Department for External Church Relations
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Archbishop Agapit of Stuttgart passed away to the Lord
Archbishop Agapit of Stuttgart, 65, Vicar of the diocese of Berlin and Germany. Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, passed away unto the Lord on 28 May 2020, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent a message of condolences upon the demise of Archbishop Agapit to the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, to Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany and to the clergy and laity of the diocese of Berlin and Germany.
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Archbishop Agapit (his secular name Alexander Vladimirovich Gorachek) was born on 29 September 1955 to a Czech family in Germany. He finished a high school in Frankfurt-am-Main and then studied at the department of architecture in Darmstadt but in his wish to take monastic vows he gave up studies.
In 1979, he joined the monastic community organized at the St. Elizabeth church in Wiesbaden by the rector of the church, Archimandrite Mark (Arndt), which moved to the St. Job of Pochaev monastery in Munich after its spiritual leader was consecrated as bishop on 30 November 1980.
On 9 November 1981, he was consecrated Hierodeacon and on 8 April 1991 he consecrated Hieromonk.
In 1995, he was elevated to the rank of abbot. He fulfiled various monastic tasks in the monastery, among them, those involved in publishing.
On 20 October2000, he was elected as Bishop of Stuttgart, Vicar of the diocese of Berlin and Germany, at the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Church Outside Russia.
He was nominated as bishop on 30 April 2001 and was consecrated on the 1st of May at the Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Munich.
By the decision of the ROCOR Bishops’ Council held from May 10 to 17, 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the newly established Publishing Council of the Russian Church Outside Russia.
On 13 June 2017, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop by the ROCOR Bishops’ Council.
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