Archbishop Michael (russian: Архиепископ Михаил,
secular name
A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth an ...
Simeon Vasilyevich Donskoff, russian: Симеон Васильевич Донсков; 29 March 1943, Paris) is a retired bishop of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
, archbishop of Geneva and Western Europe (2006-2917).
Life
Simeon Donskoff was born on March 29, 1943, in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to the family of
Don Cossack
Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...
Vasiliy Semyonovich Donskoff. He received his education in France and completed the 10-year Russian school of A. M. Osorgina where he studied the
Law of God
Divine law is any body of law that is perceived as deriving from a transcendent source, such as the will of God or godsin contrast to man-made law or to secular law. According to Angelos Chaniotis and Rudolph F. Peters, divine laws are typically ...
, literature, Russian language, and history.
Between 1965 and 1966 he completed his
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
, where he served in the
medical corp.
In 1966 he received the Diplôme de Moniteur des Colonies de Vacances, which allowed him to become an instructor in Orthodox youth camps, directing youth camps in France and Austria.
In 1979 he was
tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
d
reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
by archbishop
Anthony (Bartoshevich). In 1980, he was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
sub-deacon. In 1981, he was ordained
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
by archbishop Anthony and in 1991 he was ordained 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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
.
In 1994 and 1995 he also directed youth camps in Russia. At the same time he worked in hospitals and reanimation clinics in Paris.
On Bright Friday of 1996, he was tonsured a
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
by Metropolitan
Vitaly (Ustinov)
Metropolitan Vitaly (russian: Митрополит Виталий, secular name Rostislav Petrovich Ustinov, russian: Ростислав Петрович Устинов; 18 March 1910, St Petersburg – 25 September 2006, Magog, Quebec, Canada) wa ...
and on
Thomas Sunday
The Second Sunday of Easter is the day that occurs seven days after the Christian celebration of Easter. Those churches which give special significance to this day recognize it by various names. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, this day is ...
he was elevated to the rank of
hegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...
.
On the
feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christi ...
that same year he was consecrated
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of Toronto,
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
for the administration of the Montreal and Canada diocese.
In 2002 he received the title of Bishop of Boston, vicar of the
.
At the Council of Bishops in May 2006, he was transferred to the Geneva and Western European Diocese.
December 9, 2011 at the winter session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church he was elevated to the rank of
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
In 2018 he was retired.
[
]
Sources
Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Eastern Orthodoxy in Switzerland
Eastern Orthodoxy in France
Living people
1943 births
{{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub