Vasyl Kostantynovytch Lypkivsky ( uk, Василь Костянтинович Липківський; 7 September 1864 – 27 November 1937) was the founder of the
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; uk, Українська автокефальна православна церква (УАПЦ), Ukrayinska avtokefalna pravoslavna tserkva (UAPC)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthod ...
and the first auto-
consecrated "
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine" (1921–1927).
Education and early ministry
Vasyl Lypkivsky was born in the village of
Popudnya in the
Kyiv Governorate
Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...
(now
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...
), where his father was a
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 partic ...
.
In 1873 he began his education at the
Uman
Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...
Theological Seminary and graduated from the
Kyiv Theological Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. ...
in 1889 with the title of Candidate of Theology.
[ Mytrofan Yavdas. ''Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church'', Regional Church Assembly of Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Council Ruled) in the Federal Republic of Germany, Munich, 1956] On 20 October 1891 he was ordained as a
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man. He
ministered in the Lipovets region, staying there for a period of 11 years. In 1903 he was transferred to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
and was appointed as director of the School for Teachers of Religion in Kyiv. Because of his participation in the Ukrainian ecclesiastic movement, he was removed from his position in 1905 and transferred to the parish of Kyiv-Solomenka in the capacity of
prior.
Involvement in the independence movement
During this time the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
in
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 ...
remained part of 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 ...
until
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 ...
affirmed its independence in the chaotic situation following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
Russian revolution. In 1905, Lypkivsky became President of the Congress of Clergymen. Because of his
Ukrainophilia
Ukrainophilia is the love of or identification with Ukraine and Ukrainians; its opposite is Ukrainophobia. The term is used primarily in a political and cultural context. "Ukrainophilia" and "Ukrainophile" are the terms used to denote pro-Ukrainia ...
and
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
views, he fell in disgrace with his superiors. One of his campaigns was for the use of
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 lan ...
instead of the
Church Slavonic language
Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
being used in church services. In 1917, he was again President of the Congress of Clergymen and Laymen. At this congress, a resolution for the
autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was made.
The government of the new
Ukrainian Republic passed a law allowing for the founding of a
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; uk, Українська автокефальна православна церква (УАПЦ), Ukrayinska avtokefalna pravoslavna tserkva (UAPC)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthod ...
in 1919. Under his supervision, the first religious service in the Ukrainian language took place at the
St. Nicholas Military Cathedral
St. Nicholas Military Cathedral ( uk, Військовий Микільський собор, russian: Никольский военный собор), popularly known as ''The Great Nicholas'' ( uk, Великий Микола) was one of the m ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
on 9 May (Old Style) 1919.
For this reason, the Russian bishops prohibited his religious services and deprived him of his clerical title. For the time being, an unstructured association in favor of ending ties with the Russian church was gaining ground among the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful.
Creation of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
The move for autonomy from Russia led to the assertion of Ukrainian
autocephaly at the First All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council on 23 October 1921. Since no
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
bishop
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 c ...
would take part in this action, the council decided to
ordain
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 var ...
its leader, Archpriest Vasyl Lypkivsky, as
Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine
Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...
for the
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; uk, Українська автокефальна православна церква (УАПЦ), Ukrayinska avtokefalna pravoslavna tserkva (UAPC)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthod ...
through the laying-on-of-hands by the
priests and
laypeople present. Because of the extremely unorthodox method it used to obtain a
hierarchy, and its disrespect for some established canonical principles, this church was never acknowledged by any other Orthodox church. However, by early 1924 the new church had 30 bishops and approximately 1,500 priests and deacons serving in nearly 1,100 parishes in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
, with possibly as many as six million faithful.
Persecution, arrest and death
Lipkivsky spent the whole period of his office as Metropolitan travelling to parishes throughout Ukraine. Under
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
rule the authorities at first viewed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in a positive way as a counterweight to the Russian Orthodox Church, but by the late 1920s they saw it as a dangerous expression of
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...
. During his time as Metropolitan he was arrested by authorities of the Soviet government several times. The authorities often prohibited his departures from Kyiv and travel to parishes in Ukraine. Upon demands of the Soviet government, he was removed from his position as Metropolitan at the Second All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council in 1927.
In 1927, he was placed under
house arrest, whereby his permission to depart from Kyiv and to conduct religious services in the churches of the city of Kyiv was withdrawn. His arrest in quarters continued from 1927 to 1937.
Under threat of
Soviet repression, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dissolved itself and accepted incorporation into the Russian-dominated
Moscow Patriarchate in 1930.
In February 1937, Metropolitan Vasyl (Lypkivsky) was arrested by the Russian Secret Police, the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
. In 1937 he was sentenced to death by the decree of an
NKVD troika
NKVD troika or Special troika (russian: особая тройка, osobaya troyka), in Soviet history, were the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD which would later be the beginning of the KGB) made up of three officials who issued ...
, and was
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
on 27 November 1937.
In 1989, he was politically "
rehabilitated" by the Soviet government.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lypkivsky, Vasyl
1864 births
1937 deaths
People from Cherkasy Oblast
People from Kiev Governorate
First Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox people executed by the Soviet Union
Great Purge victims from Ukraine
Soviet rehabilitations
Kiev Theological Academy alumni