On Tuesday, July 7 – the feast of the Nativity of John, Forerunner of the Lord – His Eminence Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal & Canada, prayerfully celebrated the 30th anniversary of his episcopal consecration; the jubilee celebrations took place at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, together with the monastery brethren and pilgrims.
Archbishop Gabriel is a graduate of Holy Trinity Theological Seminary, located on the monastery grounds; for many yearsб he has provided comprehensive support to the monastery, making regular visits.
His Grace Luke, Bishop of Syracuse and abbot of the monastery, concelebrated Divine Liturgy with Archbishop Gabriel. At the end of the service, he presented His Eminence an archpastoral staff and wished him the help of St. John, Baptizer of the Lord, on this momentous day.
Archbishop Gabriel, born George Chemodakov, enrolled in Holy Trinity Theological Seminary in 1980 and graduated in 1984, after which he taught Russian culture and other subjects there until 1989. In March 1996, he received the monastic tonsure with the name Gabriel, and later that year he was ordained first as a hierodeacon, and then as a hieromonk.
On July 7, 1996, his consecration as Bishop of Brisbane, vicar of the Diocese of Australia & New Zealand, took place at Holy Trinity Monastery. In the fall of the same year, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia appointed him Bishop of Manhattan and deputy secretary of the Synod of Bishops. In May 2008, he was appointed Bishop of Montreal & Canada, and in May 2011 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
