Bishop Tikhon passed away

Bishop Tikhon, who lead his diocese through a period of major change, died yesterday at the age of 47. He played a major role in the development of Orthodoxy in Post-Soviet Arkhangelsk. His death came as a major shock to his followers. Only three days ago, Tikhon paid a visit to the town of Kotlas.

Tikhon was appointed to Bishop of Archangelsk and Kholmogorsk in 1995. He became the first leader of the diocese after the split of the former Arkhangelsk Diocese into four regional entities in the same year. On January 1, 1996, he was made an archimandrite, and on February 4, 1996, he was consecrated a bishop by Patriarch Alexy II, the website of the Arkhangelsk diocese informs.

Tikhon, whose original name was Nikolai Stepanov, was born in 1963 in Kostroma. He studied at the Leningrad Theological Seminary, and later at the the Leningrad Theological Academy. He first served in Petrozavodsk under Bishop Manuil and later went to New York to study at the Saint Vladimir Seminar.

Bishop Tikhon was also engaged in international cooperation. He was active member of the Council of Christian Churches in the Barents Region and co-chaired the official Working Group between the Russian Ortodox Church and the Church of Norway.

One of the main personal missions of Tikhon was the construction of a new cathedral in downtown Arkhangelsk. The construction was officially started in mid-2008.