Metropolitan Hilarion (born Igor Alexeyevich Kapral, russian: Игорь Алексеевич Капра́л; 6 January 1948 – 16 May 2022) was a bishop of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), Metropolitan of
Eastern America and New York,
First-Hierarch of the ROCOR since 18 May 2008; as the first person elected to that position following the
Act of Canonical Communion between the
ROCOR
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
and the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, he was the first whose election required approval by the
Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate.
On 17 May 2007, upon the signing of the
Act of Canonical Communion between the
ROCOR
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
and the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
(Moscow Patriarchate), Kapral became a part of the episcopate of the
Moscow Patriarchate.
Biography
Early years
The youngest child of Alexei and Euphrosynia Kapral, Ukrainian immigrants, Igor Kapral was born on 6 January 1948 in Spirit River, Alberta, Canada. He spoke Ukrainian at home and English at school. He spent a childhood he described as having been "pleasant ... absolutely free of any harmful influences", walking two and a half miles to school each day.
(Later, Kapral transferred to a school in
Blueberry Creek, but he returned to finish high school.)
From his youth, Kapral felt drawn to the Church and loved to read books and periodicals on religion and morals. From a young age, around 6 or 7, he knew that he wanted to become a priest. He attended Holy Trinity Church in Spirit River, a congregation of the ROCOR composed of ethnic
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
. Services were held monthly or bi-monthly, and often Archbishop
Panteleimon (Rudyk) would celebrate these services. Igor revered Archbishop Panteleimon, who told the boy, "someday you will be a priest".
Seminary, priesthood
In 1966, Kapral found a spiritual guide: Right Reverend
Sava (Saračević), Bishop of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, a Serb who greatly revered
John of Shanghai and San Francisco
Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco (russian: Иоанн Шанхайский и Сан Францисский, Ioann Shankhayskiyi i San Frantsiskyi; secular name Mikhail Borisovich Maximovitch, russian: Михаил Борисович Ма ...
. In 1967, Kapral entered
Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary
Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (russian: Свято-Троицкая духовная семинария в Джорданвилле) is an institution of higher learning under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCO ...
in
Jordanville, New York
Jordanville is a hamlet in the town of Warren, Herkimer County, New York, United States. Jordanville is in the northwestern part of Warren, at the intersection of New York State Route 167 and County Route 155. The community was settled by E ...
. While there, he learned the
Russian language, sang on the
kliros
The kliros ( Greek: κλῆρος ''klēros'', plural κλῆροι ''klēroi''; Slavonic: клиросъ, "kliros" or sometimes крилосъ, "krilos") is the section of an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church dedicated to the choir. It ...
, and served in the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
, learning the order of divine services. From his second year at seminary, Kapral was tasked with typesetting "Orthodox Life" in English, under the editorship of
archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...
Constantine Zaitsev; Igor soon succeeded him as editor. After some time, hieromonk Ignatius (Trepatschko), who was in charge of printing the journal, asked Kapral to typeset it in Russian as well.
Upon graduation from the seminary in 1972, Kapral entered the
Holy Trinity Monastery as a
novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience.
Religion Buddhism
...
. On 2 December 1974, he was tonsured a
rassophore monk with the name Hilarion, in honor of Venerable
Schema-monk
The degrees of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk or nun is intentionally slo ...
Hilarion of the Kiev Caves and subsequently was tonsured into the
little schema. On 4 December 1975, Archbishop
Averky Taushev, for whom Hilarion served as a cell-attendant, ordained him a
hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a monk who has been ordained a deacon (or deacon who has been tonsured monk). T ...
and on
Lazarus Saturday
, observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians
, date = Variable
, date =
, date =
, date =
, relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday
, frequency=Annual
Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...
1976
Bishop Laurus of Manhattan ordained him a
hieromonk
A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...
. Hilarion served as a hieromonk at the monastery, continuing his work at the printing press. He was often sent to parishes, replacing absent priests, often traveling to
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
Bishop
![Cheirotonia Presbyter 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Cheirotonia_Presbyter_2.jpeg)
On 10 December 1984, Hilarion was consecrated a bishop by Metropolitan of New York
Philaret and nine other bishops and appointed to the see of Manhattan, charged with overseeing parishes in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
; in the Synod of Bishops, Hilarion served as deputy secretary. In 1995, Bishop Hilarion was transferred to the See of Washington while retaining his residence in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. On 20 June 1996, he was transferred to the
Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (which was experiencing problems at that stage) and raised to the rank of
archbishop.
In December 2003, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR awarded him the honour of wearing a diamond cross on his
klobuk
Klobuk of Patriarch Philaret of Moscow (1619-33), Kremlin museum
A klobuk is an item of monastic clothing worn by monks and, in the Russian tradition, also by nuns, in the Byzantine Rite, composed of a kamilavka (stiffened round black headco ...
.
In May 2006, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR appointed him Chief Deputy of the President of the Synod of Bishops with residence in New York.
First-Hierarch of the ROCOR
On 12 May 2008, Archbishop Hilarion was elected and elevated as the new First-hierarch of the ROCOR, having received 9 votes out of 11. On 14 May of that year, he was approved by the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate to the post of the primate and elevated to the rank of
metropolitan. On 18 May, he was enthroned in New York City. On 10 December 2008, he was appointed a member of the Preparatory Commission for the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On the first day of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Hilarion, an ethnic Ukrainian who spoke Ukrainian at home as a child,
issued an "Epistle to the Clergy and Flock ... on Great Lent and on the Events on the Holy Ukrainian Land" commencing:
As we approach Great Lent, this salvific time of profound prayer and self-correction, and in connection with the events in the Ukrainian land, I turn to all with a heartfelt plea: to refrain from excessive watching television, following newspapers and the internet, to close our hearts to the passions ignited by mass media, while doubling our fervent prayers for peace throughout the world, for overcoming enmity and discord, for help for the suffering, for the repose of those who have departed into the eternal life and the consolation of their friends and relatives, so that we all first and foremost remain humane and Orthodox Christians in these difficult times.
Death
On 16 May 2022, Metropolitan Hilarion died in a New York City hospital, following a lengthy period of ill health.
He was 74. He is buried in the monastic brotherhood cemetery behind Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jordanville, NY.
References
Sources
BiographyArchbishop Hilarion of Sydney elected ROCOR head* http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2008/5enizbrany.html
* http://www.synod.com/synod/engdocuments/enart_mhinterviewpriesthood.html
* http://synod.com/english/pages/legacy/hillarioninterview.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapral, Hilarion
1948 births
2022 deaths
First Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
Eastern Orthodoxy in Australia
Canadian Eastern Orthodox bishops
Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
People from the Municipal District of Spirit River No. 133
20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops
21st-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops
Recipients of the Centenary Medal