28-12-2018, Moscow

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has created the Western-European Exarchate.

On December 28, during its winter session, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, made the following decision (#105) concerning the countries of Western Europe:

It has been decided:

1. To form a Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe, with Paris as its center.

2. To include the following countries under the ​​pastoral responsibility of this Exarchate:

• the Principality of Andorra,
• the Kingdom of Belgium,
• the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
• the Republic of Ireland,
• the Kingdom of Spain,
• the Italian Republic,
• the Principality of Liechtenstein,
• the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
• the Principality of Monaco,
• the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
• the Portuguese Republic,
• the French Republic,
• and the Swiss Confederation.

3. To confer on the patriarchal exarch in Western Europe the title of “Chersonese and Western Europe”.

4. To appoint His Excellency Bishop John of Bogorodsk as the head of the patriarchal exarchate with the above-mentioned title.

5. To appoint His Excellency Bishop John of Bogorodsk as the Ordinary of the Diocese of Chersonese. He also keeps the provisional administration of the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Italy.

6. To form a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Spain and Portugal, with Madrid as its center.

7. To confer on the bishop of the diocese of Spain and Portugal the title of “Madrid and Lisbon”.

8. To name Bishop Nestor of Chersonese as the Bishop of Madrid and Lisbon.

Translation by Orthodoxie.com