ARCHBISHOP JOHN (LAVRINENKO) — ARCHPASTOR ALMA-A TA AND KOSTROMA

Hegumen Agafangel

Alexander Kondratyevich Gagua

the Office of the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan in Moscow, Russia

Email: gagua0409@gmail.com

Issue: № 1 (33), 2026

Pages: 117

Annotation

The article is devoted to the life and ministry of Archbishop John (Lavrinenko). His origin, education, circumstances of entering the path of monasticism and priesthood, life and ministry in exile, and obtaining Soviet citizenship are shown. The circumstances of his vocation to the episcopal ministry, his archpastoral activity during the Great Patriotic War, his new forced emigration, his return to the USSR, and the hierarch's activity in trying to develop church life, for which he was sent to retirement early at the request of the atheist authorities, are considered. His ministry in the Alma Ata diocese was short, and Archbishop John did not actually use his appointment to Kostroma. At the same time, he is inscribed in their history, and according to the Kostroma department — the last one to which he was appointed — he is referred to in the "Orthodox Encyclopedia" as Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich.

Keywords

Archbishop John (Lavrinenko), Alma Ata, Kostroma, diocese, Molotov, Chelyabinsk, emigration

For citation

Agafangel (Gagua), hegumen. Archbishop John (Lavrinenko) — archpastor Alma-A ta and Kostroma // Ipatievsky vestnik. 2026. № . 1. Р. 117–130 (In Russian). https:// doi.org/10.24412/2309–5164–2026–1–117–130