Orthodox Church in Bishkek.
The move is meant to simplify church governance, he said. In each of the four affected countries – Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan – the ROC will form two independent dioceses, one named for the capital and one for the country (such as Tashkent and Uzbek dioceses). The decision did not affect Kazakhstan.
The Holy Synod of the ROC formed the Central Asian unit July 27, according to Turkmenistan.ru.
The new dioceses will have their own metropolitans, Dronov said.
