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The Russian Orthodox presence in Australia - ACU Research Bank
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LOEVCHINE, Hierodeacon Andrei.
Fr Andrei, Vasily Dimitrievich Loevchine (pronounced Lovshin), was born in St Petersburg on 15 october 1906. His father, Dimitry Feodorovich, was a cavalry officer and his mother, Natalia Alexandrovna Kutuzova, came from a notable military family. Prior to the 1917 Revolution the family was stationed in the capital but during 1917-1918 they moved to Moscow where there was less revolutionary activity. During the Civil War, Vasily’s father was on active service in the White Army with the Terek Cossacks in southern Russia.
With the collapse of the White Army, the Loevchine family migrated to France and Vasily attended school in Nice. From 1923 to 1925, Vasily attended the Ecole Militare where he studied the military arts and bookkeeping, and graduated as an officer of the Reserve in 1926.
In 1927 Vasily moved to Casablanca in Morocco and worked as an accountant for a number of government departments. On 9 May 1927 Vasily married Alexandra Mihailovna Pligina and they had four children. During WW2 Vasily Dimitrievich served in the French Territorial Army and was twice decorated by the French Government in Exile and twice by the US Army. After the war Vasily Dimitrievich worked for International Press and the American Express organisations. From 1950 to 1952 he worked in Paris, as an accountant for the Economic Co-operation Administration (the so-called Marshall Plan), and from 1952 until he migrated to the USA in August 1960, Vasily worked for the US Air Force.
In the USA, Vasily was senior accountant for the Swiss Credit Bank, and after his wife died on 20 June 1969 moved to the Tolstoy Foundation where he became honorary treasurer. In 1971 he met Bishop Konstantin who suggested that he join the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston. Vasily agreed and was tonsured to the monastic state with the name Andrei.
On 22 July 1972, Bishop Konstantin invited Fr Andrei to come to Brisbane and be his cell attendant. That same year, on 1 October, Bishop Konstantin ordained Fr Andrei to the diaconate. However, after some initial discussions about ordaining him to the priesthood, the matter was dropped. Laurent Laloup le lundi 01 janvier 2018 Contribution au livre ouvert de Basile Loevchine | |
