In Memoriam: Archbishop John of Presov

Archbishop John (Holoni) of Presov, the senior hierarch of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church, has fallen asleep at the age of seventy-five. Born Ivan Holoni in 1937 in what today is central Slovakia, as a young man the future hierarch entered the Theological Faculty at the University of Presov, in 1958 being ordained to the deaconate (and later the priesthood) after completing his theological studies.

In 1983 Fr. Ivan was consecrated Bishop of Michalovce in southeastern Czechoslovakia, where he served as ruling bishop until 2006. In that year Bishop John was elevated to the rank of archbishop by the Holy Synod of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church and later transferred to the Eparchy of Presov, which was newly vacant following the repose of Metropolitan Nicholas of Presov, first hierarch of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church. Upon Archbishop John's transfer he was designated Exarch of the Orthodox Church in Slovakia.

Archbishop John fell asleep on 2 August and was buried in his home village of Kravany. May his memory be eternal! More on Archbishop John's life can be found here and here.

Russian Orthodox Archbishop Visits Bratislava, Karlovy Vary

Archbishop Mark (Golovkov) of Yegorevsk, auxiliary of the Moscow Patriarchate for its institutions abroad, has visited the representations of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, to discuss the life of the representation in Bratislava and plans to build a Russian cultural center in the Slovakian capital, whilst in Karlovy Vary Archbishop Mark led commemorations of the 300th anniversary of the visit of Tsar Peter I of Russia to the city. Metropolitan Krystof (Pulec) of Prague and Archbishop Juraj (Stransky) of Michalovce were both present for the services in Karlovy Vary. More (in Russian) here.