Lazar
- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career
- Monastic Life and Ordination
- Archbishop and Metropolitan
- Landowner and Publisher
- Works and Retirement
- Death and Legacy
Early Life and Education
Lazar Baranovich was born in 1616 in present-day Ukraine. He studied at the School of the Kyiv Brotherhood's Epiphany Monastery. For his advanced education, he attended Polish colleges in Vilnius (now Vilnius) and Kalisz.
Academic Career
In the early 1640s, Baranovich taught at the Kyiv-Mohyla College. From 1650, he served as its rector and abbot of the Bratstvo Educational Monastery. In 1651 or 1652, he also became the rector of the Kyivan-Kyrylivskyi Monastery.
Monastic Life and Ordination
In 1651, Baranovich left the academy and resided in the Kyiv-Kyrylivskyi, Kupyatynskyi, and Dyatelovo Monastery. In 1653, he took charge of the Yeltskyi Monastery in the Chernihiv Diocese. On March 8, 1657, he was consecrated as Bishop of Chernihiv by Metropolitan Gedeon of Moldova in Jassy.
Archbishop and Metropolitan
Baranovich served as Locum Tenens of the Kyiv Metropolis from April to December 1657, from October 1659 to May 1661, and from 1669 to 1676. On September 8, 1667, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. He participated in the Moscow Council of 1666-1667, which discussed the subordination of the Kyiv Metropolis to the Patriarch of Moscow.
Landowner and Publisher
Baranovich owned numerous villages in Chernihiv, Nizhyn, and other regions. He received grants from Hetman Samoylovich and confirmation of his holdings from Peter I in 1688. The income from his mills financed his publishing activities.
In 1674, Baranovich established a publishing house at the Savior-Transfiguration Monastery in Novgorod-Siverskyi. In 1679, he moved it to Chernihiv.
Works and Retirement
Baranovich is known for his literary works, including "Sword of the Spirit" (1666, 1668) and "Trumpets of Preaching Words" (1674, 1679). In 1692, he was granted a leave of absence.
Death and Legacy
Lazar Baranovich died on September 3 (13), 1693, and was buried in the Borisoglebsky Monastery in Chernihiv. His contributions to the Orthodox Church, literature, and education left a lasting mark on Ukrainian history.
