A solemn service was held in the Dormition Church in Lviv to mark the 30th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Metropolitan Makariy, head of the Lviv Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Divine Liturgy was led by His Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.
During the service, Metropolitan Makariy of Lviv of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine thanked God for his years of ministry and noted that he prays daily for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and for Ukraine’s victory.
“Today we are marking 30 years of my ministry in the episcopal rank. I thank the merciful God for these years, for the opportunity to serve the Church and the people. Every day I pray for our armed forces and for our victory,” said Metropolitan Makariy.
The festive Liturgy was attended by metropolitans, archbishops, bishops and clergy from various regions of Ukraine, as well as the faithful, invited guests and representatives of the authorities. Among those present were the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, and the Chief of Staff of the Lviv Regional Council, Yaroslav Hasyak.
His Beatitude Epiphaniy congratulated Metropolitan Makariy on the jubilee of his episcopal ministry and emphasised his role in the unification processes within Ukrainian Orthodoxy. He recalled that, while heading the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Makariy renounced the title of primate for the sake of the unity of the Church and supported the creation of the united Local Church.
For his many years of work and contribution to the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, His Beatitude Epiphaniy awarded Metropolitan Makariy the Cross of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In his congratulatory address, the representative of the Lviv Regional Council, Yaroslav Hasyak, stressed that the Metropolitan’s jubilee is not only about the number of years, but also about the path he has travelled, the people he has met, and the works he has left behind, noting that the hierarch has already become part of contemporary church history.
Metropolitan Makariy (in the world — Mykola Maletych) was consecrated Bishop of Lviv on 3 November 1996 and has headed the Lviv see continuously since then. In 2001 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop, and in 2011 to that of metropolitan.
In 2015, Metropolitan Makariy was elected head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He played an important role in the unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, voluntarily renouncing the title of primate of the UAOC in order to form the united Local Church and obtain the Tomos of autocephaly.
Since 5 February 2019, Metropolitan Makariy has been a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the OCU and continues his ministry as Metropolitan of Lviv.