Archbishop Tikhon of Maykop and Adygea

The Russian Orthodox Church recognizes Abkhazia to be the canonical territory of the Georgian Orthodox Church; however, the Russian Church is somewhat involved in the religious processes unfolding in Abkhazia through the Eparchy of Maykop and Adygea. Archbishop Tikhon of Maykop and Adygea periodically also participates in important public events held in Abkhazia.

General Biographical Information 

• Archbishop Tikhon of Maykop and Adygea, Vladimir Lobovski in civilian life, was born on December 1, 1968, in Stanitsa Briukhevotsko, Krasnodar Krai, in RSFSR, USSR.
• From 1976 to 1986 he studied in secondary school.
• From 1987 to 1989 he served in the Soviet Army.
• From 1997 to 2001 he studied in Kiev Theological Seminary and from 2001 to 2004 in Kiev Theological Academy.

Clerical Career

• On August 28, 1989, he was ordained as a deacon by the Archbishop of Krasnodar and Novorossiysk, Isidore.
• He became a monk on December 19, 1989.
• He served in various churches from 1990 to 1997.
• In 1997, he served in the Syktyvkar Eparchy Monastery, also being the Pro-Rector of Syktyvkar Spiritual Academy. From 1998, he returned to Krasnodar Krai, where he continued his clerical career.
• In 2001 he became a hegumen.
• In 2004 he was ordained as Archimandrite.
• On May 27, 2009, with the decision of the Holy Synod, he was ordained as the ruler of Maykop and Adygea Eparchy.
• On November 20, 2016, he was granted the title of Archbishop by the Patriarch of Russia, Kiril.

Relations with Abkhazia

• On February 12, 2010, Archbishop Tikhon of Maykop and Adygea attended the “inauguration” of the de facto President of Abkhazia, Sergey Baghapsh.
• On May 15, 2011, the creation of the “Abkhazian Holy Metropolis” was announced at the New Atoni Monastery church-public gathering in Abkhazia, causing a severe confrontation between various religious groups in Abkhazia. Local clerics such as Dorofei Dbar and Andre Ampar, who were considered to be non-official clerics of the Maykop and Adygea Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, played active role in the creation of this non-canonical metropolis. They were ordained as monks in the Maykop Bishop’s Cathedral. Due to the creation of the metropolis, on May 26, 2011, the Bishop of Maykop and Adygea banned Dbar and Ampar from clerical work for a year.
• The ban on clerical activity for Dbar and Ampar was extended by three years on 11 June 2012, at the order of the Bishop of Maykop and Adygea, as they had not expressed the will to repent for their actions. On June 22, 2012, Dbar and Ampar announced about severing all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. They tore up the June 11, 2012, Decree published by the Bishop of Maykop and Adygea, Tikhon. According to their statement “from now on, we have no relations with the Maykop and Adygea Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church and hence, all decrees, old and new alike, are void”.