Hilarion Alfeyev

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev
Metropolitan Hilarion in his study
Born	24 July 1966 Moscow, Russian SFSR
Education	Moscow Theological Academy; Pembroke College, Oxford
Church	Russian Orthodox Church
Ordained	1987 (priest and monk), 2002 (bishop)
Writings	St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition, Oxford University Press, 2000 ; The Spiritual World of Isaac of Nineveh, Cistercian Publications, 2000 ; The Mystery of Faith, Darton, Longman & Todd, 2002  et al.
Title	Metropolitan of Volokolamsk

Hilarion Alfeyev (born Grigoriy Valerievich Alfeyev; 24 July 1966) is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. At present he is the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow. He is also a noted theologian, church historian and composer and has published books on dogmatic theology, patristics and church history as well as numerous compositions for choir and orchestra.

Grigoriy Valerievich Alfeyev was born on 24 July 1966 in Moscow. From 1972 to 1982 he studied violin, piano and composition at the Moscow Gnessins School and from 1983 to 1986 at the Moscow State Conservatoire. From 1984 to 1986 he served in the Soviet military.

In January 1987, after serving in the military, he became a monk (see below under Church activity). In 1989 graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary and in 1991 from the Moscow Theological Academy with the degree of Master of Theology.

From 1991 to 1993 he taught homiletics, dogmatic theology, New Testament studies and Byzantine Greek at the Moscow Theological Academy, St Tikhon’s Theological Institute and St John the Theologian’s Orthodox University.

From 1993 to 1995 he studied at the University of Oxford (UK) under the supervision of Bishop Kallistos Ware. In 1995 he completed his doctoral thesis on ‘St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition’ and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.