing in the Diocese of Sourozh.

As Sergey Chapnin wrote: “1994 is worth recalling. After the decision of the Anglican Church to ordain women to bishops, that part of the Anglicans, for whom Church Tradition was not an empty phrase, decided to leave the Anglican Church. Most of them converted to Catholicism, but several dozen communities turned to the Diocese of Sourozh with a request to accept them in Orthodoxy. Frankly speaking, the Diocese of Sourozh was not happy, it was frightened: serious catechesis programs, complex political and administrative decisions were needed. Surozh firmly refused everything, almost all other jurisdictions did the same (the work is very complicated, and I did not want to spoil relations with the Anglicans, they were afraid how they would react). As a result, eleven communities amounted to the veneration of the Patriarchate of Antioch in England. And Surozh eventually accepted one community in order to deflect accusations of refusing to accept those who aspired to Holy Orthodoxy ” ^[8] .

2002: Friction upon arrival in the diocese of Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev)

In early 2002, a sharp conflict arose in the diocese over the appointment and arrival of a new bishop, Podolsky Hilarion (Alfeev) , as junior vicar ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]} . Bishop Hilarion was forced to leave the diocese in July of that year; the oldest vicar of the diocese, Archbishop Anatoly (Kuznetsov), by the decision of the Synod, the title of Kerch was assimilated ^[17] .

2003-2005: Bishop of St. Sergius Vasily (Osborne)

Shortly before the death of Metropolitan Anthony in 2003 ^{[18], the} Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church MP dated July 30 appointed the managing director of the Diocese of Sourozh to be his vicar, Bishop of St. Sergius Vasily (Osborne) ^{[19] [20]} .

On January 1, 2006, the clergy of the Diocese of Sourozh were 2 bishops, 24 priests and 13 deacons. The diocese included 9 parishes and 25 Eucharistic communities (communities consisting of a small number of families in which services are performed 1-2 times a month): the total number is 34. 7 churches were the property of the parishes, 7 were private property, the rest were churches belonged to other faiths. There are parishes throughout Britain, including Scotland. In Scotland, the centers of worship are Dunblane and Glasgow ^[21] .

The open phase of the confrontation in December 2005 was provoked by a letter from a cleric in the London parish of the Assumption of. Andrei Teterin condemning the leadership style of Bishop Vasily (Osborne) ^{[22] [23]} . The letter was sent to Moscow Patriarch Alexy, Metropolitan Kirill and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom.

2006: Separation of the Diocese

In 2006, the long smoldering conflict ^[24] culminated between Bishop Vasily and a large part of English-speaking parishioners, on the one hand, and immigrants from the former USSR who replenished the flock recently, on the other. The subject of disagreement was the desire of “new” parishioners to introduce into the diocese the rules that they are accustomed to in Russia : statutory services in Church Slavonic without abbreviations, the one-man management of the bishop and priest, etc. Another factor in the disorder was the long-standing reluctance of the Moscow Patriarchate to appoint Bishop Basil the reign the bishop and the desire of the DECR MP to actually abolish the special status of the diocese as part of the Russian Orthodox Church ^[25] , arising from the Charter of the diocese ^{[26] [27]} .

On March 20, 2006, Bishop Vasily issued a decree on the removal of six of its members from the Parish Council of the London Cathedral, advocating for a closer connection between the Diocese of Sourozh and the life and practice of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Letters to Moscow and Constantinople

On April 24, 2006, on Monday of the Bright Week, Bishop Vasily sent a letter to the Patriarch of Moscow Alexy with a request to release him and those who wish to go with him to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople ^{[28] [29] [30]} : <...> “it is reasonable to admit changes that have occurred with the Russian Orthodox flock in Britain and agree that the restructuring of the Russian Orthodox presence in Britain is necessary. New arrivals from Russia should remain in the spotlight of the pastoral works of the Patriarchate, while the Diocese of Sourozh - in the form in which it developed over many years - should be allowed to stand on a par with the church body, most reminiscent of it - the Russian archbishopric parishes in Paris - and become part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. ”

On May 5, 2006, Patriarch Alexy sent a response letter ^[31] , in which Patriarch Alexy expressed his “chagrin” with the second letter of Bishop Vasily, meaning the first letter of April 10 ^[32] .

But even on May 2, Bishop Vasily sent a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with a request to accept him in his jurisdiction ^[33] .

Dismissal of Bishop Vasily

The response of Patriarch Alexy was transmitted to Bishop Vasily on May 7, 2006, before the liturgy in the London Cathedral. However, not having read the letter and despite the request to refrain from announcing the decision on his transition before reading the letter, Bishop Vasily announced the move that day to the parish. He never accepted the offer to meet with the Patriarch and did not give him a written response.

Upon learning of the letter to Constantinople and the refusal of Bishop Vasily to withdraw it, Patriarch Alexy took back his offer to meet. On May 9, a decision was made to release "Bishop of St. Sergius of Vasily from the administration of the Diocese of Sourozh with dismissal without the right to transfer to another jurisdiction until the end of the analysis of the crisis that arose in the Diocese of Sourozh, specially appointed by the commission." The Archbishop Innocent of Korsun (Vasiliev) , who heads the Korsun diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (feeds the parishes of the MP in France, Spain, Switzerland and Portugal) ^{[34] [35] [36],} was appointed as the interim manager of the diocese.

On May 26, 2006, the commission began work. Despite the repeated invitation, Bishop Vasily refused to meet with the commission, and urged the rest not to. Instead, he preferred to express his views on the Internet and other media ^[37] .

In June, Bishop Vasily was officially admitted to the episcopate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ^[38] ; almost half of the clergy followed ^[39] .

In February 2010, Bishop Vasily was deprived of the rank of monasticism by the Patriarchate of Constantinople at his own request in connection with his intention to marry. ^[40]

In October 2006, the administration of the Sourozh diocese was entrusted to Archimandrite Elisey (Ganaba) : “Archimandrite Elisey, head of the Russian Theological Mission in Jerusalem, to be bishop of Bogorodsky, vicar of the Korsun diocese, with the task of administering the Diocese of Sourozh. The designation and ordination of Archimandrite Elisha to the episcopate to perform in the city of Moscow ” ^[41] . In November, his bishop consecration was performed ^[42] . Bishop Elisey was Vicar of Archbishop Innocent, which, according to opponents of the Moscow Patriarchate, meant the absence of the ruling diocesan bishop in the full canonical sense. The very existence of the diocese, in their opinion, was in question ^[43] .

The main theme of the diocesan meeting on March 3, 2007 was the adoption of the Address of the Assembly to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the inclusion of British saints canonized before the separation in the 11th century . These include such saints as the martyr of Albania , the Hierarchs David of Wales and Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland , St. King Edward and many other saints, whose memory is traditionally revered in the British Isles ^[44] .

On December 27, 2007, the Holy Synod ruled: “Reverend Archbishop Innocent of Korsun will be freed from the temporary administration of the Diocese of Sourozh. 2. To thank His Grace Archbishop Innocent for the work he has done and to note the peace that has been achieved in the life of the Diocese of Sourozh after the crisis she suffered in 2006. 3. His Grace Bishop Elisey of Bogorodsk, Vicar of the Korsun diocese, to be Bishop of Sourozh ” ^[45] .

On the initiative of the renewed Diocesan Assembly, on August 21, 2007, the Holy Synod established the day of the Council in memory of the saints who shone in the land of British and Irish, in the third Pentecost Week ^[46] .

The decision of the British Prosecutor General’s Office and the British court in favor of the Moscow Patriarchate in the case of the Assumption Cathedral in London in February 2009 was linked in an article in the British newspaper “ Independent ” representing the position of the Amphipolis Vicariate with the influence of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska ^[47] .

On February 1, 2010, Bishop Elisey of Sourozh was elevated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the rank of Archbishop. Only three years passed between his consecration as bishop and his enthronement, which is an exceptionally fast advance. ^[48] Perhaps this is due to the active expansion of the diocese. At the May 2010 meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, 18 new parishes were accepted into the diocese. ^[49]

On June 26, 2010, a meeting of the Diocesan Assembly was held at the London Assumption Cathedral, at which the civil Statute of the Sourozh Diocese and the standard civil Statute of the parish of the Sourozh Diocese were adopted, which replaced the charter, developed under the direction of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), and which had been in conflict for many years with general church ^[50]

From October 14 to October 18, 2016 the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill visited the Diocese of Sourozh. The visit was dedicated to the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the British Isles ^[51] .

• Anthony (Bloom) (October 10, 1962 - July 30, 2003)
• Vasily (Osborne) (July 30, 2003 - May 14, 2006) Sergievsky
• Innocent (Vasiliev) (May 14, 2006 - December 27, 2007) high school, archbishop. Korsunsky
• Elisha (Ganaba) (December 27, 2007 - December 28, 2017)
• Matthew (Andreev) (since December 28, 2017)

1. Central (London)
2. South west england
3. Southeast england
4. East england
5. Wells
6. Western midlands
7. Eastern middle lands
8. Northern england
9. Шотландии и малых островов
10. Лейнстерское (Центрально-Восточная Ирландия)
11. Манстерское (Южная Ирландия)
12. Коннахтское (Западная Ирландия)
13. Ольстерское (Северная Ирландия)

• Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland
• Orthodoxy in the UK

• Diocese of Sourozh (English)
• Report of Bishop Vasily Sergievsky Metropolitan Anthony as a shepherd: Charter of the Diocese of Sourozh
• Bishop of Amphipolis Basil. Continuity and change
• The official site of the Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland as part of the Archdiocese of Orthodox parishes of the Russian tradition in Western Europe
• Orthodox Church in Scotland
• Communication from the DECR MP communication service on the work of the crisis investigation commission in the Diocese of Sourozh
• MIKHAIL LATE. Sugar is destroyed. The split in the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in the British Isles is now a final and irrevocable fact : Novye Izvestia June 19, 2006
• Bishop of Sourozh, Elisha. Weekdays Sourozh // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchs , February 2010
• Sourozh. Blurring out the boundaries. 50 Years Jubilee of the Sourozh Diocese
• Chronicle of the Sourozh turmoil. Materials and documents dedicated to the events in the Sourozh diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate (2001-2006). - St. Petersburg: Aleteya, 2007, 312 p.