In the world - Roman Vasylyovych Shukalo
Born 03.05.1951
Name Day - November 3
Consecration - 29.09.1991
In the See since 12.09.1996
Metropolitan of Donetsk and Mariupol Ilarion was born on May 3, 1951 in the village of Rudne Zaliznychnyi district of Lviv in the orthodox workers' family.
On graduation from school in 1968 he tried to enter the Moscow Theological Seminary, but the attempt proved a failure because the applicant had not reached the age of 18.
The same year he entered the Lviv Agricultural Institute. At the same time he bore obedience of a subdean to Metropolitan of Lviv and Ternopil Mykolay (Yurik, †1984).
In 1979 he left his native Lviv and prestigious appointment, moving to unknown lands of Donetsk. There from February 1979 till August 1980 he served a psalm-reader in the Holy Dormition Church of the village of Budionivka of the city of Donetsk.
In September 1980 he entered the Odesa Theological Seminary, full-time education.
On February 15, 1981, on the feast of Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, in the Odesa Holy Dormition Cathedral His Eminence Sergiy Metropolitan of Kherson and Odesa (Petrov, †1990), administrator of the Diocese of Voroshylovograd and Donetsk ordained him (for that time a first year student of Theological Seminary who vowed celibacy) to the holy diaconate and assigned to serve at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral of Voroshylovograd (now Luhansk).
On October 24, 1982 he was ordained priest. He was appointed key-keeper of the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral of Voroshylovograd.
In 1984 he graduated from the Odesa Theological Seminary.
On November 23, 1986 he was appointed rector of the St. Nicholas Church of Rovenky, the Voroshylovograd region.
In 1987 he entered the Moscow Theological Academy.
In April of 1988 he was reassigned to serve as rector of the St. Nicholas Church of Starobilsk and appointed Dean of the 3rd Deanery and member of the diocesan council.
On Easter 1989 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest.
In 1991 he successfully graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of September 5, 1991 he was elected to episcopal ministry at the Cathedra of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomiysk.
On September 21 he was tonsured monk with the name Ilarion after the Venerable Hilarion, schemamonk of the Kyiv Caves (commemoration day November, 3).
On September 27 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite in the Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kyiv.
On September 29, 1991 the consecration of archimandrite Ilarion as Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomiysk was carried out.
From January 22, 1992 he ruled at the same time the Diocese of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna of the UOC, and from April, 6 he was Bishop of Kherson and Tavriysk.
On November 23, 1995 he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop.
On September 12, 1996 by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church he was appointed administrator of the Donetsk cathedra (the Diocese of Donetsk and Mariupol with administration of the Diocese of Kherson).
June 11, 1997 he was removed from administration of the Kherson Diocese and temporarily appointed administrator of the Horlivka Diocese.
On November 23, 2000 he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.
Activity In the Diocesan See
Before appointment of Archbishop Ilarion to the Diocese of Donetsk it counted 128 parishes and one men's monastery of Svyatogirsk. Now in the Diocese of Donetsk more than 530 parishes are functioning.
In the past ten years the looks of Donbass have changed. Among the industrial landscapes domes of dozens of churches shone with gold. In the Diocese there are more than 200 Sunday schools where the children and adults study the Law of God and the bases of the Christian outlook.
A Department of the Spiritual Culture is established at the Donetsk National University which prepares teachers of the Orthodox Culture and ethics.
For several years on the blessing of Metropolitan Ilarion the orthodox camps have been organized at the Azov Sea, in which the pupils of the Sunday schools spend their holidays. The clergy of the diocese carry out active missionary, charitable, social and spiritual educational activities. In the near future it is planned to open the Donetsk Theological Seminary.
In the region 6 monasteries are functioning among which the Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra occupies a special place. An important event of 2004, declared in the Donetsk region the years of spirituality, was a solemn opening of the rebuilt, restored and decorated Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra - the monastery which received its high status by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of March 9, 2004. The great historical significance as well as the leading role in the spiritual and missionary life of Donbass and of the other regions of Russia and Ukraine enabled Lavra to become the spiritual centre of East Ukraine.
Among the outstanding events there were the glorifications of the Venerable Ioann, the hermit of Sviatogirsk and the Holy Hierarch Ignatius, Metropolitan of Mariupol, with whose name the migration of the Orthodox Greeks from the Crimea to Azov lands. The ceremony of glorification was performed by His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr in co-celebration of numerous Archpastors and clergy in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of Mariupol.
In the Donetsk region there are 24 penal settlements, many of them are patronized by the diocesan clergy, who teach the prisoners the Law of God and perform at the request of the believers the Sacrament of Confession and the Holy Communion of the sick. The penal settlements are provided with the spiritual literature, food and articles of daily necessity. In the territories of some penitentiaries the churches or chapels are built, or the prayer rooms are settled, where the divine services or Occasional Offices are performed.
The clergy of the Diocese often appear in the mass-media. The TV programme "The way to the temple" broadcast by the local TV answers the questions of the TV audience on spiritual life. Every month the magazine "Spring of Life" ("Zhyvoi Rodnik") and the diocesan newspaper "Orthodox Donbass" ("Donbass Pravoslavnyi") are issued. The children's magazines "My Joy" ("Radost Moya") and "Shishkin Les" became favourite editions of the little faithful. The Internet site "Donbass Pravoslavnyi" presents topical information on the life of the diocese.
Awarded
Orders of the Russian Orthodox Church:
1999 - of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd degree;
2004 - of the Holy and Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, 2nd degree;
Orders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:
1997 -of the Holy Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk, 2nd degree;
1999 -of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of the 3rd degree;
2004 - of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of the 1st and 2nd degrees.
Orders of the Polish Orthodox Church:
1997 - of the Holy Equal-to-the-ApostlesMary Magdalene of the 2nd degree.
State awards:
- the state order of Ukraine "For Merits" of the 2nd degree;
- the Certificate of Merit of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
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