Gabriel of Komana

Gabriel of Komana (born Guido de Vylder, June 13, 1946 – October 26, 2013) was an Eastern Orthodox archbishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who led the Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe from 2003 to 2013.

Gabriel of Komana
Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe
Installed2003
Term ended2013
PredecessorSerge Konovalov
SuccessorJob Getcha
Orders
OrdinationJune 27, 1976
ConsecrationJune 24, 2001
Personal details
Birth nameGuido de Vylder
Born(1946-06-13)June 13, 1946
Lokeren, Belgium
DiedOctober 26, 2013(2013-10-26) (aged 67)
Maastricht, Netherlands

Born in Lokeren, Belgium, to a Catholic Flemish family, he studied philosophy and theology until 1974, afterwards obtaining his diploma in moral and religious studies at the University of Leuven. During this time he was introduced to Orthodox Christianity at the parish of St. Andrew in Ghent, becoming Orthodox in January 1974.

Ordained deacon on 5 October 1975 by Archbishop George Tarassov at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Paris, he was ordained a celibate priest on 27 June 1976 at the same cathedral. In 1977 he was assigned as priest of the parish in Maastricht. He was also active in the foundation of Orthodox communities at Deventer, Breda and Antwerp. In 1992 he was appointed rector of the parish in Liege, Belgium. In 1998 he was additionally appointed rector of the parish of Maastricht.[1]

Having taken monastic vows in 1994, he was elected and consecrated an auxiliary bishop of the exarchate in 2001. From December 2002 he acted as administrator of the exarchate during the final illness of his predecessor Archbishop Serge (Konovaloff). On May 1, 2003 he was elected to lead the exarchate. His election was formally confirmed on May 3 the same year. His enthronement took place in the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Paris on June 1, 2004.

On 8 June 2006 the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople had met and issued a statement receiving Bishop Basil of Sergievo into the Patriarchate of Constantinople - an act that caused substantial controversy, as he had not been released from the Moscow Patriarchate.[2] The same statement gave Bishop Basil the new title, Bishop of Amphipolis (taken from an ancient see in Greece that no longer has a bishop), and charged him with the care of parishes in Great Britain and Ireland, as auxiliary bishop under Archbishop Gabriel of Komana in Paris. One day after the Council of the Archdiocese during an extraordinary meeting created the Vicariate.[3] At that time, no such parishes existed. After his appointment a number of parishes and communities, as well as some of the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Sourozh, followed Bishop Basil into the Archdiocese and came to constitute the Episcopal Vicariate. Other parishes and communities were formed later, where none had previously existed, for example in Cumbria, and Northampton.. Bishop Basil's first liturgical service as a member of the Archdiocese was a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy with Archbishop Gabriel in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris on 18 June 2006. Statutes were adopted by the Episcopal Vicariate on 23 June 2007,[4] and the Vicariate was registered as a charity (registration number 1124252) on 29 May 2008.[5][6] Since Bishop Basil retired (on 12 October 2009) the Vicariate has become a deanery within the Archdiocese.[7][8]

In January 2013 Archbishop Gabriel retired for health reasons, having been suffering from cancer, and returned to Maastricht. He died there on October 26, 2013.[9]

References
  1. "PATRIARCH ALEXIS CALLS FOR THE STRUCTURES NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A LOCAL ORTHODOX CHURCH IN WESTERN EUROPE". Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  2. See details under Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh.
  3. "Communiqué No 12-6 of the Council of the Archdiocese, meeting on 9 June 2006". dioceseinfo.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  4. ":. Ктрк "Дэвком"" (PDF). Exarchate-uk.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  5. "Home Page". exarchate-uk.org. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2019-05-19. The Episcopal Vicariate is now a registered Charity! The number is 1124252. If you have made any donations to the Vicariate since 23 June 2007 and are a UK tax payer, and have not yet filled in a Gift Aid form, please download one here, and send to the Treasurer c/o the address on the form. Thank you! Questions? Please contact the treasurer direct by email here.
  6. "Archdiocese Of Orthodox Parishes Of Russian Tradition In Western Europe-Exarchate Of The Ecumenical Patriarchate-Deanery Of Great Britain And Ireland". beta.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  7. "Archevêché des églises russes en Europe occidentale - Communiqué N° 05-09 du Conseil de l'Archevêché". Exarchat.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  8. "Home Page". exarchate-uk.org. Archived from the original on 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2019-05-19. Following the retirement of Bishop Basil of Amphipolis as head of the Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland, the parishes and communities now constitute a deanery directly under the omophorion of Archbishop Gabriel of Comana.
  9. Εκοιμήθη ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κομάνων Γαβριήλ [Repose of Archbishop Gabriel of Komana] (in Greek). Romfea.gr. October 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.


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