Bishop Maksym Ryabukha

Bishop Maksym Ryabukha, Exarch of Donetsk (SDB). Born on May 18, 1980, in Lviv. Ordained a priest on August 4, 2007, by Bishop Andriy Sapelak of the Eparchy of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, based in Buenos Aires (Argentina). Consecrated a bishop on December 22, 2022, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. Enthroned on November 21, 2024, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zaporizhzhia. Childhood and Education: The future Bishop Maksym Ryabukha was born on May 18, 1980, in Lviv, where he completed his secondary education. Recounting his first steps in faith and the emergence of his vocation, Bishop Maksym shares memories of an elderly woman holding a rosary—someone he calls an angel. "I was always a very restless boy. Besides regular school, I attended music school; this meant I was in the city center three times a week for lessons before returning home. I always had to wait for a minibus in the center, but I disliked standing in line; so, I would save my spot in the queue and wander the central streets for a while. I remember one time seeing the open doors of a church near the stop on the square. I went inside [today, this is St. Andrew's Church — Ed.]. I found it fascinating, as I had never been there before. I was captivated by the murals all around and the beautiful, prayerful atmosphere; not knowing the proper etiquette, I simply walked through the side aisles between the columns, gazing at everything around me." Then one day, an older woman who was praying the Rosary that evening beckoned me over and began asking who I was and what I was doing there. Well, what could I say about what I was doing? "I just come because I’m curious to see what’s going on." She then asked me, "Have you gone over there—" pointing toward the sanctuary area—"to where a woman is handing out holy cards?" I found this suggestion intriguing, and I even remarked, "I didn't even know one could go in there." Gathering my courage, I went to the sacristy and saw a woman sitting at a table covered with a large number of holy cards. I asked her, "I was told you hand out holy cards to everyone here. Could you give me one, too?" That woman became his first guide in the faith; she first taught the young boy how to pray and later gave him his first Catechism of the Catholic Church. While growing up in Lviv, Maksym frequently visited the Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was there that he met Eastern-rite Salesian priests and assisted them as an animator in their work with youth and children from 1994 to 1997. "Later, Divine Providence led me to the Salesian church in the Lychakiv district of Lviv. In those years—specifically 1992—the Salesians were just beginning their work with young people. Everything was in its very early stages. Nevertheless, they gathered us—children and youth—for various meetings, catechesis, and courses, such as Italian language classes. There were also religious sisters who were constantly with us." "We understood that they were likely living for our sake, because we felt happy with them, and we could see that they enjoyed our company. There were also Salesians there—those early priests who were incredibly self-sacrificing. Their love and spirit of sacrifice always touched the heart. Every time you came to the church, interacting with the Salesians and the sisters gave you the feeling that you were coming to God Himself—that you were seeing and hearing Him," recalls Bishop Maksym of this period in his life. From September 1997 to August 1998, he underwent the pre-novitiate program in the town of Obroshyno, after which he deepened his Salesian vocation in Pinerolo, Italy. According to the bishop, the first stage of Salesian formation also began quite unexpectedly. Here is how he remembers it: "One evening, as the youth were gathering in the church for the Rosary, a sister called me over and asked, 'Have you spoken to Father Vasyl about wanting to join the Salesians?' I replied, 'Sister, I wouldn't even bring that up; I’m too embarrassed. He’ll surely tell me that they don’t accept people like me.' She said, 'Don’t think like that. Let’s go see the Father!' She took me by the hand, led me to the office of the parish priest, Father Vasyl, knocked on the door, and opened it just enough so she wouldn't be seen. The Father said, 'Well, come in. What brings you here?' So, I had to go in. He asked again, 'What is it? Why have you come?' I began to tell him that I truly wanted to become a Salesian. It was such a striking and deeply moving moment. Without asking anything else, the Father said, 'Look, you need to arrive in Obroshyno on September 8th.'" Obroshyno was our formation house, where young men came if they wanted to join the Salesians. It was the first year—a time for observing, looking, and getting to know Salesian life. I always used to say that I joined the Salesians just to give it a try. Many years have passed since then—it was 1997—yet I suppose I am still "trying," because it is such a rich and rewarding experience that I certainly have no desire to bring it to an end. After his novitiate in Pinerolo, near Turin, he made his first religious vows as a Salesian in Turin itself (Italy) in 1999. From September 1999 to July 2001, he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical Salesian University in Nave, Italy. "It is a picturesque town where two mountains meet, resembling the bow of a ship—after all, 'nave' translates as 'ship'," recounts Bishop Maksym. In accordance with Salesian statutes, he undertook a pastoral internship in Odesa, Ukraine, during 2001–2002, where he also renewed his religious vows. "That year rooted me even more deeply in my love for young people and removed every possible barrier—such as fear or anxiety—regarding the idea that young people might be difficult or different." In 2002–2003, he was based in Obroshyno, assisting in the formation of young men who wished to become Salesians. From 2003 to 2006, the future Bishop Maksym returned to Italy to study theology in Turin. On August 19, 2005, he made his perpetual vows in the Salesian Congregation and received subdiaconal ordination. On June 24, 2006, in Lviv, he was ordained a deacon by Bishop Andriy Sapelak—Bishop of the Eparchy of the Protection of the Mother of God, based in Buenos Aires (Argentina)—and on August 4, 2007, he received priestly ordination from the same Bishop Sapelak. "It was a source of great pride for us to be ordained by Bishop Andriy Sapelak. After all, he was a living piece of history—the first Salesian bishop in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and a participant in the Second Vatican Council," the hierarch emphasizes. From 2007 to 2010, he served as director of the Oratory (the St. Dominic Savio Catechetical School) in Lviv and as a youth ministry coordinator. He obtained two higher education degrees: from 2008 to 2011 at the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (Specialist in Law), from 2011 to 2012 at Lviv Polytechnic National University (Master of Educational Institution Management), and from 2012 to 2015 at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk (Master of Social Pedagogy). In 2010–2011, he was part of the St. John Bosco community in Vynnyky, where he was responsible for the Oratory, and from 2011 to 2013, he served in Dnipropetrovsk. In 2013, he moved to Kyiv to open the first Salesian monastery there and establish a community. He became the administrator of the St. John the Theologian religious community in Kyiv, began teaching at the Kyiv Three Holy Hierarchs Theological Seminary, and took on various roles within the Kyiv Archeparchy. From February 2016 to July 2018, he worked at the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine, serving as interpreter for the Apostolic Nuncio. On April 29, 2018, he became Provincial Vicar, and in October 2018, Superior of the Mary Help of Christians monastic community in Kyiv. Regarding his episcopal ministry: on September 19, 2022, the Vatican announced that the Holy Father Francis had blessed the choice of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and appointed Father Maksym Ryabukha, SDB, as Auxiliary Bishop of the Donetsk Exarchate of the UGCC, assigning him the titular see of Stephaniacum. Here is how the bishop recalls the moment he received the news of his election by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: "On one hand," he shared, "as a simple priest serving as a Salesian for the good and growth of young people, I never actually imagined that the Church might make such a decision regarding me; internally, I feel completely incapable and unworthy of the great ministry the Church has placed before me. But on the other hand, I understand that this is a land seeking God, seeking to touch the living God amidst the realities in which it lives. And I am certain that the God whom I know and love has never abandoned me or my friends, nor has He ever forsaken the young people who walked alongside me on life's journey. This gives me great faith that when God asks for something, He knows exactly what 'something' He wishes to give." On December 21, 2021, prior to Vespers with Lytia, the Rite of Nomination of the new UGCC Bishop Maksym Ryabukha took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. It was performed by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, together with Bishop Stepan Meniok, Exarch of Donetsk, and Bishop Yosyf Milian, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy. The following day, December 22—the Feast of the Conception by Saint Anne of the Most Holy Mother of God—the episcopal ordination of Bishop Maksym Riabukha took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, attended by a large gathering of clergy and the faithful. The principal consecrator was the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav, with co-consecrators Bishop Stepan Meniok, Exarch of Donetsk, and Bishop Yosyf Milian, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy. Addressing the newly ordained bishop, the Head of the UGCC said: "Dear Bishop Maksym, today the Holy Spirit anoints you so that, where there is the greatest pain and darkness, you may bring the word of the Good News of Christ’s Gospel; so that you may pour the balm of sanctification upon the wounds of those suffering today from a lack of everything. Give them hope, proclaim to them the word of Christ’s Divine Gospel and His hope, and be a bearer of this power. Today, in your Exarchate, two of our courageous priests—Fathers Ivan and Bohdan—are held captive by the Russian occupiers. Proclaim to them, and bring them, the joyful news of liberation—and share this with all the faithful in the occupied territories who are waiting for the liberation we hear of today to become their reality. It is He who sends you to proclaim the year of God’s grace. May God grant that this year becomes a year of God’s grace, of the victory of Christ’s light over darkness, of peace over war, of joy over sorrow, and of God’s power over human frailty and baseness." For his part, Bishop Maksym Ryabukha thanked everyone for their prayers and involvement in his life. "The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, are suffering the horrors of war... I wish to stand by your side in all things, mindful that Good Friday is not the end of God’s plan for salvation. Together with you, I look toward the quiet dawn of the Resurrection. In the Holy Sacraments, we will find support for our life’s pilgrimage; in our shared experience, we will feel the strength of the Christian family; and in prayer and labor, we will witness the abundant fruits of God’s grace," the new bishop said, addressing those affected by the war. On October 17, 2024, the Vatican announced that the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav—with the consent of the Synod—had accepted the resignations of three hierarchs who had reached the age of 75. Among them was Bishop Stepan Meniok, the outgoing Exarch of Donetsk. Consequently, the Holy Father blessed the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC to appoint Bishop Maksym Ryabukha as his successor. The Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, including the rite of enthronement for the new Exarch of Donetsk, took place on November 21, 2024—the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple—at the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Zaporizhzhia. The solemn service was presided over by the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, concelebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Bishop Stepan Meniok, Bishop Maksym Ryabukha, and numerous other bishops and priests. His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that Bishop Maksym is assuming this ministry at a time when a bloody war of aggression is raging in our homeland. "A long and arduous period of healing the wounds inflicted by it lies ahead of you. Be ready to serve all those who have suffered loss because of this brutal war. Comfort widows with God’s word, wipe away the tears of orphans, and proclaim hope in the Lord’s mercy," he urged.