Rafail Turkoniak (also Raymond (Roman) Pavlovych Turkoniak; uk, Рафаїл Турконяк; born 7 May 1949, Manchester) is an Archimandrite of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

and Doctor of Liturgy, biblical translator, hieromonk of the Studite Statute, laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize for the translation of the '' Ostrih Bible'' into modern Ukrainian (2007),

Honorary Professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

and Head of the Department of Theology at the National University "Ostroh Academy".

Biography

He was born on 7 May 1949 in Manchester, England in the family of Ukrainians Pavel Turkonyak and Stephanie Sas. He lived abroad — in Germany, USA and Italy. He is a US citizen and lives in Lviv. From 1960 he studied at the

Ukrainian Pontifical Minor Seminary Ukrainian Pontifical Minor Seminary was the only Ukrainian-language minor seminary in Western Europe that prepared Ukrainian students for further theological pursuits. The seminary was founded in 1951 by Archbishop Ivan Buchko and opened in 1952 ...

in Rome. He completed his secondary education in June 1966, and the same year he entered the Ukrainian Pontifical College of Saint Josaphat in Rome. At the same time he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. In 1968 he received a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He continued to study theology at the College of St. Patrick in Maynooth, Ireland, and at the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Urban University and the Ukrainian Catholic University of St. Clement in Rome. In June 1972 he graduated from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome with a master's degree in theology. He continued his scientific work in the specialization of "liturgy" and received a doctorate in theology from the Ukrainian Catholic University. In 1977 he received the degree of

after defending his work entitled "The concept of the Church in Mineya Chetia Metropolitan Dmitry Tuptal of Rostov ". At the age of 25 he entered the monastery of

St. Theodore the Studite Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. He ...

near Rome. On 13 October he became a novice, on 24 November he made his first vows. On 2 April 1972, he was ordained a priest by

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Josyf Slipyj and Bishop

Vasyl Velychkovsky Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovsky (June 1, 1903 – June 30, 1973) was a priest, and later bishop, of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. He is a martyr of the Catholic Church, dying in ...

. From 1972 to 1976 he served the parish of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Krefeld, Germany. In 1975, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Josyf Slipyj, commissioned a translation of the Bible from a Slavic text for use in

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

. During the work on the translation, the idea arose that it would be better to use the texts of the first complete Bible in the

Old Slavonic language Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

, which was published in the Ukrainian lands in Ostrih in 1581. In 1978 he moved to the US and became abbot of the convent of the monks of the Studite Charter in Passaic, New Jersey. There he took care of the Parish of St. Father Nicholas in Passaic and the Parish of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Rutherford, New Jersey until 1990, when Studite monastery was relocated to Lviv. Among other responsibilities, he also taught programming at the parish school. In 1991, Cardinal Myroslav-Ivan Lyubachivsky invited Fr. Raphael to the position of Vice-Chancellor of the Lviv Archdiocese. From 1993 to 1996, he served in the government of the Patriarchal Housekeeper of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In April 1995 he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. From 1995 to 1996, by order of the patriarch, he organized and headed the Kyiv-Vyshhorod Exarchate for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church In 1996 he was appointed Secretary of the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Myroslav-Ivan Lyubachivsky. In December 1992, he became a member of the

Ukrainian Bible Society Ukrainian Bible Society ( uk, Українське Біблійне Товариство), is a religious non-profit organization, established by representatives of different Christian denominations in Ukraine, who recognize the Bible as the Word o ...

and was commissioned to produce the 4th complete translation of the Holy Scriptures from the ancient Greek language (completed in 2007), while continuing to work on a critical edition of the Ostroh Bible. Additionally, he is a head of a department for Bible translation into modern Ukrainian language. In 2000 there was published Rafail Turkoniak's translation of the Bible into modern Ukrainian from Hebrew and Ancient Greek languages. In 2006 he published translation from

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

( the Ostrih Bible, 2006). In 2007 he received Ukraine's National Shevchenko Prize. Accomplishing a Ukrainian translation of Ostroh Bible by Rafail Turkoniak laid a foundation for the creation of an Ivan Kardash Centre of Anciently Printed Books. He also contributed to the translation of the

Reims Gospel Reims Gospel ( French: ''Texte du Sacre'' which means "coronation text"; also referred to in some Czech sources as the ''Emmaus Evangelie'' or ''Remešský kodex'') is an illuminated manuscript of Slavonic (Slavic) origin which became part of the ...

, which was published in 2010.

References

External links

REIM’S GOSPEL OF ANNA YAROSLAVIVNA (in English, French and Ukrainian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkoniak, Rafail Living people Ukrainian Eastern Catholics 1949 births Writers from Manchester English people of Ukrainian descent Pontifical Urban University alumni Bible translators 20th-century Roman Catholic theologians Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Ukrainian Catholic University alumni Studite Brethren Members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Doctors of Divinity

Biography

See also

References

External links