Bishop of Uralsk and Atyrau
Born on November 11, 1972, in Novosibirsk, Russia, in a working-class family.
In 1988, he graduated from Secondary School No. 101 in Almaty. In 1992, he graduated from Almaty Industrial Technical School, specializing as a mechanical technician.
From 1989 to 1992, he served as an altar server and reader at the Kazan Church in Almaty.
On April 21, 1992, he was ordained as a deacon by Archbishop Alexy of Almaty and Semipalatinsk (now Metropolitan of Tula and Efremov), to the Ilyinsky Church in Zharkent. On April 23, 1992, he was ordained as a priest. The ordinations were held at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty.
From 1993 to 1996, he studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary.
In the fall of 1993, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy, he began periodically providing pastoral care to Orthodox believers living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China in the cities of Yining (Kulja), Urumqi, and Chuguchak (Chichen).
On July 22, 1995, he was tonsured a monk by Archbishop Alexy with the name Vianor in honor of Martyr Vianor of Pisidia.
In 1999, he was appointed dean of the 5th Almaty Church District, and from 2004, of the Zharkent District, located in the Panfilov and Kerbulak districts of the Zhetysu Region and the Uygur District of the Almaty Region, Kazakhstan.
On April 26, 2000, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen.
On April 26, 2002, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy, he participated in the finding of the relics of Hieromartyr Basil of Zharkent, who was canonized in 2000 at the Jubilee Bishops' Council. In 2002, he composed an akathist to Hieromartyr Basil of Zharkent, which was blessed for use in the Kazakhstan Metropolis.
From 2006 to March 2012, with the blessing of Metropolitan Methodius of Astana and Almaty (now Metropolitan of Perm and Kungur), he temporarily provided pastoral care to the Kazan Church in the village of Koktal, Panfilov District.
From 2009 to 2010, with the blessing of Metropolitan Methodius, he studied Chinese at the Ili Pedagogical University in Kulja, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. During his studies, he temporarily provided pastoral care to Orthodox communities in the cities of Yining (Kulja), Urumqi, and Chuguchak. With the local authorities' consent, church sacraments were performed in the churches.
In January 2010, with the blessing of Metropolitan Methodius, he prepared and held a Christmas celebration in Yining (Kulja) in cooperation with local Chinese authorities.
From December 1, 2012, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, he provided pastoral care to the Kazan Church in the village of Khorgos, Panfilov District, located on the border with China.
From 2013 to 2017, he studied at the Moscow Theological Academy. His graduation thesis was titled "Orthodoxy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region: History and Modernity."
In 2015, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander, he joined the government delegation of Kazakhstan on a working visit to China.
On February 1, 2020, he was appointed rector of the St. Michael the Archangel Church in Kaskelen.
By the decision of the Holy Synod on August 24, 2023 (Journal No. 57), he was elected Bishop of Uralsk and Atyrau.
On August 29, 2023, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.
He was named bishop on September 20, 2023, in the Throne Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
He was consecrated on September 21 during the Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The services were led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The Annual Educational Initiative “Total Dictation” Held in the Petropavlovsk Diocese
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Metropolitan Alexander Performs the First Reading of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the Great Lent of This Year
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Archbishop Sebastian of Karaganda and Shakhtinsk Participates in Events Dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Day of Gratitude
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Episcopate