Patriarchal Exarchate For Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe - Structure and Composition

Structure and Composition

Since its reception by the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1931, the Exarchate has grown to roughly 100 parishes (more than 40 of which are in France), served by about 66 priests who care for the needs of an increasingly multi-cultural flock, numbering roughly 100,000 strong. The Exarchate also has one monastery for women, the Orthodox Monastery of the Veil of Our Lady (Bussy-en-Othe, France), which publishes translations of liturgical materials.

Communities of the Exarchate, which constitutes the largest Orthodox group in France, range throughout Western Europe, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Spain. The Exarchate has been particularly active in missionary work in Scandinavia, including developing worship in the local languages.

Perhaps the best known institution of the Exarchate is the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, founded in 1925 by Metr. Evlogy and sometime home of several well-known Orthodox theologians and writers of the twentieth century, including Georges Florovsky, Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff (although not Vladimir Lossky, who neither taught at St. Sergius nor was a member of the Exarchate, himself remaining loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate).