A former serviceman with Russia’s Ministry of Defense has taken charge of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Skadovsk Diocese in the temporarily occupied left-bank part of Kherson region.
Archimandrite Joseph, whose secular name is Ihor Oleksandrovych Pashentsev, has become the new Bishop of Skadovsk and Oleshky. He is from Tambov.
His religious promotion carries a distinctly military background, while the diocese itself operates across territory seized and administered by Russia.
Before taking monastic vows, Pashentsev graduated from a military chemical defense academy and served in the Main Directorate of Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
He was consecrated bishop of the Skadovsk Diocese by Kirill, patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The ceremony took place in one of the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin.
How the Russian Orthodox Church created the Skadovsk Diocese
The so-called Skadovsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established on December 27, 2023, by a decision of the Russian Orthodox Church’s synod.
The occupation authorities included religious communities in the territories of the Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Kalanchak, Skadovsk, and Chaplynka “municipal districts” in the diocese.
The diocese operates illegally in the occupied part of Kherson region.