Elisey Ganaba

Archbishop Elisey (, secular name Ilya Vladimirovich Ganaba, ; 1 August 1962) is the archbishop of the diocese of The Hague and the Netherlands of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). His monastic name, "Elisey", is the equivalent of the Latin Eliseus and the English Elisha.

During 2007-2017, he served as primate of the Diocese of Sourozh in Great Britain and Ireland.

On March 12, 2022, the clergy of the Parish of St Nicholas of Myra in Amsterdam requested canonical dismissal from Archbishop Elisey and applied to join the Constantinople Patriarchate after they felt pressured by Archbishop Elisey to continue mentioning the name of Patriarch Kirill in the Divine Liturgy against their wishes (Kirill had expressed support for Vladimir Putin).

Biography

Early life Ilya Ganaba was born on August 1, 1962, in Leningrad, RSFSR, Soviet Union (modern day Saint Petersburg, Russia). His father, Vladimir Ganaba (b. 1934), was an archdeacon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Podolsk in the Moscow Oblast. Later, his older brother, Alexander Ganaba (b. 1957), became an archpriest and dean at the same cathedral.

In 1971, Ilya Ganaba moved with his parents to Penza. There, he attended school, graduating from high school in 1979. He also served as an episcopal subdeacon at the altar and sang in the choir of the Dormition Cathedral in Penza.

On March 12, 2002, he was appointed Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, leaving his post of representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East in Damascus.

On August 28, 2006, he greeted the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, metropolitan Laurus, at the Moscow Patriarchate's Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem and gave him a tour of the Cathedral's holy items. Archimandrite Elisey called the visit to Holy Trinity Cathedral a symbol of the inner unity of the children of both parts of the Russian Orthodox Church and expressed joy that the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia had prayed at the holy places of the Cathedral.

On October 6, 2006, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Elisey was appointed vicar of the Diocese of Chersonesus with the title of "Bishop of Bogorodsk", and entrusted with the task of administering the Diocese of Sourozh and relieving the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.

Ordination as bishop and primate of the Diocese of Sourozh On November 26, 2006, he was ordained Bishop.

December 27, 2007, he was appointed primate of the Diocese of Sourozh, which covers the United Kingdom and Ireland.

On February 1, 2010, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia elevated him to the rank of archbishop for "the diligent service of the Church of God".

Sourozhsphere.net wrote: "During the years of service of Vladyka Elisey, the diocese became a strong family and not some isolated national church, but a real international symbol of Russian Orthodoxy in Western Europe. Thanks to the wisdom and competent management, the diocese made friends from other Christian denominations and created strong ties with the Royal family of Great Britain."

Primate of the Diocese of The Hague On 28 December 2017, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed its gratitude to Archbishop Elisey for his labours in building up church life in the Diocese of Sourozh and gave him a new position of service as primate of the Diocese of The Hague and the Netherlands of the Russian Orthodox Church. On 31 December 2017, Archbishop Elisey celebrated the Divine Liturgy with Bishop in the Dormition Cathedral, London. Archbishop Elisey then bade farewell to the parishioners of the Dormition Cathedral.

Honours Order of Friendship (11 August 2000) "for a great contribution to the strengthening of the civil peace and the revival of spiritual and moral traditions"