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In 1992 he became [[rector]] of the Saint Natalia and Adrian (now Saint John of Kronstadt) church in Odessa, Ukraine.
On [[March 27]], 1994, Agafangel was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] a bishop at the Holy Emperor Constantine Cathedral in Suzdal, Russia, by Archbishop [[Lazar (Zhurbenko)]], Bishop [[Valentine (RusantsevRusantsov)]], and Bishop [[Theodore (GineevskyGineyevsky)]]. At that time these bishops had separated from the ROCOR and organized their own paraecclesiastic organization called the "Free Russian Orthodox Church". Neither the ROCOR [[Synod]] of Bishops, nor any of the local churches, recognized Agafangel's consecration as valid at the time.
However in February 1995 the bishops dissolved the "Free Russian Orthodox Church" and requested to be reaccepted into the ROCOR. Upon a trial period of one year, the ROCOR Synod, acting in the spirit of oikonomia, accepted Agafangel's ordination as valid. In 1996 he was appointing ruling bishop of Simferopol and the Crimea.
