Hryhoriy Yakhymovych (, ; 16 February 1792 – 29 April 1863) 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 ...

, and also a leading figure in the Ukrainian National Revival, from 1860 until his death in 1863.

Life

Hryhoriy Yakhymovych was born on 16 February 1792 in Podborce (today Pidbirtsi), a town in the region of Galicia, a part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. He went to school in Lemberg (modern day

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 ...

in Ukraine), which had since been incorporated into the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on 14 September 1816. During 1818–1819, he served as a parish priest at a Greek Catholic church 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. ...

, while he was studying at the Higher Scientific Institute for Diocesan Priests at St. Augustine's. He would go on to earn doctorates in theology, philosophy, and the liberals arts from the institute. He returned to Galicia in 1819, working as the head of the Department of Religion at the newly reopened University of Lemberg. He continued to work at the university for most of his life, and was a professor of

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

from 1825, and a professor of theology from 1837. During his tenure, he was appointed as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

in 1835, and as rector of the Lemberg 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 ...

in 1837. Yakhymovych was appointed as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archeparchy of Lviv by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

in July 1841 and honored with title of the former see of Pompeiopolis in Cilicia. He was consecrated on 21 November of that year by the Metropolitan of Galicia (Ruthenian Archbishop of Lemberg) Mykhaylo Levitsky in the Lviv St. George Cathedral. In his consecration participated Archbishop of Lemberg František Pištěk, Armenian Archbishop of Lemberg Samuel Cyryl Stefanowicz, Ruthenian Bishop of Premissel Ivan Snihurskyi, Bishop of Premissel Franciszek Ksawery Zachariasiewicz. Later he was appointed bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Premissel, Sambir and Sanok on 5 September 1848, and consecrated on 25 March 1849. During the

revolutions 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 ...

, Yakhimovich was the leader of the

Supreme Ruthenian Council Supreme Ruthenian Council () was the first legal Ruthenian political organization that existed from May 1848 to June 1851. It was founded on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today Lviv), Austrian Empire as the result of the 1848 Spring of Nations and in ...

, which supported the Ukrainian National Revival and the pro-Austrian position of the Western Ukrainian clergy, as opposed to the

Western Ukrainian Russophiles Galician Russophilia () or Moscophilia (, ''Moskvofily'') was a cultural and political movement largely in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary (currently western Ukraine). This ideology emphasized that since the Eastern Sl ...

. He was selected on 5 September 1859 and confirmed as the Metropolitan of Lemberg on 23 March 1860, which made him the

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He also served rector of the University of Lemberg from 1860 to 1861. He suddenly died in Lemberg on 29 April 1863.

Role in the Ukrainian National Revival

Hryhoriy Yakhymovych was one of the leading figures of the Ukrainian National Revival in the mid 19th century. He took part in the ''Council of Ruthenian Scientists'', and advocated for use of 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 and in churches. Yakhimovich was appointed as a deputy to the

Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria The Diet of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and of the Grand Duchy of Cracow was the regional assembly of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, and later Austria-Hungary. In the history of the Polish ...

, the parliament of the

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

. In this capacity, he defended the rights of the Ukrainian population in Galicia, promoted the Ukrainian language and the preservation of the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet, and also the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

of liturgy. In reward for his service to the

, he was awarded the title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. He was sometimes called the "Spiritual ruler of the Ukrainian state".

Honours and awards

* Commander of the Order of Leopold (Austrian Empire)Григорій Яхимович: біографія
.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakhymovych, Hryhoriy 1792 births 1863 deaths Clergy from Lviv Oblast Members of the Imperial Diet (Austria) Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria Higher Scientific Institute for Diocesan Priests at St. Augustine's alumni Academic staff of the University of Lviv University of Lviv rectors Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery Bishops in Austria-Hungary Bishops of Przemyśl Metropolitans of Galicia (1808-2005) Leaders of the Ruthenian Uniate Church 19th-century Ukrainian politicians