 |
Avel PoplavskyHierarch of the Polish Orthodox Church
Date of Birth: 08.04.1958
Country:  Poland |
Content:
- Abel, Archbishop of Lublin and Chełm
- Ordination and Monasticism
- Episcopal Consecration and Diocesan Service
- Contribution to Church Life
- Controversies
Abel, Archbishop of Lublin and Chełm
Early Life and EducationAbel was born on April 8, 1958, in Narew, Poland. From 1972 to 1978, he attended high school in Warsaw. He graduated from the Warsaw Orthodox Seminary in 1980 and from the Warsaw Theological Academy, earning a Master's degree in Theology on February 27, 1989.
Ordination and Monasticism
Abel was ordained a deacon on February 15, 1979, and a priest on November 30, 1980. On February 27, 1981, he was tonsured a monk with the name Abel. He served in Komańcza from 1982 and was appointed abbot of the Holy Onuphrius Monastery in Jabłeczna in 1984. On January 7, 1989, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
Episcopal Consecration and Diocesan Service
On March 25, 1989, Abel was consecrated a bishop and assigned to the newly established diocese of Lublin and Chełm. From 1989 to 1992, he served as rector of the Higher Orthodox Theological Seminary in Jabłeczna.
Abel's initiatives included establishing a Church Commission for the Study of the History of Orthodoxy and Ukrainian Culture in Chełm in 1991 and the creation of the Museum of the Orthodox Lublin Diocese in 1994. In 2001, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
Contribution to Church Life
Bishop Abel has played a pivotal role in restoring church life in the southeastern regions of Poland, where the Orthodox population was largely deported in the postwar years. During his tenure in Lublin and Chełm, the number of active Orthodox churches has doubled, and two Orthodox monasteries have been founded: a women's monastery in Turkowice and a men's monastery in Kostomłoty.
Controversies
On December 3, 2007, Abel joined the Rotary International Club, which has been linked to Freemasonry by researchers.
