Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to Archpriest Gavriil Makarov, the rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia. The corresponding document was published on Thursday.

"Accept into the citizenship of the Russian Federation the following individuals: ... Makarov Gavriil, born on March 7, 1958, in China," cites the decree RIA Novosti.

Father Gavriil was born on March 7, 1958, in Hailar (Manchuria, China). In 1962, the Makarov family moved to Australia and settled in Sydney. He graduated from the New South Wales Institute of Technology with a degree in civil engineering. In 1984, he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, USA. After graduating from the seminary, he returned to Australia and was assigned to serve at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in Geelong (Victoria) under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). Since 1988, he has been the rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brisbane.

St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brisbane is the first Orthodox cathedral of the Russian Church in the country. The parish was founded in 1923 by Father Alexander Shabashev, who managed to buy a plot with a house on the outskirts of the city and open a church. In 1933, parishioners began raising funds to build a new, larger building, and in 1935, construction of the cathedral began on the site of the old church, completed in 1936. The old building was moved further into the plot, later housing a library and school. Services in the cathedral are conducted in Church Slavonic and English (for mixed family couples), and the parish maintains close cooperation with Russia.

Photo: St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral