Russian Orthodox Church in CA to be divided into 4 parts
By Alisher Karimov
2011-08-25
BISHKEK – The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has decided to form a Central Asian Metropolitan District containing four independent parts, archpriest Igor Dronov, secretary of the Bishkek diocesan administration of the ROC, told Central Asia Online.
The move is meant to simplify church governance, he said. In each of the four affected countries – Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan – the ROC will form two independent dioceses, one named for the capital and one for the country (such as Tashkent and Uzbek dioceses). The decision did not affect Kazakhstan.
The Holy Synod of the ROC formed the Central Asian unit July 27, according to Turkmenistan.ru.
The new dioceses will have their own metropolitans, Dronov said.
