Bishop Diomede is a domestic religious figure who became famous when he founded a non-canonical group called "The Most Holy Governing Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church." For eight years he led the Anadyr-Chukotka diocese. In 2008, deprived of the rank of bishop, according to official information, he has since been in the status of a monk. At the same time, Diomede himself has repeatedly stated that he broke off relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, accusing her of serving the Antichrist. He gained wide popularity in 2007 and 2008, when he opposed Patriarch Alexy II. As a result, his activity was condemned by the Council of Bishops, he was forbidden to worship, he was removed from the leadership of the diocese. In this article we will tell the biography of one of the most famous contemporary schismatics.
Education
The future bishop Diomede, whose world name was Sergey Ivanovich Dzyuban, was born in the small working town of Kadievka in the territory of the Luhansk region. He graduated from the Institute of Radio Electronics in Kharkov, which he graduated in 1983. After that, he worked as a design engineer at the local technology bureau at DOSAAF.
His craving for Orthodoxy became known during perestroika. In 1986, Dziuban entered the capital's theological seminary. In the summer of next year, the hero of our article was tonsured a monk in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra by Archimandrite Alexy (Kutepov). He received the name Diomede in honor of the physician of St. Diomede, who lived during the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the 3rd-4th centuries AD.
Bad reputation
It is noteworthy that already at that time there was a notoriety about Diomede. According to eyewitnesses, shortly after being tonsured as a monk, when he returned to the academy, he spent the night in the same cell with his own brother. An ambulance was urgently called at night. The cell in which the brothers lived was covered in blood. Diomede's hand was cut with an ax, and his brother had a whole head in blood. The monks did not share something. Usually, they were immediately expelled from the Moscow Theological Academy for such behavior, but this time everyone pretended that nothing had happened, says priest Mikhail Neverov, who was there at that time.
Moreover, already in the summer of 1987, Diomede was ordained hierodeacon by Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret. San hieromonk received from Patriarch Alexy II in 1991.
Two years later, Diomede became a graduate of the Theological Academy, but could not get the degree of candidate of theology. After some time, he submitted scientific work to the academy. It was dedicated to the activities of the priest Arseny (Matseevich), whom Empress Catherine II sent to hard labor for speaking out against the seizure of church lands. However, reviewers who evaluated the dissertation stated that judging by the style, it could not be written by a person living in the 21st century. It turned out that the source was a rare book published before the revolution, with which Diomede went to Kamchatka. The dissertation was written off by almost 70 percent. Her defense never took place.
Service in the Far East
Since 1991, Diomid was on a business trip in the territory of the Magadan and Kamchatka dioceses. Until 2000, he was rector of the church in the city of Elizovo. During this time he received the rank of abbot.
Eyewitnesses recall that he did not initially have a relationship with the Kamchatka clergy, which was completely opposed to him.
Appointment as Bishop
Despite tensions with the local clergy, in the summer of 2000 the Holy Synod elected him bishop of the newly established Chukotka and Anadyr diocese. Two days after this, Alexy II elevated him to the rank of archimandrite.
Moreover, initially the Chukchi bishop Diomede developed complicated relations with secular authorities. The priest stated that under the governor Abramovich many preachers from the USA appeared in the region. It was possible to reconcile with the head of Chukotka only after the oligarch allocated money for the construction of a new cathedral.
According to media estimates, for two years, Abramovich allocated about the same amount of money for the construction of churches as had been allocated for a whole decade before. This contributed to the development of Orthodoxy in Kamchatka, in which they saw the merit of Bishop Diomede.
Speech against the Moscow Patriarchate
The rhetoric of the priest has changed dramatically since February 2007. He began to publicly condemn the deviations that, in his opinion, were allowed in the practice and teaching of the leadership of the metropolitan diocese.
This ended with the fact that in the summer of 2008 he was deprived of dignity, and also removed from the administration of the diocese. Moreover, the already bishop Anadyr Diomede was banned from the ministry. The hero of our article himself did not recognize these decisions, condemning the leadership of the patriarchy.
In October 2008, the Holy Synod, who approved the deprivation of office, examined his case. Bishop Diomede refused to recognize this decision, went into schism.
Famous appeal
In fact, the conflict with the patriarchy began on February 22, 2007. It was then that the scandalous appeal of Bishop Diomede was published on the Internet. In it, he criticized the Moscow spiritual authorities, accusing them of deviating from the purity of the Orthodox faith.
Initially, the text of the bishop of Anadyr and Chukchi Diomede appeared on the website of Konstantin Dushenov, "Orthodox Russia." After that, the hero of our article gave a detailed interview in which he substantiated his position.
Commenting on this statement, Deacon Andrei Kuraev called Bishop Diomede (Dziuban) a man who had long since lost touch with reality.
The attention of the press to this appeal appeared only on March 1, when it was published by Novye Izvestia. The media claimed that the collection of signatures in support of the Chukchi bishop Diomede began in the central regions, which threatens a major church schism.
Version of the appearance of the document
There were many versions about the causes of this appeal. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin blamed Dushenov for everything, claiming that he wanted to arrange a coup in the Russian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Kirill noted that the statement appeared on the eve of the unification of the Moscow Patriarchate with the Russian Church Abroad, was aimed at disrupting the signing of the agreement.
On June 6 there appeared a decision of the Diocesan Assembly and an open letter to the patriarch, which were already written in a canonical tone, but actually repeated the thoughts expressed in the address of Bishop Anadyr Diomede. As a result, in these documents, the Moscow Patriarchate, in fact, was required to repent of heresy.
In January 2008, it became known that Diomida supported the popular in ultra-conservative circles hieroschimonh Rafail (Berestov) from the New Athos monastery in Abkhazia. He stated that Alexy II was obeying the enemies of the church, for whom he was following.
Accusations against the Russian Orthodox Church were also due to rapprochement with the Catholic Church. Ecumenism was condemned in conservative circles, and the patriarch’s decision to pray at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was criticized.
In June 2008, Diomede announced that he would not come to the Council of Bishops due to illness. In the newspaper "Spirit of the Christian", which was published with his blessing, he once again accused the leadership of the Moscow patriarchate of having connections with Catholics, accusing them of the fact that senior priests kept money in Western banks, and they received corresponding dividends from the Vatican.
The special canonical commission ruled that Diomede’s statements contribute to a split, therefore he is subject to church court.
Anathematization
In July 2008, Diomid issued another appeal in which he anathematized Patriarch Alexy II and his inner circle. A conservative part of the Orthodox community immediately stated that at least a quarter of the faithful were ready to support the bishop. Ahead is inevitably a delimitation within the church itself.
A few days later it became known that the ministry of the "priests-Diomedeans" began to be banned. We started with four supporters of the bishop in Chukotka.
After that, Diomede said that he no longer remembers Alexy II during the service, and considers the Moscow Patriarchate to be a widow.
Commenting on the behavior and actions of the hero of our article, some compared him with the priest Gapon, who tried to rally the people around him, inspiring abstract ideas of the struggle for no one knows why, some considered this decision to be a mistake of Bishop Diomede.
Religious scholar Roman Silantyev noted that the sect, which the priest tried to create, had certain perspectives. It could grow, as Diomidovites were actively and universally used to create a powerful opposition within the church itself. However, everything collapsed after the priest refused to come to the Council of Bishops for a reason that, under the given conditions, can be considered insignificant. If he had not submitted a certificate of illness, but appeared in person, everything could have gone in a completely different scenario.
Deprivation of dignity
In October 2008, a meeting of the Holy Synod opened under the chairmanship of the patriarch, at which Diomede was called. However, he did not come to Danilov Monastery, where the meeting was held.
The members of the Synod began to deal with the case without his participation. They stated that the bishop ignored the invitations sent to him, the lack of repentance on his part and the continuation of activities that in every way contribute to the split. The Council of Bishops on deprivation of the rank of Diomede, it was decided to officially consider open.
On the same day, near the building of the Moscow Patriarchate, located in Chisty Lane, several dozen people made a prayer stand in support of Diomede. They called themselves the Orthodox fraternity.
Not arriving at the meeting of the Synod, Diomede sent a telegram in which he noted that he was grieving because the Russian Orthodox Church was now serving the Antichrist.
High-ranking priests, adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate, again sharply condemned the statements of Diomede. In particular, Chaplin said that this is a punishment from the Lord, which consists in depriving a person of reason. Noting at the same time that the opportunity to repent is still present, but instead the bishop is removed to all more distant places.
The conflict continued to develop. On October 25, Diomede single-handedly ordained his brother Brother Theophilus to the rank of bishop, which was unacceptable to do in accordance with church canons. At the same time, he announced that he was resurrecting the Governing Synod, he himself took on the tough position of name-worship, that is, mystical and dogmatic teachings, which became widespread among Athos monks in the beginning of the 20th century. As far back as 1913, the name-worship was officially recognized as heresy; the troubles that arose in Athos monasteries were suppressed with the help of Russian troops. Diomid urged his supporters not to go to the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, but to organize their own communities.
On November 28, it became known that the Chukchi bishop could be excommunicated. This was stated by the interim manager of the Anadyr diocese, Archbishop Mark (Tuzhikov). Formally, it was proposed to do this for the reason that over the past two months, Diomede and his supporters have never appeared in the church, did not receive communion, and did not confess. According to church rules, a person who has missed two services is excommunicated because he testifies that he does not need a church.
On December 5, 2008, at the age of 79, Patriarch Alexy II died. In an interview, commenting on this news and the passing out of Metropolitan Cyril at the funeral service, Diomede stated that the prayers of his parishioners were heard by the Lord. At the same time, he added that if his parishioners would also earnestly pray, then God and Cyril would have to call to account. He finished the interview with a harsh statement that a good heretic is either sincerely repentant or dead.
