Bishop Sabbas (or Savva; born Sergey Aleksandrovich Volkov on September 27, 1958) is 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 c ...

of the

Moldovan Orthodox Church Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to: *Moldovans, the main ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova *''Moldavians'', the inhabitants of the historical territory of the ...

under the Moscow Patriarchate. He serves as diocesan bishop of Tiraspol and Dubăsari.

Life

Sergey Volkov was born into a working-class family in what is now

Mordovia The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...

in 1958, from 1982 to 1984 serving in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. Following his discharge in 1986 Sergey entered the

Danilov Monastery Danilov Monastery (also ''Svyato-Danilov Monastery'' or ''Holy Danilov Monastery''; Данилов монастырь, Свято-Данилов монастырь in Russian) is a walled monastery on the right bank of the Moskva River in Moscow. ...

in Moscow, in May 1986 being ordained a

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 Chur ...

. In December 1986 he was tonsured a monk with the name

Sabbas Sabbas (Σάββας pronounced Sávvas) is a Greek masculine given name. Variant forms or transliterations include Sabas, Savas, Savvas, Saba, Sava, Savva, Savo and Sawa. Sabbas may refer to, chronologically: * Sabbas Stratelates (died 272), ...

. In January 1987 Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk ordained Hierodeacon Sabbas as 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 partic ...

. Later that year, in June,

Hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...

Sabbas 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 ...

and still later, in March 1988, to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

. On September 12, 1995, Archimandrite Savva was consecrated to the episcopacy as titular Bishop of Krasnogorsk and appointed as a vicar of the patriarchal Eparchy of Moscow. On March 5, 2010, 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 elected Bishop Savva as Bishop of the Tiraspol and Dubasari Eparchy of the Moldovan Orthodox Church in the breakaway state of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

. On February 3, 2013, Bishop Sabbas was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

External links

Biography of Archbishop Savva of Tiraspol and Dubasari

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabbas 1958 births Living people People from Staroshaygovsky District Bishops of the Moldovan Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox monks