Epiphanius | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine | |
 Epiphanius I in 2019 | |
| Native name | Епіфаній |
| Church | Orthodox Church of Ukraine |
| Metropolis | Kyiv and All Ukraine |
| See | Kyiv |
| Elected | 15 December 2018 |
| Installed | 3 February 2019 |
| Previous post(s) | Secretary of the Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-UkraineFilaret (25 January 2008) Governor of theVydubychi Monastery (20 March 2008) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 January 2008 by Filaret (Denysenko) |
| Consecration | 15 November 2009 by Filaret (Denysenko) |
| Rank | Metropolitan bishop (2013– ) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Serhii Petrovych Dumenko Сергій Петрович Думенко (1979-02-03)February 3, 1979 (age 46) |
| Education | Doctor of Theology |
| Alma mater | Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms | .png) |
| Styles of Metropolitan Epiphanius I of Kyiv and All Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Beatitude |
| Spoken style | Your Beatitude |
| Religious style | Metropolitan |
Metropolitan Epiphanius[a]of Kyiv and All Ukraine (Ukrainian:Епіфаній, Митрополит Київський і всієї України,romanized: Epifanii, Mytropolyt Kyivskyi i vsiiei Ukrainy,secular name:Serhii Petrovych Dumenko, Ukrainian:Сергій Петрович Думенко; born on 3 February 1979) is theprimate of theOrthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), holding the title ofMetropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.
Metropolitan Epiphanius served as theMetropolitan bishop of Pereiaslav and Bila Tserkva, in the former originalUkrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) from 2013 to 2018. He was ordained over the diocese since 2010.
He was a professor of the Department of Biblical and Philological Disciplines of theKyiv Orthodox Theological Academy [uk]. He was a member of theNational Union of Journalists of Ukraine and of theInternational Federation of Journalists.[5]
Native ofsouthern Ukraine, Serhii Petrovych Dumenko was born on 3 February 1979 inVovkove,Berezivka Raion nearOdesa. His childhood and school years were in the village ofStara Zhadova inStorozhynets Raion ofChernivtsi Oblast. In 1996 in Stara Zhadova he graduated from high school of I-III grades.
In 1996 he entered theKyiv Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1999 with a first class degree. In the same year he entered theKyiv Theological Academy. He graduated as adoctor of theology in 2003 having successfully defended his PhD thesis on the "Formation of church-canonical collections in the Pre-Nicaeaen period and their characteristics".
In 2006–2007 he held an internship at theAthens National University inGreece in the Faculty of Philosophy.
On 30 August 2012, following his successful defense of his doctoraldissertation on the topic of the "Doctrine of the Orthodox Church on salvation in the context of the continuity of the Holy Fatherland", he was awarded a degree ofDoctor of Theology.[3][6]
From 1 July 2003 to 31 December 2005 he served as the secretary-referent of theRivne diocesan administration and the personal secretary of theMetropolitan of Rivne andOstroh. From 26 August 2003 to 31 December 2005 he was a teacher of the Rivne Seminary, and also held the post of senior assistant inspector.
In 2003-2005, he led the "Rivne Pravoslavne" (transl. Rivne Orthodox)Internet portal, and was also a member of the editorial board of the religious newspaperDukhovna Nyva (transl. Spiritual field). In December 2005 he was admitted to theNational Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
Since the academic year 2007, he has been a teacher at theKyiv Orthodox Theological Academy [uk], and was appointed head of thephilology department.[6]
On 21 December 2007, with the blessing of Patriarch Filaret,Archbishop Dimitriy ofPereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Epiphanius received atonsure as a monk in theMichael's Golden-Domed Monastery. He took themonastic nameEpiphanius in honor ofEpiphanius of Cyprus. On 20 January 2008 he was ordainedhieromonk byFilaret. Later that month (25 January), he was appointed secretary of thePatriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine,Filaret.[6][7]
In March 2008 he was ordained anarchimandrite inSt. Volodymyr's Cathedral. Later that month (20 March), he was appointed governor ofVydubychi Monastery in Kyiv.[3][6] On 30 May 2008, he was appointed manager of the affairs of the Kyivan Patriarchate. On 7 October 2008 he was awarded the title of Associate Professor of the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy.
On 21 October 2009, at the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP he was elected Bishop ofVyshhorod, vicar of theKyiv diocese. On 15 November 2009, he was ordained a bishop.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP from 27 July 2010, he was appointed rector of the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy and the governor of the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytsky diocese. On 17 November 2011 he was awarded the title of professor of the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy.
On 23 January 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Archbishop.[6] By the decision of the Bishops' Council of the UOC-KP on 28 June 2013, he was raised to the rank of Metropolitan ofPereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Bila Tserkva and was appointed patriarchal governor with the rights of the diocesan bishop.[6][8] On 13 December 2017 he was namedMetropolitan ofPereiaslav andBila Tserkva.[9]
In April 2019, he spoke in support of thelaw on the Ukrainian language.[10]
On August 21, 2020, on St. Michael's Square in Kyiv, Metropolitan Epiphanius consecrated the renovated Wall of Remembrance of Heroes.[11] He also consecrated the church on August 20 in honor of St. Nectarios of Aegina in the village of Khutir Yasny inKyiv region.[12] On August 29, on the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine, he honored the fallen Ukrainian servicemen.[13]
On 15 December 2018, at theunification council held in theCathedral of St. Sophia, he was electedMetropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,[14] the first primate of theautocephalousOrthodox Church of Ukraine.[3][15][16][17][18][19][20]
The official name of the primate the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is "His Beatitude (name), Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine".[21][22][23]
On Sunday 16 December 2018, during Metropolitan Epiphanius' firstDivine Liturgy as Metropolitan of the OCU following his election, he called for prayers for peace and unity in Ukraine.[24] In the same liturgy, Metropolitan Epiphany also omittedPatriarch Kirill of Moscow from thelist of brother primates with whom he is in communion who are usually commemorated at theGreat Entrance.[25][26] Metropolitan Epiphanius later explained in an interview with Ukrainian "Direct" TV channel: "At the moment I do not commemorate him [the Patriarch of Moscow] because we are in a state of war, so the Ukrainian people would not accept if the newly-elected primate commemorated the name of the Russian Patriarch."[27][28][29]
During the Divine Liturgy on 7 January 2019, after the OCU received its official autocephaly on 5 January 2019, Metropolitan Epiphanius commemorated the name of Patriarch Kirill during theGreat entrance.[30][31] Epiphanius later told he had done this after theEcumenical Patriarch had instructed him to do so, and thatFilaret had instructed him (Epiphanius) not to mention Kirill.[32]
On 5 January 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Epiphanius held a liturgy inSt. George's Cathedral in Istanbul; the tomos of autocephaly of theOrthodox Church of Ukraine was signed thereafter, still in St. George's Cathedral. Thetomos "has come into force from the moment of its signing".[33][34] The signing of the tomos officially established the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.[35]
After the tomos was signed, Metropolitan Epiphanius made a speech, in which he declared aboutPoroshenko: "Your name, Mr President, will forever go down in the history of the Ukrainian people next to the names of the rulers, of ourprince Volodymyr the Great,Yaroslav the Wise,Kostyantyn Ostrozky and HetmanIvan Mazepa".[36]
On January 6, after a liturgy celebrated by Metropolitan Epiphanius and Patriarch Bartholomew, Patriarch Bartholomew read thetomos of theOrthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and then gave it to Metropolitan Epiphanius.[34][37]
On 8 January 2019, the tomos was brought back to Istanbul so that all the members of theHoly Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate could sign the tomos.[38] Thetomos was signed by all members of the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 9 January 2019.[39][40][41][42] Thetomos, signed by all members of the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, was brought back to Ukraine on the morning of 10 January 2019.[43][44][45][46]
It was planned that Epiphany would be enthroned on 3 February 2019, which is also the date of his 40th birthday.[47][48][49] Thereafter, the first synod of the OCU was to take place.[50][51] Themonasteries of Mount Athos declined to send a delegation for the enthronement ceremony "not because theFathers do not recognize its legitimacy or canonicity, but because they have chosen to stick with what has become official practice and accept invitations only to the enthronement of their ecclesiastical head, theEcumenical Patriarch."[52] Two abbots of Mount Athos were planned to come at the enthronement but were to be part of the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[53] On 1 February, once in Kyiv, Archimandrite Ephrem, one of the two Athonite abbots, was hospitalized for a heart attack.[54] On 2 February, Archimandrite Ephrem was visited by Epiphanius.[55][56]
As planned, Epiphanius was enthroned on 3 February 2019, inSt. Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv.[57]Filaret was not present due to health conditions, so he sent his written congratulations to the primate Epiphanius, Filaret's congratulations were written by him and read at the end of the liturgy.[58][59] Archimandrite Ephrem, who had been hospitalized on 1 February 2019,[54] was not present at the ceremony of enthronement,[60][61] but ahieromonk of Ephrem's monastery was present during the ceremony of enthronement. A monk from askete of theKoutloumousiou Monastery was also present during the ceremony of enthronement.[62]
The first meeting of the holy synod of the OCU took place on 5 February 2019.[63][64]
A conflict erupted betweenFilaret and Epiphanius because of disagreements concerning the model of governance, the management of the diaspora, and the name and the statute of theOCU.
According to Filaret, the agreement reached at the unification council was as follows: "the primate is responsible for the external representation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), and the patriarch is responsible for the internal church life in Ukraine, but in cooperation with the primate. The primate shall do nothing in the church without the consent of the patriarch. The patriarch chairs the meetings of the Holy Synod and the UOC meetings for the sake of preserving unity, its growth, and affirmation." Filaret considers this agreement have not been fulfilled.[65][66]
Epiphanius has said that he supports liberal reforms in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church "to avoid this conservatism", "so that the church would be open".[67][68]
In particular, answering a question about a possible softening of the church’s position on LGBT issues, he replied: “Well, it’s like a difficult question that we shouldn’t raise at the beginning of our journey. Because you know how the Ukrainian society perceives this issue. Therefore, at now we need to work on it so that the Ukrainian society perceives it... This is a long way and we will work on it."[69][70][71]
Following theFebruary 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and escalation of theRusso-Ukrainian War, Archbishop Daniel of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of the USA reported that Epiphanius planned to remain in Ukraine during the fighting.[72] As Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he demanded that his Russian counterpartKirill of Moscow help remove the bodies of Russian soldiers who perished, questioning his loyalty to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.[73]
The Metropolitan repeatedly condemnedRussia's actions, asking for help from the international community[74] and suggesting secondNuremberg trials in order to prosecute thecrimes committed by Russia against Ukraine.[75] Along with other local bishops, he offered their churches as shelters from the bombings.[76] He also appealed toPatriarch Kirill of Moscow to arrange the repatriation of dead Russian soldiers in Ukraine.[77][78] The Metropolitan claimed to be a target of the Russian forces.[79]
.jpg)
Epiphanius is the head of the editorial board of scientific specialized editionsProceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy andTheological Bulletin of the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy.[citation needed]
He is also an author of more than 50 publications, including severalmonographs about Orthodox theology.
Epiphanius is an active religious leader and social activist. He participates in many scientific and educational activities, and has made a significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainianreligious education and science and the development and strengthening of theUkrainian state. He received recognition for this contribution from both the state and the Church in the form of orders.[80]
He has received the Order of the Holy Apostle and EvangelistJohn the Theologian, the Order of the HolyEqual-to-apostlesKnyaz Volodymyr the Great of the Third Degree, the Order of the HolyArchangel Michael and the Order of the Holy Cross of theMontenegrin Orthodox Church.
He has also received awards and honors with theOrder of Merit of ІІ and III degrees,[81][82] a letter of theCabinet of ministers of Ukraine, thanks to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, a letter of theVerkhovna Rada of Ukraine, decorations of theMinistry of Defense of Ukraine,Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, commandArmy of Ukraine, with distinctions of theNational Pedagogical Dragomanov University and the Ukrainian People's Embassy.[6]
2019 Athenagoras Human Rights Award[83][84]
In March 2019, he was named anHonorary doctor of theNational Pedagogical Dragomanov University.[85]
Епіфаній є членом Національної Спілки журналістів України та Міжнародної федерації журналістів, а також ректором Київської православної богословської академії.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Videos of the ceremony of enthronement of Epiphanius:
| Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Position established; merging fromUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate andUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (seeUnification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine) | Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) 2018– | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Demetrius (Rudiuk)(as Metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Boryspil) | Metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Bila Tserkva (Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate) 2010–2018 | Succeeded by none(merged back) |
| Preceded by Laurentius (Myhovych) | Bishop of Vyshhorod vicar of Kyiv eparchy (Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate) 2009–2010 | Succeeded by Agapetus (Humeniuk) |
| Autocephalous churches |
|  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous churches |
| |||||||
| Diaspora Assemblies | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||
| Liturgy | ||||||||
| Other | ||||||||
 Christianity portal
| ||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
