John (Bodnarchuk)

Metropolitan John (Ukrainian: Митрополит Іоан or Іоанн, Ioann; secular name Vasyl Mykolayovych Bodnarchuk, Ukrainian: Василь Миколайович Боднарчук, Russian: Василий Николаевич Боднарчук; 12 April 1927 – 9 November 1994) was an Orthodox hierarch born in the Ternopil area of Western Ukraine, which at that time was a territory of Poland. Defrocked from the Russian Orthodox Church, metropolitan Ioann played a notable role in revival of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. During his life he served as a bishop successively in the Russian Orthodox Church (1977–1989), in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (1989–1992) and in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate (1992–1994).

Biography Though he was born into a family of Ukrainian Catholics, he converted to Orthodoxy early in his childhood. His name at birth was Vasyl Bodnarchuk (Wasyl Bodnarczuk).

Arrest Following World War II since 1945, Vasyl Bodnarchuk served as a cantor (dyak) leading a church choir in home village Ivane-Puste. In 1946, the Soviet authorities liquidated the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which was widespread in Western Ukraine, while many members of the church were persecuted in various ways. In 1949, Ioan (Bodnarchuk) was arrested for his relations with Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor spending time in Tyumen labor camp and later in the Kengir copper mines near Karaganda (Steplag). His family also was deported to Kazakhstan, where they lived until 1954 and in 1953 or in 1955 he was released on amnesty.

Career in the Russian Orthodox Church In 1957, he was accepted into the Leningrad Theological Seminary and on 25 January 1958, he received holy orders to become a deacon. After graduating from the seminary, he was accepted into the Leningrad Theological Academy and on 21 May 1961, he received holy orders became a priest with the ceremony being led by Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga Pimen. Note, both seminary and academy are located in one place, Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1964, he graduated the Academy with a PhD in Divinity and he was sent to the Lviv and Ternopil diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate. He served as a priest in the village of Striivka in Zbarazh Raion which is in the Ternopil Oblast and in 1968, he served as a priest in a parish in the Lviv Oblast (Truskavets).

Clergy experience On 11 October 1977, he took his monastic vows in Pochaiv Lavra and on 14 October 1977 was awarded the title of Archimandrite. On 23 October 1977, he was consecrated as a bishop of Zhytomyr and Ovruch (Russian Orthodox Church), the cheirotonia service was led by Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia Filaret (Denysenko), Metropolitan of Lviv and Ternopil Mykola (Yuryk), Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea Leontiy (Hudymov), Bishop of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod Savva (Babinets), Bishop of Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv Sebastian (Pylypchuk). Establishment of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church In the beginning of 1989 there was created the Initiative Committee on revival of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) led by a priest Bohdan Mykhailechko, provost of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Jelgava, Latvian SSR. The committee petitioned to presidiums of supreme councils of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR to legalise and register Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The committee members also were asking Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I of Constantinople, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in diaspora and other autocephalous churches to show support for Ukrainians to have own church. In June 1989 the UAOC Kyiv community petitioned to the Kyiv city authorities to have the…Citește mai mult

Consecrated bishops Basil Bodnarchuk – 31 March 1990 (along with bishop of Simferopol and Crimea Varlaam (Ilyushchenko), bishop of Yasnaya Poliana Vikenty) Andrew Abramchuk – 7 April 1990 (along with bishop Basil of Ternopil-Buchach, bishop Vikenty of Yasna Poliana) Daniel (Kovalchuk) – 27 April 1990 (along with bishop Basil of Ternopil-Buchach, bishop Andrew of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia) Volodymyr (Romaniuk) – 29 April 1990 (along with bishop Basil of Ternopil-Buchach, bishop Andrew of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia, bishop Daniel of Chernivtsi and Bukovina)

Nicholas (Hrokh) – 19 May 1990 Roman (Balashchuk) – 22 May 1990 (along with bishop Basil of Ternopil-Buchach, bishop Andrew of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia) Anthony (Masendych) – 16 September 1990 (along with bishop Volodymyr, bishop Daniel of Chernivtsi and Bukovina)

After visit of Patriarch Mstyslav Soon after enthronization of Patriarch Mstyslav, Ioann Bodnarchuk lost his title of the First Hierarch on decision of Patriarch Mstyslav and corresponding corrections were made to the UAOC statute. Patriarch Mstyslav pointed out that since the church has its ruling Patriarch, there is no need for the post of First Hierarch nor locum tenens. Instead, Patriarch Mstyslav created post of the UAOC affairs administrator which was assigned to the newly ordained bishop Anthony (Masendych). In 1991 all consecrations were repeated with help of bishop Anthony (Scharba) of Washington when credentials of bishop Vikentiy of Yasna Poliana were questioned. In May of 1991 Ioann Bodnarchuk traveled to the United States to seek medical help. In his absence, the UAOC Demetrius Yarema wrote an article in the Lviv city newspaper accusing Ioann Bodnarchuk in “hypocrisy, thirst for power and money, insidiousness and vindictiveness”. Upon return from the United States Ioann Bodnarchuk informed that along with treatment he also managed to meet with representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch to gain recognition of the UAOC. That announcement was reproached to Bodnarchuk as an excess of his powers. It also became known that Bodnarchuk was given $30,000 abroad to support…Citește mai mult

Death He died in a car accident in 1994.

Religious Information Service of Ukraine Dmytro Shapovalov. УАПЦ: у пошуках моделі творення помісної Церкви. www.interklasa.pl. 28 February 2005