Moscow, March 22, 2023
Photo: spzh.news
His Grace Bishop Theophylact of Mytischi of the Russian Orthodox Church reposed in the Lord today at the age of 73.
He served the Church in various capacities, including 21 years as a hierarch.
May his memory be eternal!
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Bp. Theophylact was born on April 30, 1949 in the Smolensk Province.
After serving in the army and receiving an education, he began working in the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1975, where he remained until 1990.
From 1978 to 1984, he studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary and Academy, graduating with a doctoral degree in theology.
On January 6, 1982, he was ordained a deacon. On April 29, 1983, he was tonsured at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. On August 28, 1983, he was ordained a hieromonk. On December 4, 1984, he was elevated to the rank of Igumen.
From 1984 to 1989, he taught at and headed the library at the theological schools. He also helped organize the educational process at the newly reopened Kiev theological schools.
On December 14, 1991, he was appointed abbot of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra’s Gethsemane-Chernigov Skete, which was newly returned to the Church. Over the course of 10 years, the skete was revived from the ruins.
On April 29, 1995, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
On April 20, 2002, he was consecrated Bishop of Bryansk. During his ministry there, six monasteries were opened, and dozens of churches were returned, restored, and built.
From 2005 to 2017, he served as a member of the Commission for Interaction with the Old Believers.
In December 2011, he was appointed Bishop of Dmitrov, vicar of the Moscow Diocese. On July 16, 2013, he was appointed abbot of St. Andrew’s Monastery in Moscow.
From February 2014 to December 2018, he served as Executive Director of the Synodal Library of the Moscow Patriarchate. He also served for a time as Deputy Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate and Chairman of the Moscow Diocesan Commission for the Canonization of Saints.
On April 13, 2021, he was titled Bishop of Mytischi.
In November 2021, he was suspended as abbot of St. Andrew’s Monastery after video surfaced of him striking and berating a priest in the altar. On December 29, 2021, he was placed into retirement and assigned to live at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.
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