Berlin, December 1, 2020
Met. Mark (left) with Met. Hilarion of ROCOR (right). Photo: orthodox-europe.org
On November 30, 1980, His Eminence Metropolitan Mark (Arndt), then an archimandrite, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was consecrated to the episcopacy and appointed Bishop of Munich and Southern Germany.
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of his episcopal ministry, for which he was congratulated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and honored with the Order of St. Innocent of Moscow and Kolomensk, 1st Degree.
In his greetings to the Metropolitan, Pat. Kirill recalls his years of service:
In your youth, you converted to Orthodox Christianity, to which your study of Slavic languages and literature greatly contributed, and also your friendship with Russian emigres. Having come to love God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Mark 12:30), you decided to dedicate your life entirely to Him, making your monastic vows and accepting the priestly rank. Beholding your zeal, the Creator and Caregiver of the world elevated you to your higher level of hierarchal service.
Over recent decades, you have devoted no small efforts to the development of Church life in the region entrusted to you. Having archpastoral care for the spiritual well-being of your flock, you tirelessly preach the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23), striving to serve as a steward of the Mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).
“In recognition of your labors and for this important anniversary, I deem it worthy to honor you with the Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomensk, 1st Degree,” the Patriarch writes.
The Order was established by His Holiness Patriarch Alexiy II and the Holy Synod of the Russian Church in 1996 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Innocent of Moscow. The 1st Degree is awarded to primates and hierarchs of the Orthodox Church for their missionary and educational service.
In his own letter of congratulations to Met. Mark, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), the First Hierarch of ROCOR, writes:
Today, joining in spirit with the common prayers of the clergy and flock of the German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, I express my heartfelt greetings to Your Eminence, Vladyka Mark, on this good and bright celebration of the fortieth anniversary of your personal Pentecost! The celebration of this important date for the Ruling Bishop of the German Diocese is its own joy and honor. Let us thank God, for it is said: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). All of us who have at least once met Your Eminence know of your great spirit and invaluable contributions to the Russian Church Abroad, the Mother Church and all of Russian Orthodoxy.
Last December, Vladyka Mark, the longest-serving ROCOR hierarch, was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan in honor of his many decades of episcopal service. He was previously elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 1990.
OrthoChristian has featured several articles by His Eminence Met. Mark, which can be read here.
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Met. Mark was born in then-East Germany in 1941 and moved to the west in 1954, settling in Frankfurt am Main. He studied Slavic languages and completed his doctorate in Ancient Russian Literature, entering the Orthodox Church in 1964 and later enrolling in the Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade. There he came under the influence of the renowned Serbian Orthodox Theologian St. Justin Popovic and he decided to enter the monastic life.
He was tonsured by Bishop Paul of Stuttgart in 1975 and ordained priest in 1976. Four years later Father Mark was consecrated as Vicar Bishop of Munich and Southern Germany in November 1980, and he moved the bishop’s residence to the Monastery of St. Job of Pochaev where he revived the monastery along Athonite lines. Since 1982 he has been ruling bishop of Berlin and Germany, and in 1990 was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. In 1997 he was appointed overseer of the Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, which role he still fulfils.
From 1986 to 2017 His Eminence additionally served as ruling hierarch of the Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland. The current Diocesan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God and Holy Royal Martyrs in Chiswick, London, was constructed at Vladyka Mark’s initiative and under his careful guidance.
Metropolitan Mark is amongst the most senior hierarchs of the whole of the Russian Orthodox Church by length of time since consecration, and is an authority on Church dogmatics, canons and liturgical life.
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