Metropolitan Theodore (, secular name Nikolai Lvovich Kazanov, ; born 10 July 1973), is a

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 ...

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 ...

. He is the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...

and holds the title of "Metropolitan of

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

and

Kamyshin Kamyshin ( rus, Камышин, p=kɐˈmɨʂɨn) is a city in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volgograd Reservoir of the Volga River, in the estuary of the Kamyshinka River. Its population was Past populations for Kam ...

Early life

Kazanov was born in 1973 to a family of employees in the Soviet city of

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

Academic career

In 1988, he graduated from the 8th grade of secondary school No. 33 of the city of Yaroslavl and entered the Yaroslavl College of Railway Transport with a degree in Automation - Telemechanics. In 1992, after graduating from college, he entered the Yaroslavl Polytechnic Institute, which in 1997 he would graduate with a degree in Automobiles and Automotive Economy. From 1998 to 2000 Kazanov studied at the Yaroslavl Theological College. On 30 June 2000, Kazanov was tonsured with the mantel and bestowed the name Theodore in honor of the Saint

Theodore the Black Duke Theodore Rostislavich nicknamed Theodore the Black (c. 1230s – 1298), Феодор Ростиславич Чёрный (Чёрмный) or Fyodor the Black in Russian ( Fyodor or Fedor being the Russian version of Theodore), is a saint ...

, a monk and miracle worker who preached in Smolensky and Yaroslavl. Kazanov was tonsured by , the Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov. From 2006 to 2010 he studied at the correspondence sector of the

Moscow Theological Seminary Moscow Theological Academy () is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to the Slavic Greek Latin Academy, which was founded in 1685 by th ...

Religious life

As Priest

On 2 July 2000, Theodore was ordained a deacon by Archbishop Mikhey, and on 16 July 2000 he was ordained a presbyter. From 2000 until his appointment as bishop he served in various parishes and monasteries of the Yaroslavl diocese. In 2002 Theodore was chosen as the personal secretary for the Mikhey, the archbishop of Yaroslavl, a post he would occupy until the latter's death in 2005. In Spring of 2007 he was elevated to the rank of

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

on the feast of Easter. On 23 October 2007 Theodore was appointed chairman of the department for interaction with medical institutions of the Yaroslavl diocese, and on 29 April 2009 he was appointed dean of the parishes of

Nekrasovsky District Nekrasovsky District () is an administrativeLaw #12-z and municipalLaw #65-z district (raion), one of the seventeen in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. It is located in the east of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative center An ...

of the

Yaroslavl Region Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

, a post he would occupy until 22 October 2011. By the decision of 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 ...

of 24 December 2010, Theodore was appointed the chairman of the diocesan department for charity, social ministry and interaction with medical institutions. On 22 October 2010, without being relieved of his duties, he was appointed Acting Viceroy of the newly opened Kirillo-Afanasievsky Monastery in the city of Yaroslavl. On 28 May 2011, without being relieved of his former duties, he was appointed rector of the Iliinsky church in the city of Yaroslavl, and on 26 July, he was rector of the bishops' courtyard of the Lazarus Church of the Four-Day City of Yaroslavl. On 5 May 2012, he was appointed rector of the hospital church of St. Blessed Matrona of Moscow at Clinical Hospital No. 5 of the city of Yaroslavl.

As Bishop

On 24 December 2015, it was decided by the

, he was elected to be bishop of Pereslavl and

Uglich Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population: History The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is thou ...

. The next day on 25 December in the Church of All Saints of the Patriarchal and Synodal residences in the Danilov Monastery, of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga elevated him 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 ...

. On 26 December 2015, in the Throne Hall of the

Cathedral of Christ the Savior The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the third tallest Orthodox C ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, archimandrite Theodore was officially nominated to be the next Bishop of Pereslavl and Uglich. On 27 December 2015, in the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Yasenevo, the consecration where Theodore became Bishop of Pereslavl and Uglich took place, performed by

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow Kirill or Cyril (, , secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, ; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009. Prior to beco ...

, of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, Metropolitan Cyril (Nakonechny) of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, Bishop of Dmitrov, Bishop Benjamin (Likhomanov) of Rybinsk and Danilov, and Bishop of Voskresensk. On 28 December 2018, by the decision of the Holy Synod, Theodore was appointed bishop of

and

and head of the Volgograd Metropolis. As a result on 3 January 2019, Patriarch Kirill elevated Theadore to the rank of

in a ceremony at the Patriarchal Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. On 26 February 2019 Theodore was included in the Public Chamber of the

Volgograd Region Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the lower Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. ...

after the early termination of powers of one of the members, Bishop of Gorodishchensky and vicar of the Volgograd Diocese Andrei Igumnov. Theodore was both praised and criticized for his response to the 2020 coronavirus, implementing many safety precautions that were recommended but not following these restrictions himself and not cancelling Easter services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodore 1973 births Living people People from Yaroslavl Soviet military personnel Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops