Metropolitan Germogen (),

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

Georgy Ivanovich Maximov, (; 10 January 1861 – 30 June 1945) was bishop of Aksay (9 May 1910 – 1919),

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

Diocese, 23rd Bishop of

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

and Novomoskovsk (1919 – November 1920), Governor of the Russian Orthodox municipalities on

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and North Africa with a seat in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

(1922), Archbishop of

and Novomoskovsk (ROCOR, titular) (1922–1942), member of the Synod of Bishops of the

Russian Orthodox Church Abroad The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (), also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). Currently, t ...

(1924–1942), the head (Patriarch or Metropolitan) of the Croatian Orthodox Church (1942–1945).

Early life

Georgy Ivanovich Maximov was born in 1861 in

Stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

Nogavskaya in the

Don Host Oblast Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Nov ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

family. His father was a church reader (Russian: псаломщик). He finished elementary and parochial school in Nogavskaya and high school in Ust-Medvedicka. He studied from 1879 to 1882, in the Don Theological Seminary in Novocherkassk, and then attended the Spiritual Academy in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. After graduating from the

Kiev Theological Academy The Kiev Theological Academy (1819—1919) was one of the oldest higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, situated in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine). It was considered as the most senior one among simila ...

in 1886, he served as a priest in Novocherkassk, where he remained for years. "He was an extremist in his religious beliefs. Before being tonsured as a monk in December 1890, he castrated himself with his own hands in an attempt to achieve moral perfection through mortification of the flesh." Soon he became principal of the church gymnasium in Ust-Medvedicka in 1894. He left Don Episcopacy in 1902 for

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

, where he became rector of the cathedral in Vladikavkaz. After his wife's death, he was left with six children, the youngest was one year old and the eldest sixteen. By decision of the Holy Synod he was appointed Rector of the seminary in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

in 1906. He became

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

in August 1909, adopting the name ″Germogen″, and was elevated to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

. In May 1910, he was consecrated as Bishop of Aksay in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Vicar of the Don Diocese, and on 18 May, he arrived at the Don Diocese in Novocherkassk for his duties. In 1919, he became the 23rd Bishop of the

and Novomoskovsk (1919 – November 1920) After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in 1917, Germogen condemned

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s′ campaign against Cossacks in the course of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. He was a participant of the Southern Church Council of the Russian Church that took place in

Stavropol Stavropol (, ), known as Voroshilovsk from 1935 until 1943, is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. E ...

from 18 May to 24 May 1919, at which the Church Administration was formed in Southern Russia that adopted ecclesiastical authority in the territory held by the troops of

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. In the spring of 1920, he went from Novorossiysk to

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

by boat (from whence the final evacuation of the White Guard troops took place in November 1920), then on to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and later to the city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, Greece.

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

On 30 May 1922, by the decision of the Russian Church Administration Abroad, he was given charge of Russian Orthodox Christians in Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt. Later that year, he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop and appointed to a position in the United States, but he declined to assume it citing illness; afterwards he resided in the

Novo Hopovo monastery The Novo Hopovo Monastery () is a Serb Orthodox monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain in northern Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Aut ...

, Serbia, in retirement. In 1924–1942, he was a member of the Synod of Bishops of the

, which was based in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

Croatian Orthodox Church

On 3 April 1942, the

Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...

government of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

adopted a law that established the " Croatian Orthodox Church". On 2 June 1942, Germogen was named primate of the Croatian Orthodox Church and enthroned at a ceremony presided over by

Patriarch of All Romania The Patriarch of All Romania (; ) is the title of the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch is officially styled as ''Archbishop of Archdiocese of Bucharest, Bucharest, Metropolitan of Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobruja, Muntenia an ...

Nicodim in the Church of the Holy Transfiguration in Zagreb on 7 June 1942 in presence of top officials of the Independent State of Croatia. He took the oath a day later. He was immediately condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and expelled from its Synod. Patriarch Germogen was, along with other leaders of his organisation, decorated by Pavelić with the Order for Merits.

Execution

After

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

captured Zagreb on 9 May 1945, the Croatian Orthodox Church was abolished, and Germogen was arrested. He, along with three priests of the Croatian Orthodox Church, was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led on 29 June 1945 and executed by firing squad the next day, at age 84.

Heritage and evaluation

On 23 September 2010 the Synod of Bishops of the

Russian True Orthodox Church Russian True Orthodox Church may refer to: *Catacomb Church The Catacomb Church () as a collective name labels those representatives of the Russian Orthodox clergy, laity, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods, etc., who for various reasons ...

(RIPC) held in the Church of Saint John of Kronstadt in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, declared him a martyr. The RIPC is not in communion with the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

nor any of the other canonical Orthodox Churches. The

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

and the RIPC's Serbian counterpart

Serbian True Orthodox Church The Serbian True Orthodox Church (STOC; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска истинска православна црква, СИПЦ, Srpska istinska pravoslavna crkva, SIPC) is a denomination that separated from the larger Serbian Orthodox Church i ...

expressed outrage over this act. On 15 December 2010, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian True Orthodox Church issued an official document of the suspension of that Act: "The Synod regrets the hasty decision and requests forgiveness from the clergy and laity of the brotherly Serbian True Orthodox Church (SIPC) and hereby suspends the Act".RIPC veneration suspended
anti-raskol.ru; accessed 4 July 2015.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * *

External links

* Vladimir Geiger
Smrtna presuda Vojnog suda Komande grada Zagreba poglavaru Hrvatske pravoslavne crkve u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj mitropolitu Germogenu 1945. godine''Archived''
, Centar za politološka istraživanja * Miloš Obrknežević
Development Of Orthodoxy In Croatia And The Croatian Orthodox Church
accessed 4 August 2015.
Association of Croatian Orthodox Believers
accessed 4 August 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Germogen 1861 births 1945 deaths People from Kotelnikovsky District People from Don Host Oblast 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Croatian Orthodox Church Croatian bishops Executed Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Executed White Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany Eastern Orthodox clergy convicted of crimes Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Primates of independent Eastern Orthodox churches Executed people from Rostov Oblast Yugoslav anti-communists Kiev Theological Academy alumni People killed by Yugoslav Partisans Civilians who were court-martialed People executed by Yugoslavia by firing squad Croatian anti-communists Russian anti-communists