Innocent (Sokal)

Born on January 7, 1883 in the village of Korchow in the Kholmsk province (now Lubelskie Voivodeship, Poland) in a peasant family.

He graduated from the Warsaw Theological College, and in 1906 - the Kholm Theological Seminary.

In 1910 he graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy with a degree of candidate of theology for his thesis “Western Russian polemical writings against Protestantism in the 16th-17th centuries. (until 1640). ”

September 26, 1910 was appointed assistant inspector of the Kursk Theological Seminary .

Soon, Ivan married Tregubova Maria Sofronyevna and became deacon .

On October 14, 1912, he was ordained a priest in the Kursk diocese, in the city of Rylsk , His Grace Nicodemus , Bishop of Rylsk.

In 1912, he was transferred to the post of inspector in Rylsk , where four seminary classes were housed along with a theological school.

He took a direct part in the discovery of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod . Subsequently, he recalled it this way: "These were happy days for me that left an impression on my whole life."

In 1919, Archpriest John was sent by the church hierarchy to Palestine to receive the property of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission from the British.

From 1921 to 1931 he was an inspector of theological seminaries in Yugoslavia. In 1927, he was awarded the Order of St. Sava of the IV degree by the Serbian government for spiritual and educational activities.

From 1931 to 1940 he was the first priest in the clergy of the Holy Trinity Church of Belgrade .

In 1932 he was awarded a golden pectoral cross decorated with the definition of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Participated in the II All-Diaspora Council, which took place from August 14 to 24, 1938 in Sremsky Karlovtsy.

In 1940 he was appointed rector of the Holy Trinity Church of Belgrade.

In 1944, he was appointed dean of all Russian churches and parishes in Yugoslavia.

In early September 1944, shortly before the liberation of Yugoslavia by Soviet troops, Russian emigrants left the country, including the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Anastasiy (Gribanovsky) . But many priests, not wanting to leave their flock, remained. For a number of pastors, the liberation of Yugoslavia by the Red Army was associated with the hope of reunification with the Moscow Patriarchate, relations with which had long been broken for church-political reasons.

In the autumn of 1944, a special letter was sent to Moscow to the name of the Locum Tenens of the All-Russian Patriarchal Throne, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad and Novgorod, signed by the Rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Belgrade, Archpriest John Sokal with a request for return to Moscow.

The letter of appeal by Archpriest John Sokal did not go unanswered. At the beginning of 1945, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a letter to Metropolitan Joseph Skvliansky (Tsviyovich) , wrote about the upcoming direction of a special delegation led by Bishop Sergiy (Larin) of Kirovograd on "business matters relating to our Church intercommunications and, in particular, on the issue of the transfer to our jurisdiction of the Mukachevo-Pryashevsky diocese, as well as those Russian parishes that are under the jurisdiction of Archpriest Sokal. ” This letter was not a secret for the Russian clergy in Yugoslavia and, above all, for Archpriest John Sokal.

In February 1945, Archpriest John Sokal participated in the celebration of the election of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarchal throne.

On April 10, 1945, a letter was sent to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, in which Archpriest John Sokal asked "to accept the entire Russian parish of the Belgrade church community in the jurisdiction of the Russian Church, so that our church life could continue to flow under the direct archpastoral leadership of Your Holiness," emphasizing that “moral for our request is the fact that we did not accept in the general direction the Karlovac Synod and in its activities aimed at separation from the Moscow Patriarch . And as soon as the opportunity presented itself, we showed our mood in that we decided to stay on the ground, wait for the arrival of the Red Army and petition for the reunification of us with the Russian Church. ”

On April 8, 1945, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church arrived in Belgrade. In accordance with the authority given to Bishop Sergius (Larin) by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, the clergy and community of the Holy Trinity Church in Belgrade were accepted into canonical and Eucharistic communion and subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate. The remaining parishes were transferred to the Serbian Church under the subordination of the Serbian diocesan bishops, as it was, for example, on the territory of Vojvodina, in the Bach diocese. The small number of Russians left there, in the absence of Russian priests, was served by the Serbian clergy, who knew the Russian language and Russian church singing.

In the same 1945, by decree of Patriarch Alexy, Archpriest John was approved as dean of the Russian Orthodox parishes of Yugoslavia, and by decree of November 13, 1945 he was awarded with a miter .

In 1948, Archpriest John Sokal, Archpriest Vladislav Neklyudov, Professor Vsevolod Troitsky were honored guests in Moscow at the celebrations in connection with the 500th anniversary of autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church and participated in a meeting of Primate and representatives of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches .

In February 1950, Archpriest John Sokal and his family returned to their homeland, having been appointed rector at the Saratov Theological Seminary .

On February 9, 1951, at an open meeting of the Council of the Leningrad Theological Academy , chaired by the rector of the Academy Simeon (Bychkov) , Bishop of Luga and in the presence of His Eminence Grigory (Chukov), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, defended his master's thesis by Archpriest John Sokal. The reviewers of the dissertation were Professor Archpriest V. M. Veryuzhsky and Associate Professor Archpriest I. S. Kozlov. After a successful defense, the Academic Council awarded the applicant a master's degree in theology. This decree was approved by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy on February 26, 1951.

On June 25, 1953, Father John was appointed rector of the Minsk Theological Seminary .

In 1956 he was rector of the Odessa Theological Seminary .

July 20, 1957 was appointed rector of the Smolensk Assumption Cathedral and secretary of the Administration of the Smolensk diocese. In this position, he meets a difficult period of Khrushchev's persecution of the Church .

Soon, Father John bears a bereavement, his wife Maria Sofronievna dies. Widowed, takes monastic tonsure at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra with the name Innocent . He was already 76 years old.

The Holy Synod, at its meeting of April 24, 1959, determined Hieromonk Innocent to be bishop of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh as archimandrite . His episcopal consecration took place on May 10, 1959 in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The order of consecration was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, Archbishop of Mozhaisk Makarii and Bishop of Dmitrov Pimen.

Prior to Bishop Innocent, the diocese was managed by Bishop Michael (Chub) , who was directly in Smolensk only from 1955 to 1957, and from 1957 to 1959 combined the administration of the Smolensk diocese with the ministry in Germany, in the Berlin diocese. So the need for his bishop in Smolensk was acute, and Father Innocent Sokal was no longer just familiar with all the affairs of the diocese, but a loved one for all.

October 15, 1964 retired due to illness at the age of 81 years.

On May 14, 1965, Bishop Innocent died at rest. The funeral service for Bishop Innocent was performed on May 16 by Bishop Pitirim of Volokolamsk (Nechaev) and Bishop Anthony (Dakobuzh of Vakarik) of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh. He was buried in the Tikhvin cemetery of Smolensk, next to the graves of other deceased Smolensky archpastors.

• "Psychological analysis of the personality of St. Joasaph in connection with the current state of Russian society ”(Kursk, 1911);
• "How Christians should live according to the teachings of St. Joasaph ”(Kursk, 1911);
• "The doctrine of church writers about God's permission" (Kursk, 1911);
• “The Being of God” (Sofia, 1938).
• Travel of the Yugoslav delegation from Belgrade to Moscow to the election of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1945. No. 4. p. 22-25.
• Greetings from Russian parishes in Yugoslavia [on the occasion of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church] // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1948. No. 9. p. 12-15.
• The penitential feeling in prayers and chants of St. Fourteenth // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1950. No. 3. pp. 34-37.
• Homecoming // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1950. No. 4. pp. 60-61.
• Patriarch of Serbia Gabriel (obituary) // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1950. No. 5. p. 22-25.
• Services of the Great Heel and Saturday // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1951. No. 3. pp. 34-36.
• Church celebration in Vyazma (consecration of the Holy Trinity Cathedral) // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1958. No. 2. P. 15-16.
• Speech when he was named bishop of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1959, No. 6, p. 38

• ABOUT TWO-VOLUME "FATHER JOHN Kronshtadtsky" (1938/1941)
• V.I. Kosik. INNOCENTIUM // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2010. - T. XXIII. - S. 23-24. - 752 s. - 39 000 copies - ISBN 978-5-89572-042-4 .
• V.N. Tiles. Grodno historical kaleidoscope. Chapter 7 (final).