Ovruch, Zhytomyr Province, Ukraine, September 18, 2026
Ovruch Diocese
His Eminence Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church reposed in the Lord today at the age of 72 after a long and debilitating illness, reports the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
OrthoChristian previously reported that His Eminence underwent heart surgery in July 2025, and surgery to remove a tumor in July of this year.
He served the Church in the episcopal dignity for 34 years. He received Holy Communion just before departing to the Lord.
May Metropolitan Vissarion’s memory be eternal!
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Met. Vissarion was born on the feast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, December 4, 1953, in the village of Polyana, Zhytomyr Province.
At the height of atheist propaganda, he decided to dedicate himself to the Lord and enrolled in the Moscow Theological Seminary. In 1983, he received his diploma from the theological academy. On April 1 of that same year, he was tonsured a monk at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, taking the name Vissarion in honor of Venerable Vissarion of Egypt.
On September 21, 1983, he was ordained to the diaconate, and on September 25, to the priesthood.
In 1990, he was elevated to the rank of igumen.
He was elected Bishop of Korosten, vicar of the Zhytomyr Diocese in July 1992 and was consecrated to the episcopacy on August 24 of that year.
The Ovruch Diocese was established in June 1993, and Bishop Vissarion was appointed to lead it. He remained in this role until his repose.
During his years of service, three monasteries and hundreds of parishes were opened, and a great number of churches were consecrated.
On November 23, 2000, Bishop Vissarion was elevated to the rank of Archbishop, and in 2010, to the rank of Metropolitan.
Despite his serious illness, in the last years of his life, Metropolitan Vissarion was forced to defend his good name in court and refute accusations that, despite years of proceedings, were never proven.
And although in his final months the gravely ill hierarch was bedridden, just three days before his repose a prosecutor demanded his personal presence at a court hearing, unsatisfied by the medical documentation provided.
The reposed Vladyka Vissarion was a modest and unassuming man. As a devout monk, he was demanding of himself, loved prayer, and especially loved keeping the nighttime prayer rule.
On the eve of his repose, the hierarch bade farewell to all those close to him, and after receiving Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he departed to the Lord, Whom he had zealously served from his youth.
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