Epiphanius
Biography of Metropolitan Epiphanius
Date of Birth: 03.02.1979
Epiphanius (civil name Sergey Petrovich Dumenko) - Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 15, 2018.
Dr. of Theology, Professor, former Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Bila Zerkva of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (from 2010 to 2018) and head of the Patriarchal Representation of Filaret (from 2013 to 2018), Rector and Professor of the Chair of Biblical and Philology at the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy, permanent member of the Holy Synod and head of the Synodal Department for issues of Spiritual Education of the UOC KP, a member of the Holy Synod Council of the UOC KP, head of the St. Michael Vidubitsky Men’s Monastery in Kiev (from 2008 to 2018), member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the International Federation of Journalists.
Place of Birth. Education. Born on February 3, 1979 in the village of Volovo in the Ivanovo District of the Odessa region. He spent his childhood and school years in the village of Staraya Zhadova in the Storozhinets District of the Chernivtsi region. In 1996, he graduated from Starozhadovskaya Primary School I-III.
In 1996, he entered the Kiev Spiritual Seminary, which he graduated from in 1999 with the first category. In the same year, he enrolled in the Kiev Spiritual Academy, which he graduated in 2003. After successfully defending his dissertation, the Academic Council of the Kiev Theological Academy awarded him the degree of Doctor of Theology.
2006-2007 - Internship at the Faculty of Philosophy of the National University of Athens (Greece). During the internship, he learned Greek.
On August 30, 2012, after successfully defending his doctoral thesis, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology by the Dissertation Commission of the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy.
Service. From July 1, 2003, to December 31, 2005, he was Secretary-Referent of the Rovenskoy Eparchy Office and personal secretary of Metropolitan Danil of Rovno and Ostrog.
From August 26, 2003, to December 31, 2005, he was a lecturer at the Rovenskoy Spiritual School and also senior assistant inspector.
From 2003 to 2005, he was the editor of the 'Rovno Pravoslavnoye' internet portal - the official website of the Rovenskoy Eparchy and a member of the editorial board of the church-religious newspaper 'Dukhovnaya Niva' - the official printed organ of the Rovenskoy Eparchy.
In 2005, he became the press secretary of the Rovenskoy Eparchy Office.
On December 8, 2005, he became a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
Since 2007, he has been a lecturer at the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy, where he is also a senior lecturer in Philology.
On December 21, 2007, with the blessing of Patriarch Filaret, he was appointed Archbishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Dimitri and entered monasticism under the name Epiphanius, following the example of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus.
On January 6, 2008, he was ordained by Patriarch Filaret in the Church of Saint Sophia in Kiev as a deacon and on January 20, 2008, as a priest.
On January 25, 2008, he was appointed Secretary to Patriarch Filaret.
On March 16, 2008, he was appointed head of the St. Michael Vidubitsky Men’s Monastery in Kiev by Bishop Filaret at the Vladimir Metropolitan Cathedral.
On May 30, 2008, he was entrusted with the administration of the Kiev Patriarchate.
On October 7, 2008, he received the title of lecturer at the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy.
On October 21, 2009, he was appointed Bishop of Vyshgorod and Vicar of the Kiev Eparchy by the Holy Synod of the UOC KP.
On July 27, 2010, he was appointed Rector of the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy and Administrator of the Pereyaslav-Chmelnitsky Eparchy by the Holy Synod of the UOC KP.
On March 17, 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the Editorial Committee by the Holy Synod of the UOC KP.
On November 17, 2011, he was awarded the title of Professor at the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy.
In 2012, he obtained a PhD from the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy in Theology.
On January 23, 2012, he was appointed Archbishop and permanent member of the Synod of the UOC KP by the decree of Patriarch Filaret.
On June 28, 2013, by decision of the Episcopal Assembly of the UOC KP, he was appointed Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Bila Zerkva and installed as a local bishop with eparchial powers.
On December 13, 2017, by decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC KP, he received the title of Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Bila Zerkva.
On December 13, 2018, he was nominated as a candidate for the office of the head of the united Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
On December 15, 2018, he was elected Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine and the first head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at the unification synod in the Sophia Cathedral.
On January 6, 2019, Metropolitan Epiphanius received the Tomos on the national autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Patriarch Bartholomew.
Metropolitan Epiphanius leads the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and continues his active work as a theologian, preacher, and publicist.