São Paulo and Brazilian Diocese

In 1912, the first Russian temple in Brazil was built in the city of Campina das Misoines . The temple was consecrated in honor of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian . In October 1925, a Russian parish was formed in Sao Paulo in connection with the arrival of Russian white emigrants. For some time the parish was located in the Church of Antioch , where the service for the Russians was performed by the Syrian father Christopher.

In 1930, a small Russian Orthodox parish was organized in Rio de Janeiro , which at first was housed in a building that belonged to the Syrian church.

On June 11, 1927, a Russian priest Mikhail Klyarovsky arrived in Estonia from Sao Paulo. Through his efforts, the first church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, housed in a large salon of a private house in Sao Paulo.

In 1931, Mikhail Klyarovsky, who moved to Paraguay , was replaced by Hieromonk Micah (Ordyntsev) . He simultaneously became the rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity , built in 1931 in the town of Vila Alpina in the vicinity of Sao Paulo .

In 1934, the Orthodox, who settled in Brazil, turned to the ROCOR Synod of Bishops with a request to open a Russian Orthodox bishop's department and send them a bishop.

In October 1934, by decree of the Synod of Bishops, the Brazilian Diocese was established, where Theodosius (Samoilovich) was appointed ruling bishop with the title of Bishop of São Paulo and the whole of Brazil, who arrived in Brazil on January 5, 1935. The diocese united all parishes in the territory of South America , except Argentina .

The diocese had its own church printing house. In addition to books, the journal Orthodox Review and the only diocesan magazine abroad, Sim Victory, were published in it. By the end of World War II, the Brazilian diocese included 10 Orthodox parishes and three Orthodox communities ^[1] .

In 1939, the Brazilian diocese of the ROCOR received legal registration, after which the Diocesan Council was organized.

After the end of World War II , the “second wave” of emigration began . In 1947-1951, 6.4 thousand Russians and Ukrainians entered the country.

In 1951-1954, there was the Montevideo vicar department of the São Paulo diocese, which was occupied by the future first hierarch of the ROCA Vitaly (Ustinov) .

In the years 1957-1963, the Goianic vicar department of the São Paulo diocese existed, which was occupied by Bishop Agapit (Kryzhanovsky) .

By the end of the 1950s, there were more than 10 Russian Orthodox parishes in Brazil ^[2] .

Archbishop Vitaly (Ustinov) in 1962 stated: “the decline in Brazil is undeniable. <...> There are a lot of Russians in Brazil. We lost tens of thousands of people there. There is a colossal field of activity <...> Archbishop Theodosius is a good and good old man, but he does not have enough strength and this plunges him into pessimism. If a bishop full of strength worked freely there, then in Sao Paulo there could be a second San Francisco ” ^[3] .

In 1967, Leonty (Filippovich) was appointed to the bishop's chair in Sao Paulo, but then this appointment was canceled, and Vladyka Leonty remained in Chile .

On October 6, 1967, the bishop of Rio de Janeira, vicar of the San Paul diocese, was ordained Nicander (Paderin) .

After the death of Bishop Theodosius, the São Paulo diocese was temporarily governed by the Archbishop of Caracas Seraphim (Svejevsky) .

In September 1976, Bishop Seraphim described the state of the diocese as follows: “There are 18 parishes in Brazil, of which 7 are without priests. <...> 8,000 people live in Sao Paulo and a priest is badly needed. A temple was built in Pedreiro, in which it is supposed to make a diocesan center. I bought another piece of land there. The cathedral, although in the city center, has the disadvantage that it does not have parking for cars. Young people were lost in previous years and it is not possible to establish contact with them. She is denationalized. There are no parallel jurisdictions, but there are Uniates who have a school for children ” ^[4] .

In 1976, Nikander (Paderin) was appointed bishop of São Paulo, who ruled the diocese until his death on December 2, 1987 .

Due to the assimilation and lack of clergy, the flocks of the São Paulo diocese were gradually declining. After the death of Bishop Nicander, a new bishop was not appointed to the São Paulo pulpit. In 1994, the diocese was ruled by Archpriest George Petrenko , who was respected among the parishioners ^[5] .

Gradually, the number of parishes of the ROCA in Brazil decreased: once in this country the ROCA had 12 churches, then it became 11, then 7. 4 parishes moved to the Argentine diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate due to the shortage of ROCOR priests and the lack of funds for them for long trips to these places ^[6] .

In the 1990s, it was decided to unite the parishes of the Church Abroad in South America together, on the basis of the Diocese of Buenos Aires .

• Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Sao Paulo.
• Holy Trinity Church of the Trinity on Vila Alpina
• Parish of the Protection of the Holy Virgin on Vila Zelina
• Parish of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Indianopolis
• the coming of the Resurrection of Christ to Vila Anastasio ;
• Parish of St. Seraphim of Sorovsky in the city of Karapikuiba ;
• Parish of the Holy Martyr Zinaida in Rio de Janeiro
• Parish of the Protection of the Holy Virgin in the city of Niteroi ;
• the arrival of All Saints in the city of Niteroi;
• Parish of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the city of Porto Alegre ;
• Community of the Holy Martyr Panteleimon in the town of Pratos .
• Community in Goiania
• Community in Londrina
• Community in Ponta Grossa

• Theodosius (Samoilovich) (September 4, 1934 - March 1, 1968)
• Leonty (Filipovich) (1967) appointment canceled
• Seraphim (Svezhevsky) (August 16, 1968-1977) high school, Archbishop of Caracas
• Nikander (Paderin) (1976 - December 2, 1987)

• An anniversary collection on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the service in the hierarchal dignity of His Eminence Theodosius. Sao paulo. 1956.
• M.N. Moseykina. "Father Theodosius - Archbishop of São Paulo and All Brazil." Latin America Magazine, Issue 7, 2000
• To the 70th anniversary of the consecration of the temple of mts. Zinaids ". Site of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Rio de Janeiro
• São Paulo diocese // Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "Tree"