Metropolitan Mark’s First Interview After His Appointment as Head of the Diocese of Chersonesus

On Faith, Youth, Culture, and the Search for Meaning in the Modern World

Interview by Anastasiia Lutcenko

On the eve of the patronal feast of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Nice, Metropolitan Mark, head of the Diocese of Chersonesus, gave his first major interview since his appointment. We spoke about vocation, Orthodoxy abroad, young people, inner freedom, Russian culture, and why, in a world of external success, people increasingly search for silence and meaning.

“In high school, I first seriously began thinking about the meaning of life”

Anastasia: Your Eminence, thank you for agreeing to this conversation. My first question is perhaps the most personal one. When did you first feel called to serve the Church?

Metropolitan Mark: I probably began seriously thinking about serving the Church during my final years at school — around the ninth or tenth grade. That is the age when a person truly begins reflecting on the meaning of life and their own path.

I grew up in a believing family. My parents were deeply religious people. My father studied at a theological seminary, although he never became a priest. Still, he spent his whole life serving the Church: singing in the choir, helping at the parish, carrying out various obediences.

Our home contained a large library of spiritual literature. During Soviet times, religious books were hardly published, so most of these were pre-revolutionary theological works and journals from theological academies. That was when I began reading consciously, reflecting on faith, and searching for answers to important questions.

Gradually, I came to understand that I wanted to dedicate my life to serving the Church. After school, I decided not to enter a secular university. At that time, military service was usually required before entering seminary, so I first served two years in the army and then entered the Moscow Theological Seminary in Sergiev Posad.

“Today it is especially important to hear one’s inner voice”

Anastasia: Your example is especially important for young people today. Many struggle to understand their calling. It seems to me that today it is more important than ever to hear one’s inner voice and understand where the heart truly leads.

Metropolitan Mark: Yes, certainly. Much comes from the family, from the spiritual foundation a person receives in childhood.

Anastasia: You mentioned that your family had many books. Was there one book in particular that influenced you most?

Metropolitan Mark: It is difficult to name just one. I read many different texts — articles, theological works. Each book, at a particular moment, answered certain questions in life.

“The task of a bishop is to become an instrument of Divine Providence”

Anastasia: You recently became head of the Diocese of Chersonesus. How do you personally perceive this mission?

Metropolitan Mark: The responsibilities of a bishop are the same everywhere, regardless of country or place of ministry. It is service to God and to people.

A bishop must care for priests, help and guide them, and ensure that church life brings spiritual benefit to people.

If we speak more deeply, the task of a bishop is to become an instrument of Divine Providence.

On the one hand, to be a humble laborer in Christ’s vineyard. On the other, through one’s ministry, to help people find the path to salvation.

“There is no nationalism in the Russian Church”

Anastasia: Russian Orthodox tradition abroad exists within a unique cultural context. Many young Orthodox Christians were born and raised in Europe, yet still maintain ties with the Church. How do you see the role of the Church for this generation?

Metropolitan Mark: Orthodoxy is always deeper than nationality. Faith exists among many peoples and cultures.

If we speak about the Russian Orthodox Church, openness has historically been one of its characteristics. There is no nationalism in the Russian Church. On the contrary, there is a special attentiveness toward people of other cultures and backgrounds when they come to faith.

That is why, in many parishes abroad, people of various nationalities feel at home. In our churches, Russians, French, Moldovans, Ukrainians, and many others pray together. The Church becomes a space that unites rather than divides people.

I recall a story from the Second World War.

In northern Russia, a German soldier who knew how to drive was taken prisoner. He was assigned to work with a Russian soldier transporting goods and giving rides to people along the road. Sometimes passengers would give them money.

At the end of the day, the Russian soldier divided the money equally and gave half to the German prisoner.

For that man, it was a shock. He had arrived as an enemy, raised on Nazi ideology, but encountered humane treatment instead. Later, after returning to Germany, he became an advocate of Russian-German friendship and even convinced his family to learn Russian.

Perhaps it is precisely in such actions that the true strength of the human soul is revealed.

“The Church is a space of love”

Anastasia: Can the Church today still be a place for dialogue?

Metropolitan Mark: It not only can — it already is a space of dialogue, love, and life.

The most important thing is that dialogue happens in love rather than in aggression and conflict.

Today, especially in these difficult times, people of different nationalities pray together in our churches — Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, and many others. The Church helps people find mutual understanding even when the outside world tries to divide them.

“Nice is, for me, an image of old Russia ”

Anastasia: Your visit to Nice is connected with the patronal feast of St. Nicholas Cathedral. What does this place mean to you personally?

Metropolitan Mark: I love this cathedral very much. For me, it is an image of that old Russia which we shall never see again.

I recall the words of Ivan Bunin, who once said:

“Our children will never know what a beautiful country Russia once was.”

And indeed, Russia used to be a very integral, organic country. Of course, there were difficulties and hardships, but there was also a special culture, nobility, and depth.

The cathedral in Nice is not merely a beautiful church. It is part of the history of Russian emigration, part of Russian memory abroad.

I first came here in 2012, during the centenary celebrations of the cathedral’s consecration. And every time I return, I experience a special feeling.

It is a space filled with memory, prayer, and the love of those who built and preserved this church.

“Human beings always need meaning”

Anastasia: The French Riviera and Monaco are often associated with success, prosperity, and beautiful living. Yet it seems that precisely in such places people begin to search even more deeply for inner meaning.

Metropolitan Mark: Certainly. People who achieve outward success often devote their lives entirely to external accomplishments. Yet human beings always need a deeper meaning.

Entrepreneurship, for example, can also become a form of service — service to people and society. Everything depends on how a person approaches their work.

I remember the story of a Russian banker who, during difficult times, withdrew his personal funds from Europe in order to repay everyone who had entrusted him with their money. He saved others but ultimately died in poverty himself.

That is true service and true responsibility.

“History is made by people drunk on God”

Anastasia: Recently, colleagues and I discussed the history of Orthodox radio broadcasting from Monte Carlo into the Soviet Union. It seems to me that today it is especially important once again to speak about culture, religion, and art — about the things capable of uniting people.

Metropolitan Mark: I recall the words of the French theologian Olivier Clément:

“History is made by people drunk on God.”

There is much truth in those words.

“A person cannot live only by outward things”

Anastasia: In your opinion, how will the role of the Church change in the future world?

Metropolitan Mark: The world is becoming increasingly technological, fast, and digital. Yet human nature does not change. A person cannot live only by outward prosperity. Human beings always need love, meaning, and inner support.

That is why the role of the Church will always remain important — as a place where a person can once again encounter themselves, God, and other people.

“The most important thing is to keep the heart alive”

Anastasia: And finally, what advice would you give to Orthodox young people today?

Metropolitan Mark: Do not be afraid to preserve your faith, your inner purity, and a living heart. Remember that human strength lies not only in knowledge or success, but above all in love, faithfulness, and the ability to remain truly human.