View source for Gregory (Grabbe) of Washington

His Grace, the Most Reverend '''Gregory (Grabbe) of Washington and Florida''' was a [[bishop]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church]] during the latter part of the twentieth century. He had earlier served as the [[Chancellor]] to the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

==Life==
Born in Russia in 1902, George Grabbe was a son in the aristocratic family of Count Paul Grabbe, who had attended the [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|Local Russian Council of 1917/1918]]. Forced to leave Russia following the Bolshevik revolution, George received his theological training in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After marrying he entered the [[Holy Orders]], rising to [[archpriest]]. 

In 1931, he was appointed by [[Metropolitan]] [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev|Anthony  (Khrapovitsky)]] as the chancellor of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. As well as having participated in many Russian theological reviews, in 1932, Fr. George was appointed editor of the Synod's magazine, "Church Life". When the ROCOR Synod of Bishops moved from Europe to the United States of America in 1951, Fr. George emigrated also.

After the death of his wife, Fr. George took monastic vows and was given the name Gregory. He then was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] to the episcopacy in 1978 as the [[vicar]] Bishop of Manhattan, followed, in 1981, with his appointment as Bishop of Washington and Florida. In 1986, Bishop Gregory retired from the Synod of Bishops, in part because of his relationship with [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Transfiguration Monastery]], and the scandal that led to their departure. Investigations showed that Bishop Gregory had squelched earlier accusations against HTM. Bishop Gregory was also left embittered by what he believed was the unfair treatment of his son, [[Anthony (Grabbe) of New York|Archimandrite Anthony]], who had been the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, and had been accused of selling property for his personal benefit.<ref>Fr. Alexey Young, ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: A History and Chronology'', (San Bernardino, CA: The Borgo Press, 1993), pp. 73-74,79-80.</ref>

Bp. Gregory reposed [[October 7]], 1995 after having made known his desire that no bishop of ROCOR attend his funeral. 

==Notes==
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==Sources==
*[http://celticchristianity.org/library/church1.html  Introduction to The Church Is One]
*[http://archives.homb.org/Bishop%20Gregory%20Grabbe%20to%20Vasili%20Ivanovitch%201987.pdf  Letter of Bishop Gregory (Grabbe) of March 24, 1987]
*[http://www.romanitas.ru/eng/LETTER%20OF%20BISHOP%20GREGORY%20GRABBE%20TO%20METROPOLITAN%20VITALY.htm Letter of Bishop Gregory (Grabber of March 24 / April 6, 1994]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html  Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Laurus (Škurla) of New York|Laurus (Škurla)]]|
title=Bishop of Manhattan<br>(ROCOR)|
years=1979-1981|
after=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion (Kapral)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzky)]]|
title=Bishop of Washington and Florida<br>(ROCOR)|
years=1981-1986|
after=?}}
{{end box}}

[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]
[[Category: Bishops of Washington]]
[[Category:Bishops of Manhattan]]