Name John Berzins | ||
John Bērziņš (Russian: Епископ Иоанн, born Pēteris Bērziņš Russian: Пётр Леонидович Берзинь; born 16 March 1957, Cooma, New South Wales, Australia) is bishop of Caracas and South America for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and head of the church's Old-Rite parishes.
Life
Pēteris Bērziņš was born on 16 March 1957 in Cooma, Australia, of Latvian Orthodox refugees, Leonid (1921–1996) and Margarita (b. 1924) Bērziņš, who were forced to leave their homeland during the Second World War. He grew up in Cooma and graduated with a philological degree from the Australian National University. He was fluent in ancient Greek and Latin.
In 1982, he entered Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, and enrolled in Holy Trinity Seminary. He graduated from the seminary in 1985.
16 March 1985 he was tonsured to the mantle on by Archbishop Laurus (Škurla) of Syracuse and Holy Trinity.
12 April 1987 he was ordained hierodeacon also by Archbishop Laurus.
From 1992-1996, he served as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land.
In 1994, he was awarded the gold pectoral cross by Archbishop Laurus (Škurla).
From 2001-2005, he served again as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land.
5 September 2005 during the Celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of Holy Trinity Monastery he was elevated to the rank of hegumen by Metropolitan Laurus (Škurla).
From 2005 to 2008, he ministered to Ss. Sergius and German of Valaam Community of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America.
May 7/20, 2008, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR designated him as candidate for the Caracas cathedra. After consulting with the members of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia confirmed the selection of Hegumen John on June 19.
Hegumen John was consecrated Bishop of Caracas on 21 June 2008, at the Old-Rite Church of the Nativity in Erie, Pennsylvania. Officiating at the consecration were Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of New York and Eastern America, Bishop Daniel (Alexandrov) of Erie, and Bishop Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland.
On 26 October 2010 he was appointed head of the Old-Rite parishes of the ROCOR.
He speaks Russian, English, Latvian, Greek and Latin languages, and studying the Argentine dialect of Spanish.