Evloghios (Hessler)

Metropolitan Evloghios (from the left) alongside bishops from the GOC-Avlona Synod

Metropolitan Evloghios was born as Klaus-Augustin Hessler in 1935 in Dortmund, Province of Westphalia, Germany, in a German Roman Catholic family. In his youth, he studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in Rome, Italy. Because of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Klaus Hessler (his secular name) was received into the Russian Orthodox Church.

Soon after his reception into the Orthodox Church, Klaus was tonsured a rassophore monk, receiving the name Evloghios, in 1970. In the same year, he was tonsured a reader, and then ordained a subdeacon, by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. In 1971, Evloghios was ordained deacon, and subsequently, a hieromonk, also by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom).

As a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh, Evloghios was sent to Italy to organize the religious and pastoral life of the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Milan, Bologna, Lugano, Bergamo, Genova, Pavia Brescia and Modena. In 1975 he became an hegumen, and in 1982 he was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.

After some time, he entered a Greek Old Calendar jurisdiction (Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece - Auxentios Synod), where on 9 September 1984, he was consecrated to the episcopacy with the title of bishop of Milan, by Gabriel (Rocha), bishop of Lisbon and James, bishop of Coimbra and Aveiro.

In 1985, the autonomous Metropolia of Western Europe, to which Evloghios belonged, emerges from the Auxentios Synod and begins an autonomous existence. In the same year, Evloghios was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

During the final stages of negotiations between the hierarchy of Metropolia of Western Europe regarding its reception into the jurisdiction of the Polish Orthodox Church, Archbishop Evloghios expressed strong objections and on September 27, 1990, proclaimed the formation of a new jurisdiction, called the Orthodox Autonomous Metropolis of Western Europe (Holy Synod of Milan); from the date of formation he headed this organization in the rank of Metropolitan.

In 1994, Metropolitan Evloghios visited the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, and met with its head, Volodymyr (Romaniuk). The outcome of the talks was an agreement on the union of the Holy Synod of Milan with the UOC-KP, with an autonomous status. On March 20, 1994, the Kyiv Patriarch Volodymyr (Romaniuk) issued a Tomos that proclaimed the act of establishing the Autonomous Western European Metropolis as part of the Kyivan Patriarchate. The first-hierarch of the newly-formed autonomous church received the title of His Beatitude the Archbishop of Milan, Metropolitan of All Western Europe and Canada.

After the election of Filaret (Denysenko) 1995 as Patriarch of Kyiv and All Russia-Ukraine, mutual alienation between the leaders of these groups arose. Patriarch Filaret sent a telegram in 1996 to Metropolitan Evloghios demanding the latter to remove from his jurisdiction the Metropolia's parishes in the Americas, and also demanded that Metropolitan Evloghios stop wearing the patriarchal Koukoulion. In response to this telegram, the Synod of Milan ceased communication with Filaret (Denisenko) and the UOC-KP.

On April 4, 2011, Metropolitan Evloghios, on behalf of the religious organization led by him, officially declared that the liturgical communion was broken with all non-canonical religious communities and expressed his desire to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. There had been cases where clerics and communities of the Milan Synod had been received by the Russian Orthodox Church.

On April 8, 2012, he renounced to the hierarchal rank which he had obtained while in schism and celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the rank of an archimandrite (his last rank while under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate). Metropolitan Evloghios’ decision was allegedly motivated by his desire to leave his schismatic status and reunite with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, of which he was once a clergyman.

However, in July 2013, without waiting for a response from the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Evloghios, and his vicar bishop Avondios (Bica), returned to the episcopal rank, and renamed the Holy Synod of Milan the Orthodox Exarchate of Longobardia. During this process, they admitted into their ranks Vladimir (Fritsch), bishop of San Giulio D'Orta. At the synodal meeting on September 9, 2013, an independent synodal body was restored.

On January 19, 2019, Metropolitan Evloghios was hospitalized in serious condition. He died on January 20, 2019. The website of the Metropolitan announced that from January 21 to January 26, the body of Metropolitan Evloghios would be in state. A requiem liturgy and funeral service was set for January 26, with burial at the Lambrate Cemetery, in Milan. There was no attendance of any clergy from any official Orthodox Church.