Archbishop Theophan was born on January 19, 1976, in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In 1993, he graduated from the Eastern Lyceum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In 1997, he completed his studies at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk branch of the Moscow Commercial University. In May 1995, he received the Sacrament of Baptism and from that time served in the choir at St. Innocent of Irkutsk Church, and later at the Resurrection Cathedral in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. On August 14, 1997, he was tonsured as a monk by Bishop Jonathan of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Kuril Islands, receiving the monastic name Theophan in honor of St. Theophan the Confessor, Bishop of Nicea. On August 17, 1997, Bishop Jonathan ordained him as a hierodeacon, and on August 19, as a hieromonk.

From 1997 to 1998, Archbishop Theophan served as a cleric at the Resurrection Cathedral in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, also fulfilling duties as choir director for the cathedral and editor of the diocesan newspaper. In 1998-1999, with the blessing of the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (now His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’), he served as a resident priest at the Dormition Cathedral in Smolensk while studying at the Smolensk Theological Seminary, which he graduated from in 2000. In 2000, he joined the clergy of the Abakan Diocese.

In September 2000, with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, he was sent to the New Zealand (now Korean) Metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to provide pastoral care to Russian-speaking citizens residing in the Republic of Korea. On May 16, 2001, he was awarded the right to wear the pectoral cross. On June 6, 2006, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Department for External Church Relations, he was elevated to the rank of abbot by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk. In April 2011, he was granted the right to wear the epigonation. On May 6, 2006, he was awarded the title of “Honorary Citizen of Seoul” by the Seoul City Government.

In 2010, he completed a correspondence course at the Moscow Theological Academy. He is a postgraduate student in the Department of Church Administration and Canon Law at the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies.

By a decision of the Holy Synod on October 5-6, 2011 (Journal No. 112), he was elected Bishop of Kyzyl and Tuva. On October 25, 2011, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. On October 28, 2011, at the Patriarchal residence on Chistiy Lane in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presided over the naming of Archimandrite Theophan as Bishop of Kyzyl. On October 30, 2011, during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Church in Troitskoye-Lykovo in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presided over the ordination of Archimandrite Theophan as Bishop of Kyzyl and Tuva. On December 4, 2017, during the Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill elevated him to the rank of Archbishop. At the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, held on April 4, 2019, at the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Stauropegial Monastery in Moscow, he was appointed the ruling bishop of the Korean Diocese.

Education:

• 1997 — Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk branch of the Moscow Commercial University.
• 2000 — Smolensk Theological Seminary.
• 2010 — Moscow Theological Academy (by correspondence).

Diocese:

• Korean Diocese (Ruling Bishop)
• Kyzyl Diocese (Temporary Administrator)

Academic Works and Publications:

• Address by Archimandrite Theophan (Kim) upon his appointment as Bishop of Kyzyl and Tuva.

Secular Recognition:

• 2006 — “Honorary Citizen of Seoul”
• 2021 — Order of the Republic of Tuva