Eminence Methodius, who now heads the Perm and Solikamsk cathedra under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, is one of the most controversial hierarchs of Russian Orthodoxy. In the recent past, he claimed the patriarchal throne, competing with Metropolitan Kirill of Kaliningrad. The life and ministry of this man will be discussed in this article.
The formation of the personality of Metropolitan Methodius
The future Metropolitan Methodius (Nemtsov), whose photo can be seen below, was born on February 16, 1949 in Ukraine, on the territory of modern Lugansk region. After school, he received a secular education at the technical school of railway transport, after which he entered the Odessa Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1972. It was an atypical choice made by the future Metropolitan Methodius (Nemtsov). His family was from employees, but something influenced the young man, who connected his life with serving in the church. Following the seminary, he entered the theological academy in Leningrad, and then the graduate school at the Moscow Theological Academy. At this time, as part of the youthdelegations of representatives of theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church traveled abroad, visiting Greece, Bulgaria and Finland.
Ordination
In 1974, the future Metropolitan Methodius takes monastic vows at the hands of His Eminence Nikodim, Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod. At this time, he takes the name Methodius in honor of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Enlightener of the Slavs. The civil name given to him in baptism is Nikolai. Two days after his tonsure, monk Methodius takes the holy rank of deacon, and a few months later he becomes a priest.
Serving in the Russian Orthodox Church as a priest
In the first years after his consecration, Metropolitan Methodius served in Moscow, at the Novodevichy Convent. At the same time, he began his church career in the Department of External Church Relations, in just a few months he rose from an ordinary assistant to the deputy chairman of the department. This is a rather dark page in the biography of Vladyka Methodius. After the collapse of the USSR, many facts of cooperation between the clergy and the KGB were revealed. Among other things, it turned out that the DECR was an intelligence center for special services within the Russian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Methodius made a dizzyingly fast career there only at the suggestion of the state security leadership. In the future, these same forces influenced his election as a bishop. Of course, after perestroika, the fact that Metropolitan Methodius was recruited into the KGB and had an officer's rank in this structure was hushed up. Same policysilence was also carried out in relation to all other recruited clergy, of whom there were a lot. Hierarchs often decided to take such a step, since this was the only way to receive the holy rank or retain it. In the future, Metropolitan Methodius (Nemtsov) served in the rank of archimandrite in various churches in Moscow, until in 1980 he was elevated to the hierarchal san.
Bishoping service
The naming and ordination as a bishop of Archimandrite Methodius took place at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The Irkutsk cathedra, which also unites parishes in Chita and other cities, became the place of service of the new bishop. In addition, together with the Irkutsk diocese, he was entrusted with the temporary management of the Khabarovsk church structures.
But Metropolitan Methodius did not serve long in Siberia - two years later he was transferred to Voronezh. In 1985-1989, in parallel with his hierarchal service, he served as the financial and economic administrator of the Patriarchate.
In 1985, Bishop Methodius became archbishop. In 1988 - Metropolitan, as a reward for the work in preparing and holding celebrations in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia.
In 1997, Metropolitan Methodius was appointed by His Holiness Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, to the position of a member of the commission for preparing and holding the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity. At the same time, he also takes the place of chairman of the historical and legal commission of the Russian Orthodox Church. As part of various commissions, Metropolitan Methodiusactively engaged in dialogue with various religious organizations. He is on the list of trustees of the Orthodox Encyclopedia project and on the editorial board of the Religions of the World, published annually by the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the quarterly Historical Bulletin.
In 2003, His Eminence Methodius became the head of the metropolitan district in the Republic of Kazakhstan, serving there until 2010, when by decree of the Holy Synod he was transferred to the Perm Metropolis. He holds this position to this day.
