Archbishop Siluyan (Kilin) (russian: Силуян (Килин), secular name Simon Afinogenovich Kilin, russian: Си́мон Афиноге́нович Ки́лин; 15 May 1939 – 5 November 2021), was a

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 ...

in the

Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church The Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (or Russian Orthodox Oldritualist Church, Russian Orthodox Old-Ritualist Church) (russian: Русская Православная Старообрядческая Церковь) is an Eastern Orthodox Chur ...

(RORC). He was the

Old Believer Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

archbishop of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

from 2015 until his death.

Personal life

Kilin was born in the village of Podoynikovo into a religious family of

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

. His grandfather was originally a member of the

Bezpopovtsy Bespopovtsy ( rus, беспоповцы, p=bʲɪspɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priestless ones") are Priestless Old Believers that reject Nikonite priests. They are one of the two major strains of Old Believers. Priestless Old Believers may have evolved int ...

sect which has no clergy, but later in life joined the Belokrinitskaya sect which does have a church hierarchy and became a priest. From 1958 to 1962, Kilin served as a radio engineer in the air defense forces on

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

in the ranks of the Soviet army. In 1962 he married and from 1962 to 1966 he was a subdeacon with the bishop of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

, .

Religious life

As deacon and priest

On 24 December 1966, Kilin was ordained deacon by Bishop of Chisinau , and on 25 December he was ordained priest to the Intercession Church in Chisinau, where he served as rector. In 1987 he was appointed rector of the church in the city of

Minusinsk Minusinsk (russian: Минуси́нск; kjh, Минсуғ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: 44,500 (1973). Geography Minusinsk marks the center of the Minusinsk Hollow ...

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Siber ...

, and dean of all

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. Kilin later spoke about his experience, saying: "When Moscow entrusted me, first, as the dean, and then as the ruling bishop of the Siberian diocese, to oversee the development of spirituality in this vast territory .. rom the Urals">Urals.html" ;"title="rom the Urals">rom the Uralsto the Pacific Ocean">Urals">rom_the_Urals<_a>.html" ;"title="Urals.html" ;"title="rom the Urals">rom the Urals">Urals.html" ;"title="rom the Urals">rom the Uralsto the Pacific Ocean, it was necessary to restore the territory from scratch. Back then, there were only a few parishes, including in

– historical, seasoned – and also a good number in Tomsk. Everything else was actually a wasteland and was developed by the forces of local Christians, beginning in 1992." In 1990 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. On 18 October 1992, Kilin received his monastic tonsure in Novosibirsk.

As bishop

On 18 October 1992, at the Cathedral of the Intercession, he was ordained

with the monastic name of Siluyan. The consecration was performed by the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia , together with the Bishop of Kiev and All Ukraine, . Due to the rule on celibacy in the old-rite church, Siluyan's wife, Valentina, took

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

and took the name Barsanuphius, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alimpiy; she was appointed

hegumenia 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 ...

of the Uleima Monastery. At the same time, Siluyan (Kilin) was assigned to the territory of the former Irkutsk-Amur and the entire Far East diocese. After repeatedly visiting the

Chita Oblast Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. ...

, Siluyan (Kilin) established the old believer parish of Saint Nicholas in the village of Dono, and planned in the future to establish another church in the name of the Holy Hieromartyr Habakkuk in the city of Chita. In 2000, he was entrusted with

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

of the RORC parish of the Holy Cross Exaltation in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 2004, after the death of

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

, he was one of the candidates put forward at 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 RORC to become the next Metropolitan of Moscow of the RORC. Ultimately the council decided that Cornelius (Titov) would be the next metropolitan. On 5 August 2005, the RORC Bishops' Court ruled that Siluyan should not be allowed to attend church

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

due to purported

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

violations. The ban was lifted after Siluyan repented, and he was allowed to attend a funeral in Moscow with his fellow bishops. Speaking of the challenges of being a bishop in Siberia, Siluyan opined that there were not enough Old-rite priests in the area to cover all the parishes all the time, as in a territory as vast as Siberia, even by train or plane it could take several days for a priest to travel from one parish to another.

Death

Archbishop Siluyan died on 5 November 2021 in

, Russia, aged 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siluyan (Kilin) 1939 births 2021 deaths 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church People from Altai Krai