Irenaeus (Steenberg)

Born December 7, 1978 at the US Navy’s military base in Okinawa , Japan , in the family of Craig and Karin Steenberg ^[1] and spent the first year of his life there, after which he moved to the USA ^[2] .

He spent most of his childhood in the city of Moscow , Idaho . In addition, he lived in Germany , France and Great Britain ^[2] .

In 2001, he graduated in Northfield, Minnesota , with a bachelor of arts degree ^[1] .

In the same year he became one of 40 US students who were awarded the prestigious Marshall Scholarship , which gave the right to study at any British university for two years. Winners were announced in December by British Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer in Washington. Matthew became the only graduate of that year from a college or university of Minnesota to be awarded this prize, as well as the first student at St. Olaf College to whom she was awarded ^[1] .

After that, he leaves for England, where he enters Oxford University , where he graduated with a master's degree in science ( master of studies ), and later received a Ph.D. there . He taught there, became a professor of patristics ^[3] .

In 2004, he was appointed a reader and appointed regent in Oxford (England).

In 2006, he was one of the founders of the new Orthodox parish in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate ^[4] .

March 25, 2007 took part in the first annual Lenten Seminar at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of All Who Sorrowful Joy in San Francisco, where he made a presentation on “Prayer, Man, Liturgy and Orthodox Life” ^[5] .

On August 28, 2007, in the Assumption Cathedral in London, Bishop Elisey of Bogorodsk (Ganaba) was ordained deacon and was appointed clergyman of the parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford, Diocese of Sourozh ^{[6] [7] [8]} .

In 2007-2010, he was the head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at , Horsfort , West Yorkshire.

In 2008, he began to do weekly broadcasts for the American Orthodox Internet radio station Ancient Faith Radio , where he talked about the holy fathers ^[8] .

He returned to the United States and settled in San Francisco . In January 2010, he was admitted to the clergy of the San Francisco Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad with the appointment of clergyman of the Tikhon Zadonsky Church and director of the St. John’s Orthodox Lyceum in San Francisco ^[9] .

On March 8, 2010, in the St. Tikhon House Church under the Diocesan Administration of the San Francisco Diocese, he was tonsured by the Archbishop of San Francisco, Cyril (Dmitriev), in a mantle named Irina in honor of St. Irenaeus of Lyons ^[10] .

On March 14 of the same year, he was ordained a hieromonk by the same lord in the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco . He was appointed assistant to the bishop of Seattli Theodosius (Ivashchenko) in St. Tikhon's Church ^[10] .

Since March 2010 - Visiting Professor of Orthodox Christian Sciences at St. Clara University. From the same year, he was a Researcher in Theology (Professorial Research Fellow in Theology) at Lida Trinity University College.

October 12, 2010 was awarded Archbishop Cyril with a gold pectoral cross ^[11] .

Archbishop Cyril appointed treasurer of the diocese. On March 17, 2011, at the spring meeting of the Diocesan Council, Archbishop Cyril officially introduced him in this position ^[12] .

On August 26 of that year, Archbishop Cyril of San Francisco in the San Francisco Temple of Tikhon Zadonsky was elevated to the rank of archimandrite with the laying of a mitra ^[13] .

In 2011, he became the founder and dean of the Institute of Theological Sciences named after Saints Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria in San Francisco, which opened in January 2012 ^[14] .

In January 2012, by decree of the Archbishop of San Francisco and West America, Cyril was appointed head of the new monastic deanery of the West American diocese, uniting all the official monastic communities of the diocese and all the monks living outside these communities ^[15] .

In addition to activities in the parish and in the gymnasium, Archimandrite Irenaeus is known for his popular radio performances, as well as the creator of a site dedicated to Orthodox patrology and liturgics monachos.net ^[16] .

On June 24, 2014, at the proposal of Metropolitan Hilarion (Corporal) , the ROCOR Council of Bishops included him in the expanded composition of the Scientific Commission under the Synod of Bishops ^[17] .

Since 2014, he helped to create a new monastery in the name of the Monk Silwan of Athos in Sonora , California. At the official opening of the monastery in 2015, he was appointed its rector ^[2] .

A participant in the Fifth Pre-Council Meeting, held on October 12-16 , 2015 in Chambésy, as part of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church ^{[18] [19]} .

April 16, 2016 by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was included in the Synodal Bible and Theological Commission ^[20] .

Bishops

On July 1, 2016, the ROCOR Synod of Bishops, “after reviewing the materials of the Council of Bishops in 2011 and 2014, with the results of a recent survey of the Bishops who are not part of the Synod of Bishops, and comprehensively discussing the request of the Archbishop of San Francisco and West America Cyril,” decided consider Archimandrite Irenaeus elected as bishop of Sacramento, vicar of the Western American Diocese ^[21] . On July 15 of the same year, the election was approved by a decision of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate ^[21] .

On November 5, 2016, during an all-night vigil at the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, he was named bishop of Sacramento, and on November 6 there he was consecrated bishop; consecration was performed by the Archbishop of San Francisco and West America Cyril (Dmitriev) , the Archbishop of Chicago and Mid-America Peter (Lukyanov) , Bishop of Seattle Theodosius (Ivaschenko) , Bishop of Manhattan Nikolai (Olkhovsky) , Bishop of Naro-Naro ^22] .

On June 9, 2017, by decision of the Bishops' Council, the ROCOR was appointed administrator of the British Diocese ^[23] .

On September 20, 2018, by the decision of the Synod of Bishops, the ROCOR was relieved of the administration of the Sacramental Vicariate of the Western American Diocese and was appointed ruling bishop of two dioceses, the British and Western European , with the title “Bishop of Richmond and Western European” with his seat in London ^[24] .

in English

• Rediscovering Old Testament Christianity, Again 23.3 (2001) 4-11.
• “Self and the Church: A review of E. Moore's“ Defining Orthodoxy: Is it Possible? ”, Theandros: An Online Journal of Orthodox Christian Theology and Philosophy <www.theandros.com> 1/1 (September 2003).
• “Gnomic will and a challenge to the true humanity of Christ in Maximus Confessor,” Studia Patristica 42 (2006) 237–242.
• "The Mother of God as mediatrix in Orthodox and Roman Catholic thought," Sobornost, incorporating Eastern Churches Review, 26.1 (2004) 6-26.
• "The role of Mary as co-recapitulator in St Irenaeus of Lyons," Vigiliae Christianae 58.2 (2004) 117-137.
• “Children in Paradise: Adam and Eve as„ infants “in Irenaeus of Lyons", Journal of Early Christian Studies
• "To test or preserve? The prohibition of Gen 2.16-17 in the thought of two second-century exegetes ”[Irenaeus and Theophilus], Gregorianum 86 (2005) 723-741.
• “Two-natured man: an anthropology of transfiguration,” Pro Ecclesia 14.4 (2005) 413-432.
• First Annual Lenten Retreat at the Holy Virgin Cathedral // website of the Western American Diocese Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, April 1, 2007
• “An exegesis of conformity: textual subversion of subversive texts,” in K. Cooper and J. Gregory (eds.), Discipline and Diversity (Studies in Church History, vol. 43; Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2007).
• Impatience and Humanity's Sinful State in Tertullian of Carthage, Vigiliae Christianae 62 (2008) 107-132.
• “Taking Stock of our Struggle”, Orthodox Word 44.263 (2008 [9]).
• “The Church,” in M. Cunningham-Corran and E. Theokritoff (eds.), Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Theology (Cambridge: The University Press, 2008).
• “Scripture, graphe, and the status of Hermas in Irenaeus,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 53.1 (2009) 29-66.
• The Orthodox Study Bible: Septuagint Old Testament (California: Thomas Nelson Publishers, February 2008) - editor, translator, and chair of prophetical books translations.
• A Century on Prayer, Orthodox Word no. 268 (2009).
• Irenaeus on Creation: The Cosmic Christ and the Saga of Redemption (Brill, 2008).
• Of God and Man: Theology as Anthropology from Irenaeus to Athanasius (T&T Clark, 2009).
• “God,” in J. Bingham (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought (New York: Routledge, 2009).
• “Sinful nature as second nature in Tertullian of Carthage,” Studia Patristica (2010).
• "Their proclamation has gone out into all the earth ..." // West-American diocese, 2010
• St. Irenaeus of Lyons: Against the Heresies, Book 3 (Paulist Press: Ancient Christian Writers, 2012).
• The Beginnings of a Life of Prayer (St Herman's Press, 2013).
• "The Poverty of Christ that Makes Men Rich," in Spiritual Spring 1.3 (2014).
• Beauty Will Save the World, in Spiritual Spring 2.3 (2014).
• “On the Service of the Anathemas, or, more properly, The Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy”, in Orthodox Word no. 298 (June 2015).
• '' One Thing Needful ': The Significance of the Divine Liturgy in the Life of the Monastic Brotherhood' 2016. (translated from Russian)
• “Traditions of Orthodox Monasticism”, in the Atlas of Orthodox Monasteries of the USA (Assembly of Bishops Press, forthcoming 2016).
• “Obedience, Experience, Transformation and the Confessor-Priest: A Dimension of the Legacy of St Symeon the New Theologian in Orthodox Pastoral Life,” Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Patristic Studies, Sts. Cyril & Methodius Institute for Postgraduate Studies (Moscow: Forthcoming, 2016).

in Russian

• First Lenten Orthodox Seminar at the Cathedral in San Francisco , official site of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, April 1, 2007
• “The One for Need” The Significance of the Divine Liturgy in the Life of the Monastic Brotherhood ”, Nativity Readings Conference, Moscow, January 2015

• Monachos
• Academics & Publications
• Irenaeus, Bishop of Sacramento (ROCOR), Vicar of the Western American Diocese (Steenberg Matthew Craig) on patriarchia.ru
• Archimandrite Irenaeus (Steenberg): “In our Orthodox tradition, the holy fathers are the foundation of our lives”