Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder)

Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder) (1946-2013)

Archbishop Gabriel’s biography is included in this collection for 2 reasons. He gave the blessing in 2003 for the establishment of the Mission Community of Saint Celer of Dyfed in Carmarthenshire in Wales (United Kingdom), which was led for many years by a Canadian hieromonk. There was a collaboration between him and Bishop Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa (Canada) at that time in order to facilitate this mission. In addition, many years before, when Vladyka Gabriel was yet an archimandrite serving in the Netherlands, one of his responsibilities was to serve in Liège, Belgium. For more than a year, Mother Dorofea (Mirochnitchenko) of Ottawa, Canada, was serving as custodian for the Temple of Saint Alexander Nevsky and Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Liège.

Furthermore, a rather large number of Orthodox Christians in Canada had and have historical connexions, experience and relationships with the "Russian Exarchate" of Western Europe, its parishes and clergy. The main centres where they are found are still in Montréal, Québec, and in Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario, although others still live in other parts of Canada (and very many more, of course, in the USA and other parts of the world). A few examples (besides Hieromonk Vladimir and Mother Dorofea) include Archbishop Sylvester (Haruns), Protopresbyter Alexander and Matushka Juliana Schmemann, Protopresbyter John and Matushka Marie Meyendorff, Mitred Archpriest Oleg and Matushka Natalia Boldireff, Archpriest Nicolas and Matushka Anysia Boldireff, Archpriest Oleg Kirilov, Protodeacon Peter and Matushka Nadezhda Svetlovsky and Alexander and Sonja Milochenko. There are many others.

Early life of Guido de Vylder

On 13 June, 1946, Guido de Vylder was born into a Flemish Roman Catholic family in Lokeren, near Ghent in Belgium.

His family were devout Roman Catholic Christians, and they formed their son in the same manner.

His father was Flemish, and his mother was born in Chicago, Illinois. Thus, he could speak several languages from the beginning.

In his schooling, he received technical training, since he was expected to succeed his father as head of the family business.

Military service, 1966

Guido, as others, fulfilled the required military service obligation, which he completed in 1966.

Higher education

Later in 1966, Guido entered the Roman Catholic Institute for Delayed Vocations in Kortrijk. He then took the courses that would prepare him to become a priest. However, during this period following the Vatican II Council, and its consequences which immediately began to affect all aspects of life, Guido experienced difficulties and interior suffering.

In 1970, he began to study philosophy and theology at the seminary of the Diocese of Ghent until 1974. At that time, he changed his area of studies to moral and religious studies at the Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium. He graduated in 1976, and he obtained a diploma in moral and religious studies from that university.

During this time, he had been introduced to Orthodox Christianity at the parish of Saint Andrew in Ghent. He then became acquainted with the Orthodox Christian parishes in Belgium and the Netherlands. This led him to refuse ordination to minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church.

In January, 1974, he was received into the communion of the Orthodox Christian Church at the parish of Saint Andrew in Ghent.

Temple of Saint Andrew, Ghent

Diaconal ordinations, 1975

On 5 October, 1975, in the Crypt Temple of the Holy Trinity in the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Paris, France, Guido de Vylder was ordained as a celibate to the Holy Diaconate by Archbishop Georges (Tarassoff) of Syracuse, Ruling Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Exarchate in Western Europe.

Presbyteral ordination, 1976

On 27 June, 1976, Deacon Guido de Vylder was ordained as a celibate to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Georges (Tarassoff) in the same Crypt Temple of the Holy Trinity at the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (sometimes shortened to "Rue Daru", its street address).

Pastoral/missionary service

While he engaged in various missionary activities, Father Guido worked as a teacher of the history of religions in the Dutch secondary school system in Maastricht, Netherlands, from 1976 to 1997. Through this, he supported himself and his various activities.

In 1977 he was assigned as priest of the parish of Saint-Jean Chrysostome et Saint-Servatios in Maastricht, Netherlands, which had been initiated in 1972.

He was also active during this time in the foundation of Orthodox communities at Deventer, Breda and Antwerp. He maintained his pastoral work in Maastricht while the other communities developed, until they became independent parishes with their own priests. He also established a chapel at Kollumerpomp in Friesland, in the extreme north of Holland.

On 9 March, 1985, he was elevated to the dignity of archpriest.

Having been elected by the general assembly of the Archdiocese to the Diocesan Council in 1994, he held this seat until 2002 as representative of the clergy (from 2002 to 2003, he was ex officio as an auxiliary bishop). From 2000 to 2003, he was also a member of the disciplinary commission.

On 12 December, 1992, he was assigned by Archbishop Georges (Wagner) of Evdokia (and Paris) to serve as the rector of the parish of Saint Alexander Nevsky and Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Liège, Belgium.

Monastic tonsure, 1994

On 11 May, 1994, Father Guido was tonsured to be a monk by Archbishop Serge (Konovalov) of Eucarpia (and Paris), and he was given the name Gabriel (whose feast-day is on 13 July).

On 10 December, 1995, Hieromonk Gabriel (de Vylder) was elevated to the dignity of igumen.

In 1998, notably, Father Gabriel was a member of the delegation of the Archdiocese led by Archbishop Serge (Konovalov) to the Phanar, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople (Patriarch Bartholomew I (Archontonis)), to discuss the status of the archdiocese within the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a discussion that culminated in the granting of the "Tomos" on 19 June, 1999, from the Church of Constantinople. With this tomos, the name of the diocese was adjusted to “Exarchate of Orthodox Parishes of Russian Origin in Western Europe”.

On 17 December, 1998, Hieromonk Gariel (de Vylder) was assigned to serve as the rector of the Parish of Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Servatios in Maastricht, while retaining his duties in Liège.

On 20 December, 1998, he was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.

In January, 2001, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Archimandrite Gabriel to become the Vicar-Bishop of the Exarchate of Orthodox Parishes of Russian Origin in Western Europe with the title "Bishop of Komana" (Comana).

Episcopal ordination, 2001

On 24 June, 2001, Archimandrite Gabriel (de Vylder) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate at the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris, France.

Episcopal service

Upon his ordination, Bishop Gabriel (de Vylder) was given the title Bishop of Comana, Vicar-Bishop of the Archdiocese of Western Europe.

He was also given the responsibility for the parishes in northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

In December, 2002, Archbishop Serge (Konovalov) of Eucarpia became ill, and he assigned the task of administering the archdiocese to Bishop Gabriel.

Following the repose of Archbishop Serge (Konovalov) on 22 January, 2003, the Synod of the Archdiocese elected Bishop Gabriel to be the Locum Tenens of the archdiocese.

On 1 May, 2003, the clergy and laity of the General Assembly of the archdiocese, meeting in Paris, nominated Bishop Gabriel by election to lead the archdiocese. This occurred at the second ballot of the assembly. There was a large majority (134 votes out of 168).

This nomination was confirmed by his election by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 3 May, 2003.

Archbishop of the Exarchate of Western Europe, 2003

On 3 May, 2003, Bishop Gabriel was elevated to the dignity of archbishop by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Throne. He was also assigned by Patriarch Bartholomew I (Archontonis) to be the patriarchal exarch in Western Europe.

On 24 June, 2003, Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder) was solemnly enthroned at the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Paris. The enthronement was attended by clergy and laity of Paris, the Paris region, the provinces, and from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Paris

From then on, he supervised the life of the archdiocese. He served as president of the diocesan council, 4 general assemblies of clergy and laity (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010), and several pastoral assemblies and diocesan conferences, organised on his initiative. As well as his responsibilities as head of the archdiocese, Archbishop Gabriel carried out the responsibilities of being the rector of the Saint-Serge Theological Institute (2003-2013), rector of the parish of Christ the Saviour in Asnières (2003-2011), and rector of the parish of the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky (2009-2013).

Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder)

Archbishop Gabriel tried to make the presence of the archdiocese known on the inter-orthodox scene. He was a member of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France. He made several visits to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He participated in official delegations at the side of Patriarch Bartholomew I, first to the Georgian Church in Tbilisi in 2004 and 2006, and also to the Russian Orthodox Church in Kiev, Ukraine in July, 2008. He made official visits to the Church of Poland, in May, 2008, and to the Church of Finland, in February, 2005. He received and held meetings with Patriarch Bartholomew I in Paris 3 times (February, 2007 ; April, 2009 ; April, 2011). He also received Patriarch Aleksey II (Ridiger) of Moscow, in October, 2008 ; Metropolitan Sava of Warsaw, in September, 2004 : and Archbishop Leo (Makkonen) of Finland, in August, 2004. He led a diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October, 2011, in the course of which he received the Order of the Cross of a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, from Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem.

The 9 years spent by Archbishop Gabriel at the head of the archdiocese were marked by numerous events, some of them radiant and full of Grace. For instance, Archbishop Gabriel visited all the parishes and communities in the Archdiocese without exception, celebrated the sanctification of new places of worship all over Europe, notably the new Temple of the Monastery of Our Lady of Protection at Bussy-en-Othe, and he ordained about 40 priests and deacons.

Some events, however, involved more controversy, such as the taking by legal force of the church in Biarritz and the events that followed ; the ceding of the parishes of Perpignan, Lyon, Altéa and Charleroi to the Moscow Patriarchate, and the loss of the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Nice following a decision of the civil courts in Russia. It is certainly too soon to make a final assessment of this whole period.

Archbishop Gabriel received several Orthodox parishes in Great Britain into the jurisdiction of Constantinople, under the Exarchate of Western Europe. The integration into the archdiocese of these parishes, together with their bishop at the time, Bishop Basil (Osborne), took an act of courage on the part of Archbishop Gabriel. Vladyka Gabriel wanted to allow these communities to continue to lead their liturgical and pastoral life in peace and in line with the spiritual legacy of their founder, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh, which they considered to be impossible within the framework of the previous canonical status. The parishes had greatly feared losing some of this legacy with the arrival in London of a new bishop from the Moscow Patriarchate.

Glorification of recent Orthodox Christian saints in Western Europe, 2004

On 16 January, 2004, there was a solemn declaration of the sanctity of Father Alexis Medvedkov, Father Dimitri Klepinin, Mother Marie (Skobtsov), and their companions Elias Fondaminsky and Yuri (George) Skobtsov, when they were glorified by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the request of Archbishop Gabriel. Without a doubt, this was a significant moment, with a particular meaning for the Orthodox Church in the West as well as for the Church universal. It was the first glorification of saints of the Orthodox Church who had lived in Western Europe in modern times. Archbishop Gabriel presided at the solemn liturgy for the glorification on 1 and 2 May, 2004, at the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Paris.

On 9 June, 2006, the Episcopal Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland was created (after the reception of its bishop into the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was overseen by an episcopal vicar in these countries (known at times simply as "The Vicariate"). After the retirement of its bishop on 12 October, 2009, the Vicariate became a deanery within the exarchate.

It became known as the Deanery of Great Britain and Ireland within the Archdiocese of Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe. Its numbers were increased by the transfer of some clergy and communities from the Diocese of Sourozh of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Associated with these actions on the part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople were various tensions with the Patriarchate of Moscow, from which the vicariate/deanery had been taken. Nevertheless, this deanery continued to grow.

At the beginning of 2011, Archbishop Gabriel began treatment for a cancerous tumour of the lungs. After some courses of chemotherapy, his health deteriorated rapidly in the second half of 2012.

Retirement, 2013

On 8 January, 2013, Archbishop Gabriel formally requested the Patriarch of Constantinople that he be granted retirement for health reasons.

The retirement was blessed, and on 15 January, 2013, Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis), the Greek Metropolitan of France, was appointed to be the Locum Tenens, pending the election of a new ruling bishop in May, 2013.

Archbishop Gabriel then withdrew to the city of Maastricht in The Netherlands, where he lived in his house near the Temple. There, he continued his rigourous medical regime. Then, he had to be taken to the De Keederberg hospice, where he remained for a few days. However, after a sudden deterioration in his condition, he was transferred again to the University Hospital in Maastricht (AZM) on 24 October, 2013.

Repose, 2013

During the night of 25-26 October, 2013, Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder) fell asleep in the Lord in Maastricht, Netherlands. He was 67 years old.

On 26 October, 2013, the archbishop’s body was placed in the Temple in Maastricht on the evening. In the middle of the week, his body was transported to Paris.

On 1 November, 2013, the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Hierarch took place at the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Paris. The service was led by Metropolitan Emmanuel, the temporary administrator of the Archdiocese.

On 2 November, 2013, the Memorial Divine Liturgy and final Litiya were served at the Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky. The service was led by Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis), the temporary administrator of the Archdiocese.

After the funeral services for the Burial of a Hierarch, the interment took place in the crypt of the cemetery Temple of Sainte Geneviève-des-Bois (Essone), where his predecessors had previously been laid to rest – Metropolitan Eulogius (Georgievsky), Metropolitan Vladimir (Tikhonitsky), Archbishop George (Tarassoff), Archbishop Georges (Wagner) and Archbishop Serge (Konovalov).

Crypt Chapel of the Sainte Geneviève-des-Bois Temple

— Bishop of Comana 2001-2003.

— Vicar-Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Exarchate in Western Europe 2001-2003.

— Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Exarchate in Western Europe 2003-2013. Preceded by : Archbishop Serge (Konovaloff). Succeeded by : Archbishop Job (Getcha).

Reflections

Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder) was one of many Orthodox Christians in the West who embraced the Orthodox Christian Faith in adulthood. Many of them have served the Church as teachers, singers, Altar-servers, monks, nuns, deacons, priests and bishops.

During his nearly 10 years at the helm of the Exarchate of Western Europe, Archbishop Gabriel ordained dozens of deacons and priests, and he created many new parishes. Particularly during his archpastorate, the service of the archdiocese was in 2 "directions" : caring for and nurturing Russian-speakers (both old emigrants and more recent arrivals), and those who are actually Western European (descendants of older immigrants who have lost their ancestral language, descendants of those who embraced the Orthodox Christian Faith long ago, and those who more recently entered the Orthodox Christian Church).

At the time when he requested retirement, Archbishop Gabriel wrote a pastoral letter to the flock that had been entrusted to him, of which these are excerpts :

 The moment has come for me to leave you. [...] Through tribulations of all kinds, always have confidence and hope in 
 the Word of God, which is the measure of our salvation and the affirmation of our Church.  The liberty of the 
 Church and the universality of the Orthodox Faith are the two treasures that I have sought to preserve, 
 following the example of my predecessors at the head of this Archdiocese, in order that we should be able to 
 concentrate on what, in the eyes of Christ’s disciples, must be the ‘one thing necessary’ : ‘“Seek first the 
 Kingdom of God and His justice”’, as the Lord Himself commands us (Mt. 6:33).  My last word will be to ask you 
 to maintain your love and your unity.  That is the most precious treasure of our Church.  May the Lord ‘give you 
 a spirit of wisdom’ and ‘“enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you are able to see the hope to which he has 
 called you”’ (Eph. 1:17-18). 
 [pastoral letter from Archbishop Gabriel, dated 8 January, 2013].

In part, because he was not a Russian, there were some controversies and disagreements within the archdiocese. Indeed, such a phenomenon is not unheard of, particularly in the West. It may be that these were a consequence of Vladyka's particular cultural formation and his way of speaking. There may be other reasons. It is, however, significant that a young man wrote about Vladyka that he did not agree with Vladyka Gabriel in many ways. He wrote that regardless of the disagreement, Vladyka and his household gave this person warm hospitality, and the bishop engaged an open and honest discussion. The young man admitted that "the very possibility of open discussion of the young layman with the respected bishop only emphasised the democracy of the latter".