Metropolitan Symeon (also

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

''Simeon''; born Volodymyr Ivanovych Shostatsky, , ) is a bishop of the

Orthodox Church of Ukraine The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (; OCU), also called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It was granted autocephaly by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on . Some of the Eastern Orthodox Churche ...

and a member of its

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

. He was born on November 3, 1962, in the village of Raykivtsi in the Khmelnytsky district of the Khmelnytsky region in

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 ...

Metropolitan Symeon Biography
at official UOC-MP site. Retrieved July 6, 2018. Together with Metropolitan Alexander Drabynko of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, he joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He had previously been a member of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

, where in 1996, he was consecrated as the Metropolitan Bishop of

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

and Bar.Historic unification of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
by Tadeusz A. Olszański // Center of Eastern Studies. December 17, 2018.

Life

Volodymyr Ivanovych Shostatsky was born to a peasant family on November 3, 1962, in the village of Raykivtsi in the Khmelnytsky district of the Khmelnytsky region. In 1980 he graduated from high school and served in the army until 1982. From 1983 to 1987 he studied at the Vinnytsia Medical Institute, and from 1987 to 1991 at the

Moscow Theological Seminary Moscow Theological Academy () is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to the Slavic Greek Latin Academy, which was founded in 1685 by th ...

In the UOC (MP)

On December 6, 1990, in the Moscow Danilov Monastery, he became a monk named Symeon (Russian pronunciation: ''Simeon'') in honor of

Simeon Stylites Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite ', Koine Greek ', ' (Greek language, Greek: Συμεών ό Στυλίτης; ; 2 September 459) was a Syrian Asceticism#Christianity, Christian ascetic, who achieved notability by living 36 years on a s ...

. On January 14, 1991, he was ordained to the rank of

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a ...

, on April 28 he was ordained a

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

. From 1990 to 1994 he was a caretaker at the Patriarchal Residence in the Moscow Danilov Monastery. In 1994 he became a

sacrist A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

in the

Kiev Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sinc ...

and entered the

Kiev Theological Academy The Kiev Theological Academy (1819—1919) was one of the oldest higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, situated in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine). It was considered as the most senior one among simila ...

. On April 7, 1995, he was ordained to the rank of

igumen 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 nuns ...

(abbot), on November 23 of the same year he was made

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

. On May 4, 1996, he was ordained bishop of

Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volodymyr (, ), previously known as Volodymyr-Volynskyi () from 1944 to 2021, is a small city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Volodymyr Raion and the center of Volodymyr urban hromada. It is one ...

and

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

, head of the newly formed Volodymyr-Volynskyi diocese. On May 10, 2002, he was promoted to the rank of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. On July 9, 2011, he was promoted to the rank of

metropolitan 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 ...

. Metropolitan Symeon was the only one out of 83 members of the Council of UOC-MP (November 13, 2018, Kiev Pechersk Lavra), who did not sign the resolution for breaking the communion between UOC-MP and

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

.Metropolitan Symeon was the only one who did not accept a resolution of the Council of UOC (MP) (in Russian)
// LB.ua. November 13, 2018.

In the Orthodox Church of Ukraine

On December 15, 2018, he participated in the Unity Council and the creation of a local

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

. He was one of the candidates for the position of primate, but in the elections lost to the metropolitan of the former UOC-KP Epifaniy, taking second place according to the results of voting. He received 28 votes against 36 for Epifaniy,Unity Council: Intrigue was Revealed (in Ukrainian)
// Narodna-pravda.ua. December 16, 2018. that means he has a support inside UOC-KP and

UAOC The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; (UAPTs)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthodox churches in Ukraine in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, together with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) ...

, because there were only 2 bishops from MP who participated in voting. Together with the former primates of UOC-KP

Filaret (Denysenko) Patriarch Filaret ( secular name ''Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko'' Михайло Антонович Денисенко, born 23 January 1929) is a Ukrainian religious leader, currently serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Ort ...

and UAOC Macarius (Maletych) he became a lifelong member of the Holy Synod of the newly formed church. After joining OCU in December he predicted slow but large-scale move of MP clergy to the newly formed church. He said about MP clergy position in case of joining OCU: As of January 24, 2019, "more than 30" MP parishes joined the diocese of metropolitan Symeon of Vynnytsa and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in OCU.In Vinnytsia Region Another 2 Parishes Had Joined OCU (in Ukrainian)
// Religious Information Service of Ukraine. January 24, 2019.

References

{{reflist

External links

Historic unification of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
by Tadeusz A. Olszański // Center of Eastern Studies. December 17, 2018.
In Vinnytsia Region Another 2 Parishes Had Joined OCU (in Ukrainian)
// Religious Information Service of Ukraine. January 24, 2019.
Metropolitan Symeon Biography (in Ukrainian)
at official UOC-MP site. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
Metropolitan Symeon Predicts Large-Scale Move of Clergy to OCU
// Religious Information Service of Ukraine. December 24, 2018.

// LB.ua. November 13, 2018. Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Ukrainian Orthodox metropolitan bishops 1962 births Living people People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class