Jonáš Jozef Maxim (born 21 November 1974) is a Slovak Greek Catholic hierarch, who serves as a second Archieparch of Prešov and the head of the Greek Catholic sui iuris Church in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

(since 26 October 2023).

Early life and studies

Archbishop Maxim (his

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

was Jozef; Jonáš is his

monastic name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign to ...

) was born in

Levoča Levoča (; ; ) is the principal town of Levoča District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia, with a population of 14,256. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Gothic architecture, Gothic church with the talle ...

and grew up in the village and

obec (, ; plural ) is the Czech and Slovak word for a municipality (in the Czech Republic, in Slovakia and abroad). The literal meaning of the word is " commune" or " community". It is the smallest administrative unit that is governed by elected ...

Oľšavica Oľšavica is a village and obec in Levoča District in the Prešov Region of central-eastern Slovakia. History The village was first mentioned in 1300 or 1308. From its establishment, villagers have followed the Greek Catholic Church, Greek Cat ...

of the

Levoča District Levoča District (''okres Levoča'') is a district in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, H ...

in the Greek-Catholic family with six children. After graduation of the gymnasium, he began his studies at the Greek Catholic Faculty of Theology at the University of Prešov and in February 1994 he continued his studies at the Major Theological Seminary in Prešov, where completed his philosophical and theological studies in 1998 with a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree.

Later career

He was ordained as a deacon on 13 June 1998 and as a priest on 11 July 1998. Both ordinations were made by Bishop

Ján Hirka The Most Reverend Ján Hirka (16 November 1923 – 10 April 2014) was a bishop of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church. Life Hirka was born in Abranovce, Abranovce, Czechoslovakia and was ordination, ordained a priest (Catholic Church), priest on 31 ...

for then the Eparchy of Prešov, and Fr. Maxim continued his studies at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had bee ...

in Rome, where he received a licentiate in 2000. From 2001 to 2004 he was spiritual director at the Major Theological Seminary in Prešov and, from 2002 to 2004, was an assistant at the Department of Systematic Theology of the Greek Catholic Faculty of Theology of Prešov University. On 24 September 2004 he joined the

Ukrainian Studite Monks The Ukrainian Studites (), formally the Monks of the Studite Rule (; ; abbreviated MSU) are a monastic order of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. History The Studite rule was developed at the Stoudios monastery of Constantinople, from the 5th ...

and made a

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the ter ...

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 5 March 2006, after completed the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and a little schime on 22 May 2008. During 2009–2010 he served as a superior of St. Andrew ermitage in Luzhky, from 2010 until 2011 as a

novice master In the Christian Church, a novice master or master of novices (), is a member of an institute of consecrated life who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes for women, the novice ...

in the Univ Lavra and from 2011 until 2013 as a superior of St. Michael monastery 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 then continued his studies at the

in Rome with

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

degree in the Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies in 2017. After returning to Ukraine, Fr. Maxim again served as a superior of St. Michael monastery in

from 2018 until 2020, when he was elected as a

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

of Univ Holy Dormition Lavra of the Studite Rite.

Archbishop

On 26 October 2023 Fr. Maxim was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

as the second Metropolitan Archbishop of Prešov and the head of the Slovak Greek Catholic

sui iuris ''Sui iuris'' (), also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both the Catholic Church's canon law and secular law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Canon ...

. He was consecrated as an Archbishop by archbishop

Cyril Vasiľ Cyril Vasiľ, S.J. (born 10 April 1965) is a Slovak Jesuit prelate who has served as Eparch of Košice in the Slovak Greek Catholic Church since June 2021, after serving as apostolic administrator there for 16 months. He holds the personal tit ...

and co-consecrators: bishop Peter Rusnák and bishop

Venedykt Aleksiychuk Bishop Venedykt (Aleksiychuk), bishop of Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago (born January 16, 1968, in Borshchivka, Kostopil Raion, Rivne Oblast, Ukrainian SSR). Became auxiliary bishop of Lviv on September 5, 2010; became bishop of Ukraini ...

an the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

on 27 January 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxim, Jonas 1974 births Living people People from Levoča University of Prešov alumni Pontifical Oriental Institute alumni Studite Brethren Slovak Eastern Catholics Slovak Greek Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Francis