THE SAINTLY, THRICE-BLESSED METROPOLITAN HRYHORIJ (OHIJCHUK) OF SOUTH BOUND BROOK
5/19/2026
Among the great confessors and hierarchs of the turbulent twentieth century stands the venerable figure of Metropolitan Hryhorij (Gregory) Ohijchuk, a bishop forged in the fires of persecution, exile, imprisonment, and war, yet never shaken in his devotion to Christ, the Holy Orthodox Church, and the suffering Ukrainian faithful.
Born on January 25, 1893, in the village of Trubiivtsi in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine, he came into the world during the waning years of the Russian Empire, raised within a pious Orthodox family that planted deeply within him a love for the Church and the sacred traditions of the Faith. From his youth, he pursued theological education with zeal, studying at the Kyiv Church Teachersâ Seminary and later at the Zhytomyr Ukrainian Pastoral School, graduating amidst the upheaval and uncertainty of revolution, war, and societal collapse.
Ordained to the Holy Priesthood on May 20, 1919, Father Gregory entered ministry during one of the darkest and most dangerous periods in modern history. Assigned to serve in the Zhytomyr region, he quickly became known for his fervent preaching, pastoral compassion, and unwavering support for the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He labored tirelessly for the restoration of Orthodox worship and ecclesiastical life in the language and spiritual inheritance of the Ukrainian people, seeking not political power, but spiritual renewal rooted in Christ and Holy Orthodoxy.
Such faithfulness came with a heavy cross.
In 1923, Soviet authorities arrested him for preaching Christ and supporting the persecuted Ukrainian Church. Though imprisoned for months, he emerged from captivity undeterred, continuing his ministry among the faithful. Eventually serving as rector of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Berdychiv, he became increasingly targeted as the Bolshevik persecution against the Church intensified.
On March 18, 1932, he was arrested once again and deported to the labor camps of the Kuzbass region in Siberia. There, amid the brutal conditions of the Soviet gulag system, Father Gregory endured years of hardship, deprivation, and suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Yet even prison camps could not extinguish the grace of God within him.
Released in 1936, he returned quietly to Ukraine and continued ministering clandestinely among the faithful in private homes while open Orthodox worship remained forbidden under the atheistic Soviet regime. During those years, countless priests disappeared, churches were destroyed, monasteries closed, and the faithful driven underground. Nevertheless, the Church survived in hidden prayers, whispered hymns, candlelit homes, and the steadfast hearts of confessors such as Father Gregory.
On May 17, 1942, in the historic Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Kyiv, Archimandrite Gregory Ohijchuk was consecrated Bishop of Zhytomyr of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The consecration was presided over by Archbishop Nikanor (Abramovych) together with hierarchs of the restored Ukrainian episcopate, among them the future Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk). As bishop, Gregory became a bold spiritual father calling the people to repentance, prayer, courage, and steadfast faith during the chaos of war and occupation.
Yet persecution followed him still.
On September 25, 1942, the German occupation authorities arrested Bishop Gregory within his own cathedral, accusing him of encouraging Ukrainian patriotism and permitting prayers for an independent Ukrainian state. For eight months he languished in German imprisonment before finally being released in March 1943. Remarkably, Metropolitan Hryhorij became one of the rare Orthodox hierarchs who suffered imprisonment under both Soviet communism and Nazi occupation, bearing witness to Christ under two totalitarian regimes.
As Soviet armies once again advanced into Ukraine, Bishop Gregory was forced into exile with the blessing of Metropolitan Polycarp (Sikorsky), joining the great diaspora of displaced Ukrainian clergy and faithful fleeing renewed communist persecution. Elevated to the rank of Archbishop, he became one of the principal spiritual leaders of Ukrainian Orthodox refugee communities throughout postwar Germany. In 1947, he headed the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Council in Germany, helping preserve ecclesiastical continuity, apostolic succession, and pastoral care among scattered exiles who had lost nearly everything except their faith.
In 1950, Archbishop Gregory emigrated to the United States at the invitation of the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful in Chicago, where he continued his episcopal ministry for decades. Clothed in simplicity and ascetic dignity, with his long white beard, solemn liturgical presence, and unwavering fidelity to the suffering Church of Ukraine, he became a living symbol of endurance, continuity, and spiritual fatherhood for generations of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians in the diaspora.
In 1971 he was elevated to the dignity of Metropolitan. Then, in 1981, Metropolitan Hryhorij elevated Archimandrite Nickolas (Lambrou), preserving the spiritual inheritance passed down through suffering, confession, and faithfulness.
Metropolitan Hryhorij reposed in the Lord on February 13, 1985, in Chicago, at the age of ninety-two. His earthly life had traversed prisons, labor camps, underground ministry, war, exile, displacement, and decades of pastoral service. Yet through every trial, he remained faithful to Christ and His Holy Church until the very end.
His life stands as a radiant testimony to the endurance of the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful through one of the darkest periods of modern history. Neither prison, nor exile, nor tyranny, nor persecution could extinguish the light of Christ that burned within him. His memory remains eternal among the faithful, and his witness continues to inspire all who seek to remain steadfast amid the storms of this fallen world.
May his memory be eternal! ĐŃŃĐ˝Đ°Ń ĐżĐ°ĐźâŃŃŃ!














