The Western European Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) has released a new scholarly historical study examining more than 100 years of its ecclesiastical leadership and pastoral governance.

The research, authored by the ruling hierarch of the diocese, Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe, has been published in English on the official diocesan website. Titled The Apostolic Inheritance of the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe: Her Hierarchs and Pastoral Governance (1919–2026), the work traces the development of Orthodox communities of the Russian Church in Western Europe and the British Isles since their emergence in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

The study provides a chronological account of the bishops who have served in the region since 1919, including both ruling hierarchs and their vicars. Each chapter includes biographical information alongside an overview of each bishop’s pastoral, missionary, and administrative activity.

According to the research, the Western European Diocese was formed amid the mass emigration of clergy and laity following the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Its canonical foundations were shaped by decisions of the Supreme Church Administration between 1919 and 1921, as well as Patriarch Tikhon’s Decree No. 362, which allowed church bodies cut off from Moscow to govern themselves temporarily. Over the decades, the diocese at times united parishes across continental Europe and the British Isles, and at other times functioned in a divided structure.

The book gives special attention to prominent figures in the diocese’s history, including Metropolitans Evlogy and Seraphim, as well as St John (Maximovitch), who led the Western European Diocese from 1950 to 1963. The study highlights St John’s role in strengthening church life, expanding missionary activity, and overcoming internal divisions within the Russian émigré community.

Alongside the publication, the diocesan website has also launched an interactive timeline of the diocese’s hierarchs, offering a visual overview of changes in church governance over more than a century. The timeline is available in Russian, English, and French.