Hryhoriy Yakhymovych ( uk, Григорій Яхимович, pl, Grzegorz Jachimowicz; 16 February 1792 – 29 April 1863) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

, and also a leading figure in the Ukrainian National Revival, from 1860 until his death in 1863.

Life

Hryhoriy Yakhymovych was born on 16 February 1792 in Podborce (today

Pidbirtsi Pidbirtsi ( uk, Підбірці) is a village in Lviv Raion of Lviv Oblast in Ukraine. Pidbirtsi was previously located in Pustomyty Raion until it was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the ...

), a town in the region of Galicia, a part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. He went to school in Lemberg (modern day

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

in Ukraine), which had since been incorporated into the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

on 14 September 1816. During 1818–1819, he served as a parish priest at a Greek Catholic church in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, while he was studying at the Higher Scientific Institute for Diocesan Priests at St. Augustine's. He would go on to earn doctorates in theology, philosophy, and the liberals arts from the institute. He returned to Galicia in 1819, working as the head of the Department of Religion at the newly reopened

University of Lemberg The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

. He continued to work at the university for most of his life, and was a professor of

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

from 1825, and a professor of theology from 1837. During his tenure, he was appointed as a canon in 1835, and as rector of the Lemberg Theological

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in 1837. Yakhymovych was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archeparchy of Lviv by Pope Gregory VI in July 1841. He was consecrated on 21 November of that year by the Metropolitan of Lviv, Mykhaylo Levitsky. He was appointed bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Premissel, Sambir and Sanok on 5 September 1848, and consecrated on 25 March 1949. During the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, Yakhimovich was the leader of the Supreme Ruthenian Council, which supported the Ukrainian National Revival and the pro-Austrian position of the Western Ukrainian clergy, as opposed to the Western Ukrainian Russophiles. He was consecrated as the Metropolitan of Lemberg on 23 March 1860, which made him the

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He also served rector of the University of Lemberg from 1860 to 1861. He suddenly died in Lemberg on 29 April 1863.

Role in the Ukrainian National Revival

Hryhoriy Yakhymovych was one of the leading figures of the Ukrainian National Revival in the mid 19th century. He took part in the ''Council of Ruthenian Scientists'', and advocated for use of the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

in schools and in churches. Yakhimovich was appointed as a deputy to the

Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria *german: Landtag von Galizien , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = Wappen Königreich Galizien & Lodomerien.png , coa_caption = Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodome ...

, the parliament of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. In this capacity, he defended the rights of the Ukrainian population in Galicia, promoted the Ukrainian language and the preservation of the

Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet The Ukrainian alphabet ( uk, абе́тка, áзбука алфа́ві́т, abetka, azbuka alfavit) is the set of letters used to write Ukrainian, which is the official language of Ukraine. It is one of several national variations of the C ...

, and also the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

of mass. In reward for his service to the

, he was awarded the title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. He was sometimes called the "Spiritual ruler of the Ukrainian state".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakhymovych, Hryhoriy 1792 births 1863 deaths People from Lviv Oblast People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Ukrainian politicians before 1991 Members of the Imperial Diet (Austria) Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria Higher Scientific Institute for Diocesan Priests at St. Augustine's alumni Academic staff of the University of Lviv University of Lviv rectors Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery