Bishop Jan Purwinski or Yan Purvinskyi (; ; ; 19 November 1934 – 6 April 2021) was a Latvian-born Ukrainian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Diocesan Bishop of Kyiv–Zhytomyr since 16 January 1991 until 15 June 2011 (until 25 November 1998 as the Diocesan Bishop of Zhytomyr).

Early life

Bishop Purwinski was born into a peasant Roman Catholic family of Polish ethnicity in

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

. After graduation from school he joined the Major Theological Seminary in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

in 1956, and was ordained as

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 13 April 1961, for his native

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga, formerly the Diocese of Üxküll, is a Catholic archdiocese administered from the capital city of Riga in Latvia.Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

and after, as a parish priest and vice-dean in

Krāslava Krāslava (; , , , , ) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality. The town lies on the Daugava, upstream and to the east of the city of Daugavpils. Most of the town is situated on the right coast of the Daugava. As defined ...

, Baltinava and

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. In 1977 he was transferred to Ukraine and began to learn the Ukrainian language and work as assistant priest in St. Sophia's Cathedral, Zhytomyr (from 1984 he was a dean of the Cathedral). Before moving to Ukraine Fr. Purwinski spoke Polish, Latgalian, Latvian and Russian. Alongside parish work, from 1981 until 1991 he served as a Bishopric Vicar for

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 ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. On 16 January 1991 he was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

as the Diocesan Bishop of the recreated

Roman Catholic Diocese of Zhytomyr The Diocese of Zhytomyr was twice a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in part of Ukraine, namely from 1321 to 1789 and again from 1925 to 1998. History * Established in 1321 as Diocese of Zhytomyr / Žytomyr ...

. On 4 March 1991, he was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop

Francesco Colasuonno Francesco Colasuonno (2 January 1925 – 31 May 2003) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as a Vatican diplomat for more than two decades. He had the personal title of archbishop and at the end of his service became a cardin ...

and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in St. Sophia's Cathedral in

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

Later life

He retired on 15 June 2011 and resided in

. He died on 6 April 2021, after being hospitalized a few days prior due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

complications.Помер перший єпископ відродженої Житомирської дієцезії Ян Пурвінський
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purwinski, Jan 1934 births 2021 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine People from Augšdaugava Municipality Ukrainian people of Latvian descent Ukrainian people of Polish descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ukraine 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ukraine Roman Catholic bishops of Kyiv