Michael Levytsky (or ''Levytskyi'' or ''Levitsky'' (, )); 17 February, 1774 – 14 January, 1858) was the

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

from 1816 until his death in 1858 and a

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of the Catholic Church. He was from a Ukrainian Greek Catholic sacerdotal family.

Life

Mykhailo Levytskyi was born on 17 February 1774on 16 August 1774 according to other sources at

Lanchyn Lanchyn (; ; ; ) is a rural settlement in Nadvirna Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Lanchyn settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population was Location Lanchyn is located on the Prut ...

, in

Pokuttya Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia, (; ; ) is an historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and Carpathian Mountains, in the southwestern part of modern Ukraine. Although the historic hear ...

region, the son of Rev. Stefan Lewicki (sic), the Greek Catholic priest in Lanchyn and Maria (last name unknown). He was one of at least eight children born to Rev. Stefan and Maria. Mykhailo's older brother, Gregory, became a priest also and served the village of Prysowce (Ukr: Prysivtsi) as its Greek Catholic pastor. Mykhailo studied philosophy and theology in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

and later in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

where, after his ( Priestly) ordination in 1798, he entered in force to the Greek Catholic parish of the St. Barbara and where he got a doctorate in theology. Returned to Galicia, became prefect of the Lviv Theological

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

and later Professor of Scripture and Pastoral Theology at the

University of Lviv The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

. In 1813, he was appointed bishop of the Archeparchy of Przemyśl and so consecrated

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

on 20 September 1813 by Metropolitan Antin Angelovych. He participated in the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. On 17 August 1815 Mykhailo Levytskyi was designated Metropolitan of Lviv by Emperor

Francis II of Austria Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and served ...

and so confirmed by

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

on 8 March 1816. He founded 383 parochial schools, cared for the publication of textbooks for them, and he supported the creation of educational associations of priests. Together with John Mohylnytskym he sought the introduction of teaching in the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

in schools in Eastern Galicia. Later defined as conservative, he was close to the

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gentry circles, and enemy of modern trends in social and cultural life. During the

revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, he supported the creation of the Supreme Ruthenian Council, which supported the Ukrainophile and pro-

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

positions of the

Western Ukrainian Clergy The Eastern Catholic clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were a hereditary tight-knit social caste that dominated Ukrainian society in Western Ukraine from the late eighteenth until the mid-twentieth centuries, following the reforms inst ...

, and encouraged the clergy to work on the education of the people. On 16 June 1856 he was created

priest by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. He died in the

Univ Lavra __NOTOC__ Univ Holy Dormition Lavra of the Studite Rite () is the only lavra of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It is situated in Univ, Ukraine, Univ, Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast. The monastery houses about 100 Studite Brethren. History The o ...

on 14 January 1858.

References

External links

Mykhailo Levytskyi
at Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine {{DEFAULTSORT:Levytskyi, Mykhailo 1774 births 1858 deaths Clergy from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian nobility Ukrainian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius IX Archbishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church University of Vienna alumni Bishops of Przemyśl Metropolitans of Galicia (1808-2005) Leaders of the Ruthenian Uniate Church