On 18 September 2011 in Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Chortkiv (Ternopil region) took place a Bishop’s Ordination (i.e. Cheirotonia which literally means the laying of the hands) of the Most Rev. Dmytro (Hryhorak), the Eparch of Buchach. The Ordination was accomplished by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Head of the UGCC. It was actually his first Bishop’s Cheirtonia. Two other Con-consecrators were His Excellency Vasyl (Semeniuk) –Bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv Eparchy and His Excellency Sofron (Mudryi) – Bishop-emeritus of Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy.

The Order of Cheirotonia started on 17 September when the Bishop-elect was nominated. The next day, the actual rite of Cheirotonia took place during the Pontifical Divine Liturgy attended by the members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, Roman Catholic Bishops in Ukraine, numerous clergy, religious and lay people as well as by the representatives of regional and city authorities.

At the beginning of the Liturgy, the Bishop-nominate Dmytro, according to the rite of the Kyivan Church, made Profession of Faith in the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and other truths of Christian faith. After the Small Entrance, the rite of Cheirotonia took place during which all of the consecrating Bishops placed their hands on the Gospel and said the Prayer of Consecration. The newly ordained Bishop was then clothed in the vestments of a Bishop and imparted his first Episcopal blessing to the people who overcrowded the Cathedral.

At the end of the Liturgy, the rite of the Enthronement of the newly ordained Bishop Dmytro as the Eparch of Buchach took place. After receiving from the Head of the UGCC an official letter and a bishop’s rod, Bishop Dmytro expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed somehow to his formation as a man, a monk and a bishop.

UGCC Information Department