Vsevolod Chaplin

The Very Reverend Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin (Russian: Всеволод Чаплин; born 31 March 1968 in Moscow) is a Russian celibate priest of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). He was the chairman of the Synodal Department for the Cooperation of Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate from 2009 to December 2015.

Chaplin is a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and rector of St. Nicholas on the Three Hills Church, Moscow. He was also deputy head of the World Russian People's Council until 29 December 2015.

According to opinion polls, Chaplin was the most recognizable person in the Russian Orthodox Church, after the Patriarch Kirill (data from 2013 year) and has a mass media reputation of an ultra-conservative cleric.

Vsevolod Anatolyevich Chaplin was born on 31 March 1968 to the family of an agnostic professor of radio engineering Anatoly Chaplin () . He went to school in Golyanovo, Moscow.

After he finished secondary education in 1985, he joined the staff of the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. On recommendation of Metropolitan Pitirim (), he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary, graduating in 1990.

From October 1990 to March 2009, he was in the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, beginning as an ordinary staffer (1990-1991) before moving into public affairs (1991-1997), then being secretary (1997-2001) and vice-president (2001-2009). At the same time as being in the DECR, he continued studies at the Moscow Theological Academy, defending his thesis and graduating in 1994.

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