Volodymyr (Romaniuk)

Volodymyr (secular name Vasyl Omelianovych Romaniuk, Ukrainian: Василь Омелянович Романюк; December 10, 1925, Khymchyn – July 14, 1995, Kyiv) was the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. Initially consecrated as a bishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church by bishop Ioan in 1990, Volodymyr became one of the founders of the united Ukrainian Orthodox Church in June 1992.

Volodymyr I
Holiest Patriarch of Kyiv and all Ruthenia-Ukraine
Native name
Володимир І
ChurchUkrainian Orthodox Church
SeeKyivan Patriarchate
Elected22 October 1993 (by All-Ukrainian Orthodox Assembly)
Installed24 October 1993 (at Saint Sophia's Cathedral)
Term ended14 July 1995
PredecessorMstyslav
SuccessorFilaret
Other post(s)
  • Locum tenens of Patriarchal throne, Metropolitan (1993)
  • Archbishop of Lviv and Sokal (Lviv diocese, 1993)
Orders
Consecration29 April 1990
by Ioan (Bodnarchuk)
Personal details
Born
Vasyl Omelianovych Romanyuk

(1925-12-10)10 December 1925
Khymchyn, Kosiv county, Stanisławów Voivodeship, Poland
Died14 July 1995(1995-07-14) (aged 69)
Botanic Garden, Kyiv, Ukraine
BuriedSofia Square (Sofiyivska plochsha), Kyiv
NationalityUkrainian
DenominationEastern Orthodox
SpouseMaria Antonyuk
ChildrenTaras Romaniuk
Alma materMoscow Theological Academy

Biography

He was an ex-political (member of OUN) prisoner who was imprisoned by communist Soviets for 17 years (1944–1954, 1972–1979). In 1979 he became a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, was exiled from 1979 till 1982, and became a political emigrant at the end of the 1980s. On July 1, 1976 Volodymyr renounced his Soviet citizenship.[1]

Between 1987–1990, Vasyl Romaniuk lived in Canada and was a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Also he served under the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, whose Metropolitan was Metropolitan Mstyslav (later Patriarch of Kyiv). In 1990 with the onset of Perestroyka he returned to Ukraine and became Bishop of Uzhgorod and Vynohradiv. For a short period, he was Archbishop of Lviv and Sokal. In 1993, by the decree of Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) he was excommunicated for accepting ordination from Metropolitan Filaret (Denysenko).

On October 22, 1993 he was elected Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. On July 14, 1995 Patriarch Volodymyr (Romaniuk) suddenly died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, with the official diagnosis being causes related to a heart attack.

Volodymyr's burial, on July 18, 1995, turned into a riot.[2] The government, which controlled Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, refused a request from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to bury him on the cathedral's grounds, so church officials, flanked by uniformed paramilitary guards of the UNA-UNSO nationalist movement, hammered through the sidewalk outside the cathedral gates and buried him there. Riot police attacked the assembly and fighting with Volodymyr's supporters left 70 people injured, and two people dead. Many religious and faithful later called the event Black Tuesday.

Patriarch Volodymyr (Romaniuk) was succeeded by Metropolitan Filaret (Denysenko) who was enthroned as Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’ - Ukraine on October 22, 1995.

References
  1. Krainiy, I. Archipoor youth of Patriarch. (in Ukrainian; archived 15 April 2015) "Ukrayina Moloda", accessed 25 June 2022
  2. Rupert, James. Washington Post, "Ukraine Patriarch's Unruly Burial Brings Church-State Ties to a Low" , accessed 20 April 2023.


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