Ivan Slezyuk (, ; 14 January 1896 – 2 December 1973) was a

Ukrainian Greek Catholic The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal '' sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. ...

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 ...

and

hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Hieromartyrs do not constitute a special rank of saint and are commemorated at the Divine Liturgy toge ...

Life

Slezyuk was born on 14 January 1896 in the village of Zhyvachiv,

Austrian-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

(now in

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). After graduating from the seminary in 1923, he 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 1923 by Bishop

Hryhoriy Khomyshyn Hryhoriy Khomyshyn (also ''Hryhorij Khomyshyn'', , ) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop and hieromartyr. Biography Khomyshyn was born on 25 March 1867 in the village of Hadynkivtsi, eastern Galicia, in what is now Ternopil Oblast.

. In April 1945, Khomyshyn

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

him to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as his coadjutor with the right of succession as a precaution in case Khomyshyn should be arrested.
Biographies of twenty five Greek-Catholic Servants of God
' at the website of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

However, shortly thereafter on 2 June 1945, Slezyuk was arrested and deported for ten years to the labour camps in

Vorkuta Vorkuta (; ; Nenets languages, Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin a ...

. In 1950, he was transferred to the labour camps in

Mordovia Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...

. After his release on 15 November 1954, he returned to Stanislaviv. In 1962, he was arrested for the second time and imprisoned for five years in a camp of strict regimen. After his release on 30 November 1968, he had to go to the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

for regular "talks." The last visit was two weeks before his death. He died on 2 December 1973 in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

Testimony of Bishop Sofron Dmyterko

"As the deceased himself said, they locked him in a separate isolated area, and no one visited him. He stayed there for two hours. Then they told him: 'You're free to go.' It was difficult for him to walk because, as he himself said, after this he felt dizzy, as if he had a fever, his skin was burning. The Sisters of St. Vincent, who helped him out, also said that the bishop returned from this 'conversation' with a very red face, he felt exhausted, stayed in bed and died two weeks later. There was and still is a suspicion that the KGB used radiation to get rid of one more Uniate bishop." – From the testimony of Bishop Sofron Dmyterko.''

References

1896 births 1973 deaths Clergy from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Ukrainian Eastern Catholics Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union 20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs Ukrainian beatified people Eastern Catholic beatified people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk {{UkrainianGreekCatholic-bishop-stub