Archbishop Siluyan (Kilin) (, secular name Simon Afinogenovich Kilin, ; 15 May 1939 – 5 November 2021), was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the

Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church The Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (or Russian Orthodox Oldritualist Church, Russian Orthodox Old-Ritualist Church, ) is an Eastern Orthodox Church of the Old Believers tradition, which rejected the liturgical and canonical reforms of Patri ...

(RORC). He was the

Old Believer Old Believers or Old Ritualists (Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

archbishop of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

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 ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

. His grandfather was originally a member of the

Bezpopovtsy Bespopovtsy ( rus, беспоповцы, p=bʲɪspɐˈpoftsɨ, t=priestless ones), often called Priestless Old Believers in English, are one of the two major groups of Old Believers. Unlike the Popovtsy ("priested"), the Bespopovtsy reject prie ...

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, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

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 ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

, .

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 (; ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: 44,500 (1973). History "About 330-200 B.C. the iron age triumphed at Minusinsk, producing spiked axes, partly bronze and ...

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

, and dean of all

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. 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 (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

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

Uleima Monastery The Uleima Monastery of St. Nicholas (Николо-Улейминский монастырь; ''Uleiminsky Monastery'') is a seldom visited walled medieval monastery lost in the woods near Uglich, Russia. It is the only sizable monastery still c ...

. 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 ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

of the RORC parish of the Holy Cross Exaltation in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 2004, after the death of

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

, 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 ...

of the RORC to become the next Metropolitan of Moscow of the RORC. Ultimately the council decided that

Cornelius (Titov) Metropolitan Cornelius (, secular name Konstantin Ivanovich Titov, ; born August 1, 1947) is a Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church bishop; Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (since October 18, 2005) ...

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. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, ...

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 exampl ...

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