Hilarion (secular name Grigory Valerievich Alfeyev, ; 24 July 1966) is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church; currently he is the retired metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary. He is also a theologian, church historian and composer and has published books on dogmatic theology, patristics and church history as well as numerous compositions for choir and orchestra. During 2009-2022 he was the titular metropolitan of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and rector of the church-wide postgraduate and doctoral studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles. In June 2022, following a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hilarion was removed from his position as president of the Department of External Church Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow and dismissed as Metropolitan of Volokolamsk. He was appointed to the Metropolis of Budapest-Hungary, then dismissed from all positions in July 2024.

Biography

Grigory Valerievich Alfeyev was born on 24 July 1966 in Moscow. From 1972 to 1982 he studied violin, piano and composition at the Moscow Gnessins School and from 1983 to 1986 at the Moscow State Conservatoire. From 1984 to 1986 he served in the Soviet military. In January 1987, after serving in the military, he became a monk (see below under Church activity). In 1989 graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary and in 1991 from the Moscow Theological Academy with the degree of Master of Theology. From 1991 to 1993 he taught homiletics, dogmatic theology, New Testament studies and Byzantine Greek at the Moscow Theological Academy, St Tikhon's Theological Institute and St John the Theologian's Orthodox University. From 1993 to 1995 he studied at the University of Oxford (UK) under the supervision of Bishop Kallistos Ware. In 1995 he completed his doctoral thesis on "St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition" and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Church activity

In January 1987 he entered the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, where he was tonsured as a monk on 19 June, ordained a deacon on 21 June and ordained priest on 19 August in the same year. Until 1991 he served as a parish priest in Lithuania, including two years as dean of Annunciation Cathedral in Kaunas. From 1995 to 2001 Alfeyev served as Secretary for Inter-Christian Affairs of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He also taught part-time at Smolensk and Kaluga Theological Seminaries (Russia), at St Vladimir's and St Herman's Theological Seminary (USA) and at Cambridge University (UK). On 27 December 2001 he was nominated bishop. On 14 January 2002 he was consecrated by Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and 10 other hierarchs. Appointed Assistant (Vicar) Bishop in the Diocese of Sourozh in the UK, but as a result of an acute conflict situation around him and at Metropolitan Anthony's request, the Holy Synod decided, only a few months later, on 17 July 2002, that he was to be transferred and nominated as Head of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions in Brussels. On 7 May 2003 appointed Bishop of Vienna and Austria, administrator of the Diocese of Budapest and Hungary, in addition to his position in Brussels, which he continues to hold. On March 31, 2009, appointed the Bishop of Volokolamsk, the Vicar to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, the chairman of the Department of the External Church Relations (the position previously held by the current Patriarch Kirill), and a permanent member of the Holy Synod, ex officio. On Easter Monday, 2009 was raised to an archbishop by Patriarch Kirill during the Divine Liturgy in The Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. On 1 February 2010, at a Liturgy to celebrate the first anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, he was raised to the rank of Metropolitan. In late 2018, Alfeyev visited North Korea, meeting with officials and leading a service at the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang.

Views on the nature of the Orthodox Church

In an interview given on 19 July 2010, Alfeyev said: "The Orthodox Church as a whole does not have a unified structural or administrative format. Administratively, it is, if one can say so, a confederation of autocephalous, that is, completely independent of one another, Orthodox Churches. (...) Problems arising in relations between Orthodox Churches are not theological or dogmatic in nature, but rather pertaining, for instance, to who should govern particular territories. Historically, some regions in different times were parts of different Local Churches. And today there may be two Churches who claim a particular region. (...) In the 1990s, we had a very difficult streak in relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, who unilaterally created its own church jurisdiction in our canonical territory, namely, in Estonia. It happened because in the 20s and 30s the Estonian Orthodox Church was temporarily part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Because of this, our relations with Constantinople were suspended for several months. They were restored later but remained tense. The Estonian problem still exists but recently His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has made some steps towards the Patriarchate of Constantinople for the express purpose of relieving the tension (...)." In general, opinions on such matters among Orthodox Christians vary.

Scholarly work

Alfeyev is the author of more than a thousand publications, including fourteen monographs in English: St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2000), welcomed by the press, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, MI, 2000), ''The Mystery of Faith. An Introduction to the Teaching and Spirituality of the Orthodox Church (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002), Orthodox Witness Today'' (WCC Publications, 2006), ''Christ the Conqueror of Hell. The Descent into Hell in Orthodox Tradition (St Vladimir's Press, 2009), Orthodox Christianity, vol. 1-5 (St Vladimir's Press, 2011–19), Prayer: Encounter with the Living God (St Vladimir's Press, 2015), Jesus Christ, His Life and Teaching'', vols. I-IV (St Vladimir's Press, 2019–21). His books have also been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Greek, Serbian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Czech, Swedish, Estonian, Georgian, Armenian (see below). Apart from his doctoral degree in philosophy from Oxford, Alfeyev also holds a doctorate in theology from St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, which was awarded to him in 1999. In February 2005 he was elected a privat-dozent of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

Musical activity

Alfeyev is author of numerous musical compositions. His St Matthew Passion, grand oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra, received a standing ovation at its performances at the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory (27 March 2007), at the Auditorium Conciliazione, Rome (29 March 2007), and at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne (28 September 2007). Equally well received was his Christmas Oratorio, performed in Washington, Boston and New York (18–20 December 2007) and later in Moscow (7 and 15 January 2008) and his Stabat Mater (world premiere in January 2012 under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov). On the other hand, a Washington Post review described a 2011 performance of the Oratorio as "banal music that seemed the Russian equivalent of the cheesy carol arrangements by John Rutter". Other critics, however, are more favorable to Alfeyev's music, noting that "while they're not on the level of Johann Sebastian Bach, the compositions are sophisticated, and they're easy on the ear." Some go even further by stating that "the music of composer Hilarion (Alfeyev) is bright, powerful and rigorous, but at the same time it is distinguished by the subtlest lyricism... His compositions penetrate a human soul; they are clear and accessible to everyone." It has also been repeatedly argued that Alfeyev is "one of the most widely performed of all living Russian composers". His music has been performed at concerts more than 300 times in 15 years, in Russia and abroad.

Ecumenical activity

Alfeyev was a member of the Executive and Central Committees of the World Council of Churches, of the Presidium of 'Faith and Order' Commission, as well as of numerous bilateral theological dialogues. In 1998 he headed the 5-member Moscow Patriarchate delegation to the 8th WCC Assembly in Harare, and in February 2006 headed the Moscow Patriarchate's 21-member delegation to the 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre. Alfeyev was a member of the Joint International Commissions for the Theological Dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion, and between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. He is also interested in interfaith dialogue among all major world religions, and currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute. On 10 October 2007, Alfeyev walked out of an important meeting of the Orthodox–Catholic International Theological Commission at Ravenna, in protest against the choice of delegates by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His action was approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. On 5 October 2008, Alfeyev took part in the "Bible marathon" organized by the Italian state TV channel RAI-Uno. He read Chapter Two from the Book of Genesis, immediately following Pope Benedict XVI, who read Chapter One. Alfeyev was followed by 1246 readers from various countries. In September 2009, at the invitation of Cardinal Walter Kasper, he visited Pope Benedict XVI and several officials of the Roman Curia who have key roles in Catholic ecumenical dialogue. Late in 2010, Alfeyev spoke to senior Anglican bishops and professors at the Nikean Club dinner at Lambeth Palace, criticizing proposals for the ordination of women as bishops and the toleration of homosexual activity by some Anglicans. In April 2017, he expressed his approval of the Supreme Court of Russia's decision to allow a ban of the worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation. He claims that "they erode the psyche of people and the family" (e.g. disfellowshiping), and that those Witnesses' beliefs which do not coincide with those of the Orthodox Church, such as the rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, are reason to outlaw their religion.

Dismissal, transfer, and suspension

In March 2022, the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) wrote a letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, asking him to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In response, Hilarion responded, saying that "we call upon everyone to pray fervently for the cessation of every military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine". On 11 March 2022, the University of Fribourg suspended Hilarion from his academic positions due to his failure to condemn the invasion. In June 2022, following a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hilarion was removed from his position as president of the Department of External Church Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow and dismissed as Metropolitan of Volokolamsk. He was appointed to the Metropolis of Budapest-Hungary. Many Western media have speculated that his dismissal and transfer were due to pressure from the Russian government because of Hilarion's refusal to back the war. In July 2024, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church suspended Hilarion from his position as metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary, pending an investigation, following the 2024 accusations of sexual abuse by his cell-attendant, who is also referred to as an intern or sub-deacon. The accuser supported his allegations with audio recordings. He shared photographs showing Hilarion enjoying a luxurious lifestyle including yachting and skiing, and his ownership of an estate near Budapest. He also had a photograph of a Hungarian passport Hilarion had receive within just three months of arriving there, indicating Hungarian citizenship. Hilarion has denied the allegations, calling them part of an extortion plot.

Honours and awards

Selected discography

In English

In Russian

In French

In Italian

In other languages

Musical compositions