Metropolitan Paul (russian: Митрополит Павел, be, Мітрапаліт Павел, secular name Georgiy Vasilevich Ponomaryov, russian: Георгий Васильевич Пономарёв; born 19 February 1951 in

Karaganda Karaganda or Qaraghandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandy, ; russian: Караганда, ) is the capital of Karaganda Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, fourth most populous city in Kaza ...

) was the Metropolitan of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

and

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

, the

Patriarchal Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

of All

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and the leader of the Belarusian Orthodox Church (an Semi-Autonomous part of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

) from December 2011 to August 2020. On August 26, 2020 by decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church and at the request of Metropolitan Paul, Metropolitan Paul was released from his duties as Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk and Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus. Metropolitan Paul was assigned to the Krasnodar and Kuban Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church effective August 26, 2020.

Biography

Metropolitan Paul was born on 19 February 1952 in

. In 1973–1976, he attended the

Moscow Theological Seminary The Slavic Greek Latin Academy (russian: Славяно-греко-латинская академия) was the first higher education establishment in Moscow. History Beginning The academy's establishment may be viewed as a result of the incorpo ...

. In 1980 he graduated from the

Moscow Theological Academy Moscow Theological Academy (russian: Московская духовная академия) is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to ...

with a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. On 19 February 1992 by the decision of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

he was appointed Bishop of

Zaraisk Zaraysk (russian: Зара́йск) is a town and the administrative center of Zaraysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about southeast from Moscow. Population: Geography The town stands on the right bank of the Osyotr River, which ...

and was put in charge of the patriarchal parishes in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. 29 December 1999 he was appointed Bishop of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. 23 February 2001 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 ...

. 7 May 2003 he was appointed Archbishop of Ryazan and Kasimov. He became Exarch in December 2013 after the former Exarch, Philaret (Vakhromeyev), stepped down.. Metropolitan Paul was assigned to the Krasnodar and Kuban Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church effective August 26, 2020.

References

{{Authority control Living people 1951 births Clergy from Minsk Bishops of the Belarusian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Christians from Belarus People from Karaganda Russian Orthodoxy in the United States Eastern Orthodoxy in Austria Eastern Orthodoxy in Hungary