Died the former Metropolitan of Theodosius and Kerch Platon

The former governor of the Diocese of Feodosia, schemitropolitan Platon (Udovenko), died in Moscow after a long illness. He was 85 years old, the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia reported.

The priest died on November 6 in the Research Institute of Ambulance named after N.V. Sklifosovsky. The date, time and place of funeral and burial will be announced additionally.

Platon, Vladimir Udovenko, was born on November 17, 1940 in the village of Uspenka, Voroshilovgrad region. In 1957, he entered the Odessa Assumption Monastery as a novice, later graduated from the Theological Seminary and the Leningrad Theological Academy. He took monastic tonsure in 1971.

In 1973, Plato became Bishop of Argentina and South America. Later he served in the Sverdlovsk and Yaroslavl departments, and in 1990-1993 he was a People's Deputy of Russia and a member of the Supreme Council. In 1993 he returned to the Argentine See, in 2004 he received the rank of Metropolitan.

Plato headed the Feodosia diocese in December 2012 by the decision of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He received the title of Metropolitan of Feodosia and Kerch.

In June 2022, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church accepted three Crimean dioceses - Dzhankoy, Simferopol and Feodosia - into direct submission to Patriarch Kirill and the Holy Synod. The decision was made in response to appeals from diocesan leaders, including Plato. At the same time, the Crimean Metropolia was established.

The Holy Synod on July 25, 2024 freed Plato from the administration of the Feodosia diocese and sent him to rest, determining the place of his stay in the Crimea. In July 2026, at the I.M. Sechenov Clinical Center in Moscow, he adopted a great scheme with the naming of a name in honor of the martyr Platon of Ankira.