Tragic Road Accident Claims Life of Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola

patriarchia.ru and OCP News Service – 29/01/2025

Moscow- Russia: Archbishop Serapion of Kokshetau and Akmola, the ruling bishop of the Kokshetau diocese within the Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan, tragically died in a car accident on the night of January 27-28, 2025.

The accident occurred in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia on the M12 highway near the village of Pilna. Archbishop Serapion was en route from Kokshetau to Moscow to participate in Christmas readings when the vehicle he was traveling in was involved in the crash. He suffered fatal injuries at the scene.

Hieromonk Evlogy (Shcherbak), a cleric from the Resurrection Cathedral in Kokshetau who was accompanying the Archbishop, was hospitalized with a concussion.

Archbishop Serapion (born Sergei Sergeevich Kolosnitsyn on July 6, 1964) had a long and distinguished service within the Russian Orthodox Church. Tonsured a monk in 1988 with the name Serapion, he served in various roles, including canonarch at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, missionary work in Abakan, and rector of a parish in the Lipetsk diocese. He was consecrated Bishop of Kokshetau and Akmola in 2013 and elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 2022. His passing is a significant loss to the Church in Kazakhstan.

Source:

OCP News Services and patriarchia.ru