Diocese of Sourozh

The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Russian: Суро́жская Епа́рхия) is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church which has for its territory the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Its name is taken from an ancient see in the Crimea that no longer has a bishop. The patron saint of the diocese is St Stephen of Sourozh, an eighth-century Archbishop of Sourozh (today Sudak) and Confessor of the Faith during the Iconoclastic Controversy.

Founded in October 1962, the diocese was headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) until his death in 2003.

Bishop Basil (Osborne) continued as the administrator of the diocese, maintaining the late Metropolitan Anthony's cosmopolitan Orthodoxy. When the situation became untenable, Bishop Basil applied to have his diocese transferred from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate to that of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Before that could happen, on 9 May 2006 the Russian Holy Synod peremptorily announced him retired.

In his place the Holy Synod appointed Archbishop Innocent (Vasilyev) of Korsun as temporary administrator of the diocese.

On 6 October 2006, the Holy Synod announced that Archimandrite Elisey (Ganaba), head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, was to be consecrated Bishop of Bogorodsky, assistant bishop of the Diocese of Korsun, with responsibility for the administration of the Diocese of Sourozh.

Since the adoption of its new Statutes in 2010 the Diocese was placed under the direct and personal spiritual and administrative authority of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

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