Bishop Taras Senkiv

Bishop Taras Senkiv, Eparch of Stryi. Born on July 3, 1960, in the city of Chortkiv (Ternopil region). Ordained a priest on May 28, 1982, by the Most Reverend Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk, Eparch of Kolomyia-Chernivtsi. Consecrated a bishop on July 20, 2008, at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Stryi (Lviv region). Enthroned on May 24, 2014, at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Stryi. Childhood and family: The future Bishop Taras Senkiv was born on July 3, 1960, in Chortkiv (Ternopil region). Bishop Taras recalls his childhood: "My grandmother never attended the Orthodox Church. My mother did go, though not because she believed we were obliged to; she simply wanted me to become accustomed to spiritual life. When I was ten, we met some Greek Catholics. From then on, we stopped going to the Orthodox church and instead traveled to visit the elderly Studite monk, Father Samuil. Later, we attended the Basilian community, and eventually, we met Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk. At that time, at least 25 people would attend the Liturgy celebrated by the bishop. There, I met peers of my own age, including the current Metropolitan of Ivano-Frankivsk, Volodymyr Viityshyn, and Fr. Ivan Senkiv, who now serves in Ivano-Frankivsk. This atmosphere of trust and openness fostered my decision to become a priest. Subsequently, I undertook underground theological studies. I made the final decision to become a priest after completing my military service." "For me, it was a profound experience of faith." Priestly Ministry: At the age of seventeen—specifically in 1977—he began his studies at an underground Greek Catholic seminary while simultaneously working various jobs. On May 28, 1982, he was ordained a priest by the late Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk. From 1982 to 1989, Bishop Taras served as an underground priest within the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy. He was an active member of the Committee for the Legalization of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the pastor of a parish in Chortkiv and headed the Chortkiv Deanery. At the same time, he fulfilled the duties of parish priest in the cities of Zalishchyky and Chernivtsi. Bishop Taras completed a full theological course at the archiepiscopal seminary in Olomouc (Czech Republic), where he studied at Palacký University and earned a Licentiate degree in Theology. Bishop Taras served as the spiritual director of the Ivano-Frankivsk Theological Academy (September–December 2000) and as the Syncellus for pastoral care and priestly formation in the Buchach Eparchy (January 2001 – February 2002). On February 15, 2002, Bishop Taras entered the Order of Minims (founded by Saint Francis of Paola). Until 2004, he resided at the Order's headquarters in Italy. From 2006, the Bishop taught pastoral theology at the Ivano-Frankivsk Theological Academy. Episcopal Ministry: On May 22, 2008, the Apostolic See appointed Bishop Taras as Auxiliary Bishop of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC, with the titular see of Siccenna (Latin: *Siccenna*). The episcopal ordination of Bishop Taras took place on July 20, 2008, at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Stryi. The principal consecrator was His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar, with co-consecrators Bishop Volodymyr Viityshyn, Eparch of Ivano-Frankivsk, and Bishop Mykola Simkailo, Eparch of Kolomyia-Chernivtsi. On January 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Taras Senkiv as Apostolic Administrator *ad nutum Sanctae Sedis* of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC. This decision was made in light of the statement by the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC regarding the impediment—due to health reasons—preventing Bishop Yulian Gbur from exercising the office of Eparch of Stryi. On April 2, 2014, the Holy Father Francis, taking into account the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, gave his consent to the canonical election of Bishop Taras Senkiv as Eparch of Stryi by the Synod of Bishops. The enthronement ceremony for the See of the Stryi Eparchy took place on May 24, 2014, at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the city of Stryi.