Fr. Maksim Ryabukha Elected Auxiliary Bishop of Donetsk

Fr. Maksim Ryabukha, SDB, Elected Auxiliary Bishop of Archepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk

(ANS - Vatican City – September 19, 2022) – The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has elected Fr. Maksim Ryabukha, SDB, as auxiliary bishop of the archepiscopal exarchate of Donetsk. Pope Francis has granted his assent, assigning to Bishop-elect Ryabukha the titular see of Stefaniacum.

Bishop Maksim Ryabukha was born on May 18, 1980, in Lviv. In 1998 he entered the Society of St. Francis de Sales, attending the novitiate at Pinerolo, Italy, where he made his first profession on Sept. 8, 1999; he then made his perpetual profession in Lviv on Aug. 19, 2005, and received priestly ordination on Aug. 4, 2007, also in Lviv.

After initial formation, he completed his studies in philosophy and theology at the Salesian Pontifical University. In addition, he also trained in human resource management at the Interregional Academy in Kyiv, as well as obtaining a Master’s degree in school administration from the Lviv Polytechnic University and a Master’s degree in social pedagogy from the National University of Transcarpathia.

His many roles include director of catechetics at Pokrov Parish of the Holy Mother of God in Lviv, administrator of St. John Chrysostom Parish in Kyiv, head of university pastoral ministry of the Archeparchy of Kyiv, local collaborator of the apostolic nunciature in Ukraine, teacher of pedagogy at the Greek Catholic Major Seminary in Kyiv.

At the level of Salesian communities, he was director of the youth center of the Lviv community (2007-2010) and Vynnyky (2010-2011), director and treasurer in Dnipro (2014-2015) and, from 2018 to the present, director and treasurer of the Kyiv house.

At the province level, he served as national delegate for youth ministry for the former Eastern Circumscription (2009-2012), and for the present vice province of Greek Catholic Ukraine, delegate for formation and vice provincial (2018-2021), and delegate for vocations ministry and the Salesian Family (2020-2021).