Bishop Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy (; born 27 July 1975) is a Kazakh Roman Catholic prelate, who currently serves as the Titular Bishop of Maiuca and

Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda The Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church, suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Mary Most Holy in Astana, yet remains subject to the missionary Congregation for the Evangelizatio ...

since 29 June 2021.

Early life and education

Zinkovskiy was born in the present day

Akmola Region Akmola Region (, ; ) is a centrally located regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. It was known as Tselinograd Oblast during Soviet Union, Soviet rule. Its capital is Kökşetau. The national capital, Astana, is enclosed by the region, but ...

in a family of a Polish descents. His grandparents were forcibly deported by the Soviets from present day

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

. His family emigrated to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1997. After graduation of the school education in

Shortandy Shortandy (, ''Şortandy''), is a village in northern-central Kazakhstan. It is the seat of Shortandy District in Aqmola Region Akmola Region (, ; ) is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. It was known as Tselinograd Oblast during Soviet ru ...

, he joined Major Theological Seminary in

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

, Poland (1992–1998) and was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

for the Diocese of Karaganda on 1 August 1999, after completed his philosophical and theological studies.

Pastoral and educational work

He returned to Kazakhstan and began to work in the formational and pastoral camps. Fr. Zinkovskiy was a prefect in the Major Theological Seminary in Karaganda (1998–1999) and assistant priest in the St. Joseph parish in Maikuduk (1999–2001), with the break during 2001–2003, when he studied at the

Pontifical University of the Holy Cross Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (, ) is a Roman Catholic university under the Curial Congregation for Catholic Education, now entrusted to the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, or more commonly called Opus Dei. It was started i ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with the licentiate of the philosophy degree. Returning to Karaganda, he was appointed a lecturer of philosophy at the Interdiocesan Seminary. At the same time, in 2003–2011, he served as a parish priest, first in Balkhash (2003–2009), and then in

Temirtau Temirtau (; ) is a city in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan. The population was 170,481 in the 1999 census, rising to 210,590 in 2015. The city is located on the Nura River (the Samarkand Reservoir), northwest of Karaganda. History The first ...

(2009–2011). In 2011, Fr. Yevgeniy was appointed chancellor of the diocesan curia and editor-in-chief of the Kazakh Catholic magazine ''Credo''. During 2014–2015, he was also the diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Karaganda, during vacancy of this see. Since 2015 Fr. Zinkovskiy holds the positions of

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and chancellor of the curia of the Diocese of Karaganda. In 2018, he received his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the

Pontifical University of John Paul II The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow () is an academic institution located in Kraków, Poland, that offers graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and church history. It derived from the theology faculty of Jagiellonian Unive ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland.

Prelate

On 29 June 2021 Fr. Zinkovskiy was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Maiuca. On 12 September 2021 he was consecrated as bishop by Bishop

Adelio Dell'Oro Adelio Dell'Oro is the Italian-born Catholic Bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Biography Early life and education Born on 31 July 1948 in Milan, Italy. His first cousin is Italo Dell'Oro, who is now an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdioces ...

and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

. On 29 April 2022 he was elected the General Secretary of the newly created Bishops' Conference of Central Asia.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinkovskiy, Yevgeniy 1975 births Living people People from Akmola Region Kazakhstani people of Polish descent Pontifical University of the Holy Cross alumni Pontifical University of John Paul II alumni Kazakhstani Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Francis