Hryhoriy Volodymyr Balahurak,

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

( uk, Григорій Володимир Балагурак; 5 July 1909 – 2 October 1965) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic clandestine hierarch. He was an auxiliary bishop of the

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk The Archparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk (or Ivano-Frankivsk of the Ukrainians) is an Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic Archdiocese) of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (Byzantine rite in Ukrainian language) in Ukraine. It depends on the Ro ...

from 1945 to 1965.

Life

Born in Stanislaviv,

Austrian-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

(present-day –

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вська о́бласть, translit=Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukrain ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) in 1909 and in 1925 joined the religious

Order of Saint Basil the Great The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

. He was professed on 1 May 1927, solemn professed on 16 December 1934 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 21 May 1936 by Blessed Bishop

Josaphat Kotsylovsky Josaphat Joseph Kotsylovsky ( uk, Йосафат Йосиф Коциловський) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop and martyr. Kotsylovsky was born 3 March 1876 in the village of Pakoszowka (then Austria-Hungary, now Poland), of the ...

. After ordination he served a short time in the monastery in his native Stanislaviv and then, from 1938, as parish priest in Krystynopol. From 1941 until 1945 Fr. Hryhoriy was a superior in the monastery in Stanislaviv. He was arrested, because the Communist regime abolished the Greek-Catholic Church, and exiled in Siberia in October 1949. Released in 1955, but the second time arrested in 1957 and imprisoned until his death. In April 1945 Fr. Balahurak was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

as auxiliary bishop. The principal and single

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

was Blessed Bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn, who a short time later was arrested and imprisoned by Communists. He died in exile on 2 October 1965.

References

1909 births 1965 deaths Religious leaders from Ivano-Frankivsk Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Order of Saint Basil the Great Ukrainian Eastern Catholics Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk {{UkrainianGreekCatholic-bishop-stub