Onufriy
Date of Birth: 05.11.1944
Metropolitan Onufriy (secular name Orest Vladimirovich Berezovsky) - the bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, since August 17, 2014, its head with the title His Eminence Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church since March 19, 2014.
Place of Birth. Education. Born into a priest’s family in the village of Koritne Vashkovetsky, now in the Vyzhnytsia region, Chernivtsi district. From 1962 to 1964, he attended a vocational school in Chernivtsi and worked in construction organizations in Chernivtsi after graduation.
In 1966, he enrolled in the technical faculty of Chernivtsi University, and in 1969, after the third year, he transferred to the second class of the Moscow Theological Seminary, which he graduated from in 1972.
In 1988, he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy with a theological candidate degree, awarded for his work on the topic 'The priestly service of the venerable Job, Abbot of the Pochayiv Lavra.'
Priestly Career. Since 1970, Onufriy was a member of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Brotherhood for 18 years, where he performed various services alongside his studies (he sang in the choir, served as a candle-bearer, was the butler of the abbot).
On March 18, 1971, he entered the monastic community under the name Onufriy, dedicated to the venerable Onufriy the Great.
On June 20, 1971, he was ordained as Hierodeacon.
On May 29, 1972, Onufriy was ordained as Hieromonk.
In 1980, he was appointed Igumen.
On August 28, 1984, Onufriy was appointed head of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior at the Athos courtyard in Lukino. On June 28, 1985, he became the dean of St. Sergius Lavra.
At Christmas 1986, he was ordained as Archimandrite.
From July 20, 1988, to November 1990, he was the dean of Pochayiv Lavra.
From November 24, 1990, Onufriy was appointed Bishop of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna by a decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC. His ordination took place on December 8, 1990. On December 9, 1990, he was consecrated as Bishop of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna in St. Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. The ordination was led by Metropolitan Filaret of Kyiv and all Ukraine.
On January 22, 1992, he refused to sign a letter from UOC bishops to the Moscow Patriarch and all Russia, Alexy II, requesting the autocephaly of the church in Ukraine. On January 23, he was transferred by Metropolitan Filaret to the Ivano-Frankivsk Cathedral.
On April 7, 1992, Onufriy was reinstated to the Chernivtsi Cathedral.
From May 27 to 28, 1992, he participated in the Kharkiv Cathedral of the Ukrainian Church and, along with most bishops, took a compromise position towards the excommunicated Filaret.
On July 28, 1994, he was appointed Archbishop and became a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the UOC.
For more than ten years before the reintegration of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and abroad, he established close relations with the primate of the diaspora church, Metropolitan Lavra. They first met in 1995 and met both during Metropolitan Onufriy’s trips to North America and during unofficial visits of Metropolitan Lavra to Ukraine.
On November 22, 2000, Onufriy was consecrated as Metropolitan.
From January 2000 to December 2007, he chaired the Synodal Canonical Commission of the Ukrainian Church (until it merged with the Theological Commission into the Theological-Canonical). He was also appointed chairman of the ecclesiastical court of the UOC.
Since July 27, 2009, he has been a member of the Synodal Presence of the ROC.
On February 24, 2014, he was elected by a secret ballot by the Synod of the UOC as the Deputy of the Kyiv Metropolitan throne, as Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan), who died on July 5, 2014, could no longer perform his duties.
On March 19, 2014, by a decision of the ROC Synod, he was admitted as a permanent member of the same and received the protocol rank of Kyiv Metropolitan and all Ukraine - first among the bishops of the ROC.
On August 13, 2014, Onufriy was elected and ordained as the new head of the UOC MP after a secret ballot. It should be noted that the voting for the new church leader took place in two rounds. After the first round, the votes of the leaders were distributed as follows: Metropolitan Chernivtsi and Bukovyna Onufriy - 36, Metropolitan Borispol and Brovary Anthony - 24, Metropolitan Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilskyi Simeon - 9. In the second round, Metropolitan Onufriy received 48 votes from the bishops of the UOC.