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METROPOLITAN KRYSTOF - PRIMATE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE CZECH LANDS AND SLOVAKIA
Metropolitan Krystof - Primate of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia was born Radim Pulets in Prague in 1953. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1974. He studied at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Presov, Czechoslovakia, in 1979, after which he pursued graduate studies at the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1984. In 1987, he completed additional theological studies at the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens, Greece.
In 1985, he was tonsured to monastic orders at the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Monastery in Sergiev-Posad [then known as Zagorsk], Russia, taking the name Krystof. Two years later His Beatitude, the late Metropolitan Dorotheus, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, elevated him to the rank of archimandrite. He also served at Prague's Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
In 1988, Metropolitan Dorotheus presided at his consecration to the episcopacy and election as Bishop of Olomouc and Brno. After the repose of Metropolitan Dorotheus in 2000, he was named Archbishop of Prague and the Czech Lands and oversaw the work of the Church's Metropolitan Council.
Elected by the Council delegates as the new Primate of the Church was His Eminence, Archbishop Christopher of Prague and the Czech Lands. With his election, he becomes the fifth Primate of the Czech-Slovak Church since it was granted autocephaly by the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1951.
Archbishop Krystof has participated in numerous theological conferences and has represented his Church in many venues. He is well known for his academic pursuits in the fields of theology and philosophy, and is fluent in several languages, including Russian, Greek, German, and English.
"A lot of new people are looking for a new connection with Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox way is mystical and traditional. For this reason a lot of people are coming to the Orthodox Churches to pray and to seek the 'old Christianity' in our country. They are looking for a church with the old traditions and with some mystery."
