The Diocese of Chersonesus (, , also called Diocese of Korsun) is a diocese of 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 ...

which covers the territory of

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and

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. This diocese is part of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe since 28 December 2018. The current primate of the Diocese of Chersonesus is

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Anthony (Sevryuk) since 30 May 2019. The primate of the diocese of Chersonesus is also the primate of the PEWE.

History

The diocese with its headquarter in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, was established on January 5, 1960, as part of the Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, when Archbishop of Clichy received the title of "Metropolitan of Chersonesus". The diocese was named after

Chersonesus Chersonesus, contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson (), was an Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlers from He ...

, called ''Korsun'' in Russian ( from

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian) was a language (or a group of dialects) used by the East Slavs from the 7th or 8th century to the 13th or 14th century, until it diverged into the Russian language, Russian and Ruthenian language ...

), an ancient city in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, founded as a colony by the Greeks. According to a legend, it was there that Prince Vladimir of Kiev decided to become a Christian, opening a new page in the history of Russia. From 1979 to 1990, the Diocese of Chersonesus did not have a ruling Bishop, because the clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate from the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

were considered by the French authorities to be Soviet agents, and obtaining a visa for them was very difficult. In addition, the financial situation of the priests of the

Exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Con ...

of the Moscow Patriarchate was quite difficult. By the decision of the Council of Bishops of the ROC on January 30–31, 1990, the Western European Exarchate was abolished, and its dioceses, including the Chersonesus one, were subordinated directly to the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

and the

Patriarch of Moscow The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the ordinary of the diocese ...

. Only after the fall of the

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did this situation change. New emigrants from the

former USSR The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

rushed to the countries under the jurisdiction of the Diocese, which made it possible to replenish the already existing parishes and create new ones. In addition, some parishes of the diocese were established in Spain and Portugal, where there were no parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate previously. The

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...

were characterized by an increase in the number of parishes and parishioners — primarily due to migrants from the countries of the former USSR, the aggravation of the relations with the Western European Exarchate of Russian parishes and the normalization of relations with the of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia 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 ...

(ROCOR). On December 27, 2007, by the decision of the

, the patriarcal parishes in Italy were separated from the diocese of Chersonesus and "subordinated to the canonical jurisdiction of the Bishop who bears the ". On April 15, 2008, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church ordered to open an Orthodox Seminary in France near Paris. Bishop of Chersonesus was appointed Chancellor of the Seminary. On December 25, 2013, after numerous approvals, a project was approved for the construction of an Orthodox Cathedral and a Russian spiritual and cultural center in Paris. The official opening of the spiritual and cultural center took place on October 19, 2016, and on December 4 of the same year Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia led the consecration of the Holy Trinity church in Paris. On December 28, 2018, the

Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church () serves by Church statute as the supreme administrative governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the periods between Bishops' Councils. Members Chairman * Kirill – Patriarch of ...

formed the Spanish-Portuguese diocese which consists of Spain, Portugal and Andorra. At the same time, the diocese of Chersonesus and the newly created Spanish-Portuguese diocese became part of the newly established Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe (PEWE), and

John (Roshchin) Metropolitan John ( secular name Georgy Yevgenyevich Roshchin, ; 22 October 1974) is a retired Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the US-based titular bishop , vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and ...

was appointed as primate of the PEWE and of the diocese of Chersonesus. Before that, the Diocese of Chersonesus took charge of the Orthodox communities of the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

in France, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. On 30 May 2019, the Holy Synod of the ROC decided to appoint archbishop Anthony (Sevryuk) of Vienna and Budapest as primate of the PEWE and of the diocese of Chersonesus. At the same time,

, who was until then the primate of the PEWE and of the diocese of Chersonesus, was appointed as primate of the ROC diocese of Vienna and Budapest to replace archbishop Anthony. On 31 May 2019, archbishop Anthony was consecrated

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

because of his appointment as exarch of the PEWE.

Ruling bishops

* (5 January 1960 - 14 January 1963) * Anthony (Bloom) (14 January 1963 - 12 September 1968), administrator, Metropolitan of Sourozh *

Peter (L'Huillier) Paul L'Huillier (December 3, 1926, Paris, France – November 19, 2007, Bronxville, New York) was a prominent scholar and the archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of New York and New Jersey. Biography Paul L'Huillier converted ...

(12 September 1968 - 16 November 1979) *

Philaret (Vakhromeyev) Metropolitan Philaret (; ; 21 March 1935 – 12 January 2021), born Kirill Varfolomeyevich Vakhromeyev () was the emeritus Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus and the leader of the Belarusian Orthodox Church ...

(16 November 1979 - 28 March 1984), administrator, Metropolitan of Minsk * Vladimir (Sabodan) (28 March 1984 - 20 February 1990), administrator, Metropolitan of Rostov * Kirill (Gundyaev) (20 February - 27 October 1990), administrator, Archbishop of Smolensk * (27 October 1990 - 18 February 1992) * (14 January 1993 - 31 March 1999) * Kirill (Gundyaev) (31 March - 6 October 1999), administrator Metropolitan of Smolensk * (6 October 1999 - 24 December 2010) * Nestor (Sirotenko) (24 December 2010 - 28 December 2018) *

(28 December 2018 - 30 May 2019) * Anthony (Sevryuk) (30 May 2019-)

References

External links

Information about the Diocese of Chersonesus on the official website of the ROC
{{Christianity in Switzerland 1960 establishments in France Eastern Orthodoxy in France Eastern Orthodoxy in Switzerland Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church Christian organizations established in 1960

History

Ruling bishops

See also

References

External links