Porfiry (Plant)

Childhood and Youth

February 22, 1952 in the city of Truro. His mother was at that time an active member of the Church of England, and his father was a Catholic ^[1] .

I learned about Orthodoxy in 1964 from television reports about the meeting of the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI . After that, he began to listen to the broadcasts of conversations of Metropolitan Anthony of Bloom (Bloom) , especially his television discussions with the atheist ^[1] .

Studying in Rome

In 1970 he went to Rome to receive a Roman Catholic theological education, studied at the Venerable English College (1970-1977), at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1970-1977), and graduate school in sacramental theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm (1975-1976) ^{[ 1]} .

In Rome he took with him the book of Metropolitan Anthony "Prayer and Life." During training, he became acquainted with the Russian liturgical tradition, met with the Russian clergy; among his fellow practitioners were Orthodox clergymen — Andrei (Wade) from the Moscow Patriarchate and Pavel Burkholt from the Orthodox Church in America , with whom they visited Russicum . These contacts did not lead to his conversion at that time, but, by his own admission made in the 2010s, “The seeds sown here through contact with the Eastern Orthodox Churches were cultivated in me over the following years” ^[1] .

He devoted his master's thesis to the spiritual leadership in the Western tradition based on the works of Thomas Merton . Upon graduation, he had a bachelor's degree in philosophy, a bachelor of theology, and a master of theology ^[1] .

Catholic priest

He took the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church and in 1977 returned to England to begin ministry in its southwestern part ^[1] .

From 1977 to 1982, he served as the second priest in Newton Abbot and Devon, where there were four churches that made up the parish, as well as a local hospital and prison, and served as chaplain of the hospital and prison, where he regularly performed the Liturgy and nurtured prisoners and staff ^[1] .

From 1982 to 1986 he served as the personal secretary of the bishop. While living in his house, he participated in daily prayers with him, made a schedule of meetings, monitored correspondence and phone calls, household affairs, and the preparation of pastoral visits, during which he accompanied him and was responsible for organizing divine services ^[1] .

From 1986 to 1994 he served as a parish priest in St. Austell, Cornwall, and the diocesan director of callings ^[2] .

As a parish priest of an extensive parish in St. Austell, where about 400 people visited on weekends, he raised the necessary funds and built a new church instead of the old abandoned and dilapidated parish buildings, he became the curator of the development and implementation of the program for catechesizing children and youth from 5 to 18 years old ^[1] .

As the diocesan director of callings, he was responsible for preparing clergy for the diocese, evaluating candidates for admission to the seminary, guiding students in the learning process, organizing pastoral practice for seminaries, and liaising with seminary staff ^[1] .

During this period, at the request of the bishop, he oversaw the reconstruction of the cathedral, the formation and work of a committee of clergy and specialists created for this purpose. He was responsible for the presentation of various church projects, both within the diocese and at the national level ^[1] .

From 1994 to 1998, he served as a parish priest in Axminster and Lyme Regis, where his special care was to take care of children who were abused. He proposed projects on collective activities and pastoral care, as well as on the development of relationships with specialists in this field ^[1] .

From 1998 to 2008, he served as a parish priest at a branch in Topsem, Exeter. Throughout this period, I was also chaplain at the Royal Naval Infantry Command Center in Devon

During this period, at the initiative of the bishop, he began training in the field of analytical psychotherapy.

He also began to go to service in Orthodox churches when other duties allowed.

In September 2008, he left the ministry of the parish priest and began working as a psychotherapist with part-time employment ^[1]

Orthodox priest

Since 2008, he began to regularly attend the Orthodox Church of St. Anne in Exeter, where, by his own admission, he gained the feeling of a native home. After several years of searching, I came to the decision to turn to Orthodoxy.

On May 27, 2012, at the High Leigh Conference Center in the town of Hoddesdon , Hertfordshire , Archbishop Gabriel of Comans Gabriel (de Wilder) was annexed to the Orthodox Church under the name Alban Plant in the presbytery through the consecration of the Divine Liturgy ^[3] . After that, he was appointed Archbishop Gabriel to the parish of the holy prophet Elijah in Devon ^[4] , responsible for services in the church of St. Anne in Exeter.

On September 13, 2014, in the Kazan Skete in Moisin (France), Archbishop Job of Telmis ( Getchei ) was tonsured a monk with the name Porfiry in honor of the elder Porfiry Kavsokalivit ^[5] .

On May 24, 2015, Archbishop Job (Getcha) was awarded the right to wear a golden pectoral cross ^[6] .

On March 1, 2016, the Council of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Parishes in Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, along with Bishop John (Renneto), was nominated a candidate for archbishop ^[7] . In accordance with the Charter and the Tomos, which the Archbishopric follows, these candidates were submitted for approval by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople ^[8] . On March 28 of the same year, at an extraordinary general assembly, he got 23 votes out of 182, losing to Bishop John (Renneto), who got 150 votes ^[9] .

On November 14, 2016, at the next assembly of the Russian Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, he was elected vicar of this jurisdiction. The adoption by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople of this decision is expected ^[10] .