Protopresbyter A ''protoiereus'' (from grc, πρωτοϊερεύς, "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας) or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a bigger church. T ...

Michael Ivanovich Pomazansky (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Помаза́нский; November 7, 1888 – November 4, 1988) was a Russian theologian.

Biography

He was born in the village of Koryst, in the governorate of Volhynia. His father was

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

Ioann Pomazansky who was the son of Father Ioann Ambrosievich. Fr. Michael's mother, Vera Grigorievna, was the daughter of a

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usag ...

and later

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 the city of

Zhitomir Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

. From 1920 until 1934 Fr. Michael taught Russian philology, literature, philosophical dialectics and Latin at the Russian lycée in

Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...

. In 1936 Fr. Michael 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 ...

a priest and moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

where he was the first assistant to the rector, a position he held until June, 1944. Upon his arrival in America in 1949, Fr. Michael was appointed by Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) as an instructor at

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (russian: Свято-Троицкая духовная семинария в Джорданвилле) is an institution of higher learning under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCO ...

Jordanville, New York Jordanville is a hamlet in the town of Warren, Herkimer County, New York, United States. Jordanville is in the northwestern part of Warren, at the intersection of New York State Route 167 and County Route 155. The community was settled by Eu ...

. After the death of his wife, he moved into the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, where he remained until his death on November 4, 1988. Father Michael Pomazansky was known for his adherence to the teaching of

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

as a way to maintain understanding and unity within the various

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

communities. The work that he is most remembered for indeed named after this percept: ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology''.

Bibliography

* ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition'' by

Michael Pomazansky, St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood Press, 1994 ()

External links

ROCOR bio
* Online text copy of ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition'' in English as translated by

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomazansky, Michael 1888 births Russian theologians Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia Eastern Orthodox theologians 1988 deaths Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia White Russian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians

Biography

Bibliography

See also

External links