Alfeyev Grigory Valerievich (Hilarion)

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

Biography

Alfeev Grigory Valerievich was born on July 24, 1966 in Moscow.

Grandfather - Grigory Markovich Dashevsky, historian, author of books on the civil war in Spain, died at the front in 1944. Father - Valery Grigorievich Dashevsky, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics. sciences, author of monographs on organic chemistry. He left the family early, then died due to an accident. Mother - writer Valeria Anatolyevna Alfeeva, raised her son alone.

He was baptized at the age of 11.

From 1973 to 1984 he studied at the Moscow Secondary Special Music School. Gnesins in the class of violin and composition.

In 1981 he entered the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on the Assumption Enemy (Moscow) as a reader. Since 1983, he was a subdeacon with Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev) of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsky and worked as a freelance employee of the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In 1984, after graduation, he entered the composer department of the Moscow State Conservatory.

In 1984-86 he served in the army, in the border troops as a brass band musician.

In January 1987, at his own request, he left his studies at the Moscow Conservatory and entered as a novice at the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery.

On June 19, 1987, in the Cathedral of the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery, he was tonsured a monk, and on June 21 in the same cathedral he was ordained hierodeacon by Archbishop of Vilnius and Lithuania Victoria (Belyaev).

On August 19, 1987, in the Prechistensky Cathedral in Vilnius, with the blessing of Archbishop Viktorin of Vilnius and Lithuania, he was ordained hieromonk by Archbishop Anatoly (Kuznetsov) of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

In 1988-1990 served as rector of churches in the city of Telšiai, the village of Kolainiai and the village of Tituvenai of the Vilna diocese. In 1990 he was appointed rector of the Annunciation Cathedral of the city of Kaunas.

In 1990, as a delegate from the clergy of the Vilnius and Lithuanian diocese, he participated in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1989 he graduated in absentia from the Moscow Theological Seminary, and in 1991 - from the Moscow Theological Academy with a degree of candidate of theology.

In 1991-1993 taught homiletics, the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, dogmatic theology and Greek at Moscow theological schools.

In 1992-1993 taught the New Testament at the Orthodox St. Tikhon Theological Institute and pathology at the Russian Orthodox University of St. Apostle John the Theologian.

In 1993 he graduated from the branch of the graduate school of the MDA at the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In 1993, he was sent for an internship at the University of Oxford, where, under the guidance of Bishop Callist of Dioclea (Patriarchate of Constantinople), he worked on a doctoral dissertation on the topic "Rev. Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition," combining his studies with service in the parishes of the Diocese of Sourozh.

In 1995 he graduated from Oxford University with a Ph.D. From 1995 he worked in the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, from August 1997 to 2002 he headed the secretariat for inter-Christian relations.

In 1995-1997 he taught pathology at the Smolensk and Kaluga theological seminaries. In 1996, he lectured on dogmatic theology at the St. German Orthodox Theological Seminary in Alaska (USA).

Since January 1996, he was a clergyman of the church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine on Vpolye in Moscow (Compound of the Orthodox Church in America).

From 1996 to 2004 he was a member of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1997-1999 he lectured on dogmatic theology at St. Vladimir Theological Seminary in New York (USA) and on the mystical theology of the Eastern Church at the theological faculty of Cambridge University (Great Britain).

In 1999, the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology.

On Easter 2000, in the Sacred Troitsky Church in Khoroshev (Moscow), Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was elevated to the rank of hegumen.

2002

Conflict in the Diocese of Sourozh

By the decision of the Holy Synod of December 27, 2001, Hegumen Hilarion (Alfeev) on the elevation to the rank of archimandrite was determined to be bishop of Kerch, vicar of the Sourozh diocese (diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland).

On January 7, 2002, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, in the Smolensk Cathedral, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

January 14, 2002 in Moscow, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, ordained bishop. The consecration was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, accompanied by ten archpastors, including Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (later His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia).

Soon after arriving in the Diocese of Sourozh (London) in early 2002, Bishop Hilarion of Kerch had an extremely acute conflict. The party of dissatisfied with the activities of Bishop Hilarion was led by the senior vicar - Bishop Vasily (Osborn).

On May 19, 2002, the ruling bishop, Metropolitan Anthony, criticized the actions of Bishop Hilarion in his open Address. The appeal reported that Bishop Hilarion has 3 months to "discover the essence of the Diocese of Sourozh and form an opinion on whether he is ready or not to continue in the spirit and in accordance with the ideals that we have developed for 53 years. If he is not sure, and we are not sure, then we, by common agreement, will part ways "; it also spoke of Bishop Hilarion:

'He's got a lot of gifts

that I've never possessed and never will. He is young, he is strong, he is a doctor of theology, he has written several highly praised theological books, and he can make a very significant contribution - but only if we form a team and are united. "

Bishop Hilarion issued a response statement that rejected the charges against him and actually condemned the liturgical practice that had developed in the London Assumption Cathedral of the diocese.

As a result of the irreconcilable confrontation, Bishop Hilarion was recalled from the diocese in July 2002; by the decision of the Synod, the title of Kerch was acquired by the oldest vicar of the diocese, Archbishop Anatoly (Kuznetsov).

Bishop of Podolsky, head of the Russian Orthodox Church at European organizations

By the definition of the Holy Synod of July 17, 2002, Hilarion was appointed bishop of Podolsky, vicar of the Moscow diocese, head of the Representative Office of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations. While in this position, he conducted active information activities, publishing the Europaica electronic bulletin in English, French and German, as well as the Russian-language appendix to this bulletin, Orthodoxy in Europe.

He regularly participated in meetings of the leadership of the European Union with the religious leaders of Europe. During these meetings, he pointed out that tolerance should extend to all traditional religions in Europe:

"Citing Islamophobia and anti-Semitism as an example of a lack of tolerance, political leaders in Europe often forget about various manifestations of Christianophobia and anti-Christianity." According to the bishop, "it is impossible to erase two thousand years of Christianity from the history of Europe. Denying Europe's Christian roots is unacceptable. But the importance of Christianity is not limited to history. Christianity remains the most important spiritual and moral component of European identity. "

He criticized militant secularism, calling on Christians in Europe to dialogue with representatives of secular humanism on the issue of spiritual and moral values. According to the bishop, "the explosion hazard of today's inter-civilization situation" is largely due to the fact that "Western liberal-humanist ideology, based on the idea of ​ ​ its own universality, imposes itself on those people who are brought up in other spiritual and moral traditions and have other value guidelines." In this situation, "religious people need to realize the special responsibility that is assigned to them and enter into a dialogue with a secular worldview, if dialogue with him is impossible, then in an open confrontation with him."

The guests of the Brussels representative office of the Russian Orthodox Church during his leadership by Bishop Hilarion were Queen Paola of Belgium, Russian Foreign Minister I. S. Ivanov, Primate of the Finnish Autonomous Orthodox Church Archbishop Leo, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Archbishop Jukka Paarma, Archbishop of Prague and Czech Lands Christopher.

2003: Bishop of Vienna and Austria

By the definition of the Holy Synod of May 7, 2003, he was appointed bishop of Vienna and Austria with the mandate of the interim administration of the Budapest and Hungarian diocese and with the preservation of the post of Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations in Brussels.

In 2003, large-scale restoration work began in the Vienna Cathedral of St. Nicholas. On May 24, 2007, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin visited the cathedral. Guests of the cathedral were also Archbishop of Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Prague and Czech Lands Christopher, Chairman of the National Assembly of Austria Andreas Kohl.

In 2004, the overhaul of the church in the name of St. Lazarus the Four Days in Vienna began and was completed in 2006.

On October 13, 2004, the trial on the ownership of the Holy Assumption Cathedral in Budapest, which tried to take the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Russian Church, was completed. Between 2003 and 2006, the cathedral was repeatedly visited by senior officials of the Russian state, including Prime Ministers M. Kasyanov and M. Fradkov. March 1, 2006 the cathedral was visited by V.V. Putin. The result of this visit was the decision of the Hungarian authorities to overhaul the cathedral.

He advocated the possibility of using the Russian language in Orthodox worship, making a reservation that he considered it unacceptable to abandon Church Slavonic:

There are many barriers between the "man from the street" and the Orthodox Church - linguistic, cultural, psychological and others. And we, the clergy, do very little to help a person overcome these barriers.<…> In our foreign dioceses, many parishioners, and especially their children, not only do not understand the Slavic language, but also do not understand Russian well. The question of the accessibility, intelligibility of the service is very acute.<…> I think that the rejection of the Slavic language and the translation of the entire service into Russian is unacceptable. However, some parts of the service are quite permissible to read in Russian. For example, psalms, the Apostle, and the Gospel.

On February 1, 2005, he was elected privat-docent of the theological faculty of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in the Department of Dogmatic Theology.

August 24, 2005 awarded the Makariev Prize for the work "The Sacred Secret of the Church. Introduction to the history and problems of Imyaslavl disputes. "

September 29, 2006 called for the creation of an Orthodox Catholic alliance to protect traditional Christianity in Europe. According to the bishop, today it is becoming increasingly difficult to talk about Christianity as a unified system of values shared by all Christians in the world: the gap between "traditionalists" and "liberals" is steadily widening. In this situation, according to the bishop, it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of those Churches that consider themselves "Churches of Tradition," that is, Catholics and Orthodox, including the so-called "pre-Chalcedonian" ancient Eastern Churches.

"I am not talking now about the serious dogmatic differences that exist between these Churches and which should be discussed in the framework of bilateral dialogues. I am talking about the need to conclude between these Churches some strategic alliance, pact, union to protect traditional Christianity as such - protection from all the challenges of our time, be it militant liberalism or militant atheism, "the bishop emphasized

.

2007: Protest at a meeting of the Orthodox Catholic Dialogue Commission in Ravenna

Hilarion participated in the meetings of the Mixed Commission on Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue in 2000 in Baltimore, in 2006 in Belgrade and in 2007 in Ravenna.

On October 9, 2007, he left the meeting of the Mixed Commission on Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue in Ravenna in protest against the decision of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to include representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Church in the Orthodox delegation, despite the fact that "the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the consent of all Orthodox members, proposed a compromise solution that would recognize the disagreement of the Moscow Patriarchate with the status of the autonomous church of Estonia." The meeting participant told the press that the Catholic side, as well as other Orthodox participants, were "somewhat shocked" by the bishop's ultimatum. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at a meeting on October 12, 2007 approved the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation in Ravenna.

As a result, the final document "Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church" was signed in the absence of a delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate. The document, in particular, contains such provisions that the Moscow Patriarchate does not agree with, such as the 39th paragraph of the document, which refers to "bishops of local Churches in communion with the See of Constantinople."

In an interview with the Catholic agency AsiaNews, Metropolitan John (Ziziulas), a representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and co-chairman of the Mixed Commission, said that Bishop Hilarion's position in Ravenna is "an expression of authoritarianism, the purpose of which is to demonstrate the influence of the Moscow Church"; he also stressed that as a result, the Moscow Patriarchate was "isolated, for no other Orthodox Church followed his example."

In response, Bishop Hilarion on October 22, 2007 accused Metropolitan John of "disrupting dialogue" with the Roman Catholic Church. According to the bishop, the departure of the Moscow Patriarchate from dialogue was beneficial to Constantinople: "It is obvious that Constantinople is interested in expanding the Orthodox understanding of primacy in the Ecumenical Church. The "primacy of honor" assigned to Constantinople after 1054, such representatives as Metropolitan John, no longer suits. And in order to turn the "primacy of honor" into real power, the provision on primacy should be reformulated on the model of the papal primate in the Roman Catholic Church. As long as representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate continue to participate in the dialogue, this cannot be achieved. It will be much easier to do without them. "

In an interview on November 15, 2007, Hilarion criticized a number of provisions of the Ravenna document on the merits, but indicated that a formal assessment of this document should be given. He also stated that the number of the Russian Church "exceeds the number of members of all other local Orthodox churches combined." To the question: "Under what circumstances will the Eastern Churches be able to recognize the Pope as the head of the Ecumenical Church?" - replied: "Under no circumstances. The head of the Ecumenical Church is Jesus Christ, and, according to Orthodox understanding, he cannot have a governor on earth. This is the fundamental difference between the Orthodox doctrine of the Church and the Catholic. "

In 2009-2013, within the framework of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission (originally the Synodal Theological Commission), Hilarion led a working group that prepared an analysis of the Ravenna document, as a result, in 2013, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, the document "Position of the Moscow Patriarchate on the issue of primacy in the Ecumenical Church" was adopted, in which disagreement with his position was confirmed.

2008: Rejection of nomination for head of the Orthodox Church in America

In July 2008, after the accession of the Russian Orthodox Church to Bishop Diomede (Dziuban), he sharply criticized the latter.

After the removal of Metropolitan Herman from the post of Primate of the Orthodox Church in America on September 4, 2008, in October 2008, the candidacy of Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) for the post of Primate of the OCA was proposed by several of its clergy. The reasons that prompted the clergy of the OCA to nominate Bishop Hilarion are listed in an article by the former rector of the St. Vladimir Seminary, Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, in whose opinion Bishop Hilarion is "young, bold, smart, educated and tested," "he has an impeccable reputation as an obedient hieromonk and hierarch. He has a fine reputation as a shepherd, teacher, preacher, and confessor. He has extensive experience in the international activities of the Orthodox Church. He speaks fluent English and several other languages. He is respected within and outside the Orthodox Church even by those who disagree with his ideas and actions. "

The nomination of Bishop Hilarion caused a contradictory reaction within the OCA due to the fact that he is a hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate and due to his conflict with the ruling bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh in 2002. By a letter to the Office of the OCA of November 6, 2008, Bishop Hilarion informed that he was refusing the nomination because he believed that the OCA should be led by an American. The leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate supported the position of Bishop Hilarion.

2009: Chairman of the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the church on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow

On March 31, 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod, freeing Bishop Hilarion from the administration of the Vienna-Austrian and Hungarian dioceses, appointed him chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, a permanent member of the Holy Synod with the title "Bishop of Volokolamsk, Vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia." On April 9, 2009, he was appointed rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Mourners" on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow.

On April 20, 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

2010: Elevation to the rank of Metropolitan, rector of churches in Chernigov Lane in Moscow

February 1, 2010 elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.

On August 18, 2010 he was appointed rector of the Patriarchal Compound - the churches of the holy martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov and the Beheading of the head of John the Baptist near Bor.

In 2010, he was elected an honorary doctor of the Russian State Social University and an honorary professor of the Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy.

February 7, 2011 was elected professor of the theological faculty of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in the Department of Dogmatic Theology.

On September 11, 2010, Metropolitan Hilarion celebrated the bishop's liturgy - the first since the opening of the church in Chernigov Lane in the early 1990s.

2011

Registration of an apartment in Spain for 1 million euros

Grigory Alfeev (worldly name of Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church) owns one of the most expensive penthouses of the cooperative Mare Nostrum II in Altea (province of Alicante). This was reported in December 2019 by Novaya Gazeta.

"It sits on the two levels of the final floors, has its own outdoor and enclosed terraces, a barbecue area, a swimming pool, two bedrooms with bathrooms and much more. The total area of ​ ​ apartments in house 25 on Repetidor Street, according to the official booklet of the developer, is more than 235 square meters. m, and the price (as of 2011) is 950,000 euros. The closest neighbor of the hierarch, also known for his composer's talents, is Tamara Gverdtsiteli, and the director and TV presenter Julius Gusman, producer Timur Weinstein, former Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov, Ukrainian businessman Yuriy Aptekar and other respected people own apartments in the house, "Novaya Gazeta writes[1].

According to the publication, at the time of acquisition in 2011, the apartment cost about a million euros. According to one version, the metropolitan did not buy this housing, but received it as a gift from a local entrepreneur Mikhail Botsko. It is also noted that Hilarion does not pay for utilities and has already owed about 20 thousand euros.

Later, in 2020, Metropolitan Hilarion commented on information about the real estate attributed to him in Spain. In an interview with RIA Novosti, he called disinformation of some media reports that he allegedly has an apartment for a million euros in Spain and a six-room apartment in Moscow for 25 million rubles.

In January 2020, the Interlocutor edition wrote that the bishop owns a six-room apartment near the Tretyakovskaya metro station for 25 million rubles.

When asked to comment on media reports, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church noted that "misinformation about an apartment for a million euros in Spain was refuted not only in" Interlocutor, "but also in a number of other publications." "But who is interested in the denials? If there is an order for incriminating evidence, we are interested in incriminating evidence, not reality, "said the Metropolitan.

At the same time, he admitted that he really has an apartment near the Tretyakovskaya metro station, "but not a six-room apartment, but a four-room apartment."

"Its area is 89 square meters. I don't know how much it costs now, it was bought in 2005 for 6 million rubles, "the bishop shared.

He explained that there are bishops whom the church provides with everything necessary, including housing. As a rule, diocesan bishops live in apartments or houses belonging to the church. And bishops who do not have dioceses often live on their own security (Vladyka Hilarion himself does not have a diocese at that time).

"When I was a monk of the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery, I lived there on a full monastery dependency. Then I served in parishes where there were living quarters. In Vienna he lived in a rented apartment, and in Budapest in a church. But the apartment is not attached to the post of chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. Therefore, since returning to Moscow from Vienna, I have been living in my own, and not in church housing, like all other employees of the department, "added the representative of[2] Church[2]

Participation in the consecration of Elpidophorus, heir to the Patriarch of Constantinople

In 2011, at the consecration of the heir to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Elpidophor, Patriarch Bartholomew was accompanied by Metropolitan Illarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church. At one time, they relied on Elpidophor surrounded by Patriarch Kirill.

Later it became clear that the bet did not play - Elpidofor became an ardent conductor of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church. For 2019, he is the actual head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

2014: Trip to Ukraine

On May 9, 2014, Hilarion arrived at the airport of Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) to participate in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Dnepropetrovsk Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Irenaeus, but during the passage of border control he was detained and handed a written notice banning entry to Ukraine without specifying the reasons. Metropolitan Hilarion announced the congratulatory message of the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill in the premises of the border control point and in the same place presented the hero of the day with the Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow of the first degree. On May 12, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded "from the de facto Kyiv authorities comprehensive explanations of such a disrespectful attitude towards the clergyman of high spiritual dignity and bringing appropriate apologies."

2017: Visit by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

On November 22, 2017, Metropolitan Hilarion met Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, as part of his first visit to Russia.

During his visit to the Church of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist near Bor, the Metropolitan told the guest about the history of the Chernigov Patriarchal Compound and about the recently completed restoration work, drew the archbishop's attention to the paintings in the academic church.

Metropolitan Hilarion talked about the purpose of Welby's visit to Russia:

"One of the directions in which the Department of External Church Relations works is the coordination of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of England. And in the General Church Graduate School, we are actively working in the direction of academic exchange. Archbishop Justin Welby decided to visit the OCAD to meet with faculty and students and give them a short lecture. The Archbishop had talks with His Holiness Patriarch Cyril yesterday. A joint declaration was signed. This document calls on the international community to support persecuted Christians in the Middle East. The news has attracted worldwide attention. "

2018: Liturgy held in the Old Rite

In January 2018, in the Church of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist near Bor, the liturgy was first performed by the Old Russian rank. The service, accompanied by representatives of the Old Believer tradition, was headed by the chairman of the Commission on the Affairs of Old Believer Parishes and on interaction with the Old Believers, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

After the liturgy, Bishop Hilarion noted that for the first time at such a service "clerics who serve in the old rite gathered together in such numbers."

- The church is united, because, despite the differences in the views of people, in their worldview, in their social situation, it unites all those who voluntarily wanted to follow Christ. It unites all parishes and all dioceses around the world. This unity cannot be shaken by anything. And if there is any split in the Church, then this is not the Church splitting in two or into several parts, but individual groups of people for one reason or another move away from the Church. The church still retains its unity, - said the Metropolitan in his word.

In conclusion, Bishop Hilarion wished everyone, regardless of tradition, to be aware of themselves "members of the One, Holy, Cathedral and Apostolic Church, about which our Lord Jesus Christ said that" the gates of hell will not overcome it "(Matt. 16, 18)».

2019: Retaining the post of head of the DECR despite the risk of resignation

In February 2019, at a meeting of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the resignation of the head of the DECR, Metropolitan Hilarion, was being prepared. He was supposed to be replaced by the favorite of Patriarch Kirill, Archbishop Anthony (Sevryuk), reported the telegram channel Nezygar. Anthony's appointment was to take place as a result of the "successful completion of Operation Retribution" - the accession of the Russian parishes of Constantinople in Europe to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Anthony was developing this operation and agreed with Archbishop John of Paris on "terms of merger and acquisition." However, the General Assembly of Russian parishes actually voted against joining the Russian Orthodox Church, postponing the final decision on the fate of the archdiocese for June 2019. The decision on Anthony flew off and Hilarion retained his status.

2022: Metropolitan of Budapest and Vengersky

On June 7, 2022, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was appointed Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary with the dismissal of the chairman of the DECR and the rector of the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. It was noted in the media that in the journal of the Holy Synod (No. 61) he did not express his traditional "gratitude for the work incurred" in such cases. On June 10 of the same year, in the Department of External Church Relations, he transferred affairs to his successor, Metropolitan Anthony (Sevryuk).

After the liturgy and vespers with the reading of kneecap prayers on June 12 (Pentecost) in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Mourners" on the Great Horde said to those present, that he received a resolution from Patriarch Kirill "12.06 to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Church of All Mourners Joy on the Great Horde and say goodbye to the flock," and also commented on his removal from all positions in Moscow and the new appointment, said that he himself did not know "many details," noting: "It was only said that the current socio-political situation requires it. You can assume that the road made a very sharp turn, I did not fit into it and ended up on the side of the road. But this is better than if I had moved into a ditch, my car would have turned over and exploded. " In his farewell, he also said: "We should not dramatize these events.<…> I have never sought high appointments, nor membership in the synod, nor any privileges, nor will I ever grieve that I have lost them.. "

On June 15, 2022, by decree of Patriarch Kirill, he was relieved of his posts as rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Mourners" on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow and the Patriarchal Compound of Churches near Bora. June 20 arrived in Hungary.

July 5, 2022 expelled from the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation.

Awards

Awarded to:

• letters of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1996 and 1999),
• medal "For courage and self-sacrifice" of the Republic of Lithuania (1992),
• the medal of the Polish Orthodox Church in the name of Prince Konstantin of Ostrog (2003),
• the silver order of the Orthodox Church in America in the name of St. Innocent (2009),
• On November 1, 2015, in gratitude for his work for the benefit of the Holy Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presented Metropolitan Hilarion with an anniversary cross made in memory of the 1000th anniversary of the presentation of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.

Publications and musical creativity

The author of more than 800 publications on patristics, dogmatic theology, church history, problems of spiritual education, as well as translations of the creations of the Church Fathers from Greek and Syriac.

In 1996 he published the book "The Sacrament of Faith. Introduction to Orthodox dogmatic theology, "which has withstood 9 editions in Russia and has been translated into 14 languages ​ ​ (English, French, German, Greek, Finnish, Serbian, Spanish, Japanese, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Macedonian, Swedish, Georgian, Romanian).

In 1998, he published three monographs on the life and teachings of the Church Fathers: "The Life and Teachings of St. Gregory the Theologian," "Rev. Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition," "The World of Isaac Sirin."

In 2001, he published the study "Christ - The Winner of Hell. The theme of descent into hell in the Eastern Christian tradition. "

In 2002, a two-volume monograph by Bishop Hilarion, "The Sacred Secret of the Church," was published. An introduction to the history and problems of Imyaslavl disputes, "dedicated to Athos disputes about the name of God.

In 2008, the 1st volume of Bishop Hilarion's work "Orthodoxy" was published, dedicated to the history, canonical structure and creed of the Orthodox Church. The preface to the book, signed by Patriarch Alexy II, said: "The author of the book is familiar firsthand with the richness of the theological and liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. Having received a versatile education, Bishop Hilarion became the author of numerous monographs and articles on theological and church-historical topics, translations from ancient languages, spiritual and musical works. Many years of service to the Mother of the Church, rich experience in creative activity and a wide outlook allow him to present the tradition of the Orthodox Church in all its diversity. " In 2009, the 2nd volume of the same work was released.

Chairman of the editorial board of the journals "Theological Works" (Moscow), "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate" and "Church and Time" (Moscow), member of the editorial board of the journals "Studia Monastica" (Barcelona), "Studii teologice" (Bucharest), scientific and historical series "Byzantine Library" (St. Petersburg).

The author of musical works, including:

• "Divine Liturgy" and "All-Night Vigil" for choir unaccompanied,
• "Passion according to Matthew" for soloists, choir and orchestra,
• "Christmas Oratorio" for soloists, boys choir, mixed choir and symphony orchestra,
• symphonies for choir and orchestra "Song of Ascension" to the words of psalms.