Dionysius Balaban (monastic name – Hilarion; uk, link=no, Діонісій Балабан; ? – 10 May 1663, in

Chyhyryn Chyhyryn ( uk, Чигирин, ) is a city and historic site located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine. From 1648 to 1669 the city was a Hetman residence. After a forced relocation of the Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan see ...

) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 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 ...

from 1657 to 1663. He came from an old noble family from

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

. He was known as a religious and political leader. He was a defender of the rights of the metropolis against the attempts of its liquidation by the

Patriarchate of Moscow , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. Balaban studied at the

Kyiv Mohyla Academy National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...

. He was a bishop of Kholm (1650–1652), Lutsk (1655) and later the Metropolitan of Kyiv (1657–1663). In 1658 Balaban was forced to relocate his see to

due to occupation of Kyiv by the Muscovite troops. At the same time his place in Kyiv was kept (

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

) by the bishop of Chernihiv

Lazar Baranovych Lazar Baranovych or Baranovich ( uk, Лазар Баранович, russian: Лазарь Баранович, pl, Łazarz Baranowicz; 1620 – 3 (13) September 1693 in Chernihiv, Tsardom of Russia) was a Ruthenian Eastern Orthodox archbishop of ...

. Metropolitan Balaban supported the policies of Hetman

Ivan Vyhovsky Ivan Vyhovsky ( uk, Іван Виговський; pl, Iwan Wyhowski / Jan Wyhowski; date of birth unknown, died 1664), a Ukrainian military and political figure and statesman, served as hetman of the Zaporizhian Host and of the Cossack Hetma ...

and was a co-author of the 1658

Treaty of Hadiach The Treaty of Hadiach ( pl, ugoda hadziacka; uk, гадяцький договір) was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach (Hadziacz, Hadiacz, Гадяч) between representatives of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( representin ...

. In 1663 he accepted monastic vows of Yuriy Khmelnytskyi to the Kaniv Monastery.

Notelist

References

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Dionysius Balaban
' at the
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
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Dionysius Balaban
at Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine Eastern Orthodox bishops of Kyiv Eastern Orthodox bishops of Lutsk Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1663 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Volhynian Voivodeship Constantinople Exarchs of Ukraine Orthodox bishops of the Cossack Hetmanate {{Ukraine-bio-stub