Arhiepiskop Varfolomey Bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Date of Birth: 01.03.1953 Country: Ukraine

Content:

1. Early Life and Education
2. Ordination and Early Ministry
3. Episcopal Consecration and Transfer
4. Archpastoral Ministry
5. Ukrainian Church Autonomy
6. Awards
7. Secular

Early Life and Education

Bishop Varfolomei was born on March 1, 1953, in the village of Gorodnee, Lyuboml district, Volyn region, into a peasant family. After graduating from high school, he served in the Soviet Army from 1971 to 1973. He then worked as a locksmith in the Kovel wagon depot before entering the Odessa Theological Seminary in 1975. He graduated in 1979 and subsequently enrolled in the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1983 with a degree in theology. His thesis was titled "The Neamţu Monastery in the History of the Russian and Romanian Churches."

Ordination and Early Ministry

On October 16, 1983, Bishop Varfolomei was ordained a deacon by Archbishop Damiane of Volyn. Two days later, he was ordained a priest. He became the rector of the Transfiguration Church in Staraya Vyzhvka, Volyn region, on October 25, 1983. On March 10, 1989, he was appointed secretary of the Volyn-Rovno diocesan administration and cleric of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Lutsk. On April 15, 1989, he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. He became the rector of the Lutsk Cathedral on August 30, 1989.

Episcopal Consecration and Transfer

On December 22, 1989, Bishop Varfolomei was tonsured a monk with the name Varfolomei in honor of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. On January 18, 1990, Archbishop Varlaam elevated him to the rank of archimandrite. According to the definition of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 19, 1990, Father Varfolomei was elected Bishop of Volyn and Rovno. He was consecrated a bishop on February 24, 1990, in the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. On October 16, 1990, he became rector of the Volyn Theological Seminary.

Archpastoral Ministry

In August 1992, supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) seized the Lutsk Cathedral, the diocesan administration, and the seminary buildings. Following this, Bishop Varfolomei was transferred to the Mykolaiv and Voznesensk diocese on August 25, 1992. He was enthroned as Bishop of Sumy and Akhtyrka on June 23, 1993. On July 27, 1995, he was appointed to the Rovno See, which was formerly part of the Volyn diocese he had headed. On November 23, 1996, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. He was further elevated to the rank of metropolitan on August 28, 2014.

Ukrainian Church Autonomy

On November 13, 2014, Bishop Varfolomei signed a "Memorandum on the Creation of a Unified Ukrainian Church" in Rovno. The document called for the creation of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church that would be independent from both Moscow and Kyiv. Bishop Varfolomei stated that he had acted on his own initiative and that the signing had not been approved by church authorities in Kyiv or Moscow. On November 19, 2014, he withdrew his signature, citing violations of the memorandum by the UOC-KP.

Awards

Ecumenical
Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, II degree (2013)
Order of Saint Daniel of Moscow, II degree (2008)
Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, II degree
Order of Saint Vladimir, III degree
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Order of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Kyiv, II degree
Order of Saint Theodosius of Chernihiv (2011)
Jubilee Order of the Nativity of Christ, I degree (2000)
Polish Orthodox Church

Order of Saint Mary Magdalene, II degree (from Metropolitan Basil of Warsaw and All Poland, June 1997)

Secular

Order "For Merit," III degree (Ukraine)

Religious figure

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