Archbishop Dimitry (in the world Daniel Sulim ; 1772 , Novaya Vodolaga , Kharkov Province - 4 (16) August 1844 ) - Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church , Archbishop of Kishinev and Khotyn .
Biography
Born in 1772 in the town of Novaya Vodolaga, Kharkov province in a family of clergy.
Educated at the Kharkov Collegium and in Yekaterinoslav Theological Seminary. During his student years he became known for his sharp, penetrating mind and exceptional memory. Due to this, in 1795, at the end of the course, he was left as a seminary teacher.
In 1797 he was ordained priest to the city Ekaterinoslav Cathedral and was appointed a member of the spiritual consistory.
In 1798 he was appointed Prefect of the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary.
In 1800, he was elevated to the rank of archpriest in the Boguslavsky city cathedral of the Kiev diocese and was appointed head of the churches and clergy of the local protopopies.
In 1806, he was transferred to the city of Nikolaev in the Admiralty Cathedral with the appointment of a law instructor of the Nikolaev navigator school. Soon he was appointed a member of the consistory.
In May 1811, he was tonsured as a monk, and on June 16, he was consecrated as Bishop of Bendery and Akkerman, Vicar of the Moldavlach Exarchate .
With the construction of Demetrius to the rank of bishop, his lot fell to many works on the organization of Bessarabia, which had just been liberated from the power of the Turks.
On June 18, 1821, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop and appointed to the Chisinau department .
Ardently affirming Orthodoxy in the province, Bishop Dimitri first paid attention to the monasteries and began to build a communal charter in them and to streamline the economy.
Then he took up the issue of improving spiritual enlightenment in the diocese, raising the intellectual and moral level of the clergy. Several schools were opened at the monasteries: Kurkovsky , Dobruzhsky , Girzhavsky and others and in Chisinau, Bendery and Akkerman districts, and in 1816 the Chisinau Theological Seminary was opened.
In Chisinau, Bender, and Izmail, they established "Lancaster schools", the training in them was free, and Bishop Dimitri (with a special appeal) called on everyone to study in these schools. Personally delved into all the affairs of religious schools.
He worked tirelessly to translate liturgical books, canons, akathists, creations and holy Fathers, catechism, and other educational books into Moldovan language . He was the chairman of the department of the biblical society in Chisinau and actively took care of the distribution of books of the Holy Scriptures.
From June 1823 to early 1825, he was present at the Holy Synod .
In 1833-1836, he built a cathedral in Chisinau.
He acted with great reverence, with tears of emotion, than he made to those present a deep impression. The sermons spoke in Moldovan and Russian.
He died on August 4, 1844. On the day of his death, he listened to the liturgy, after the Lord’s prayer, ordered the attendant to take himself to the bedroom, crossed himself, lay down on his bed, began to read something himself and died a few minutes later. Buried in the Chisinau Cathedral, in the right side-altar.
Links
- Russian biographical dictionary : 25 tons. / Under the supervision of A. A. Polovtsov. 1896-1918.
- http://www.moldova.ms/?l=en&a=88&i=164