NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America noted with great sadness the falling asleep in the Lord of Metropolitan Constantine of Irinoupolis, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, today, May 21, 2012, at the age of 76.
Archbishop Demetrios in his letter of condolence to Archbishop Antony of Ierapolis, Bishop Daniel of Pamphilon and to the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, of the USA, wrote:
As the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and on behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod and the Clergy and Lay Faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, I am offering our profound condolences on the falling asleep in the Lord of the most blessed First Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, the deeply beloved and respected late Metropolitan Constantine of Irinoupolis. The passing of the Metropolitan is a deeply felt wound not only for the pious Ukrainian People, but for all Orthodox Christians who have admired his saintly and wise pastoral stewardship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. His lifetime of exceptional leadership will live on in the hearts and minds of all Orthodox who were privileged to know his ministry.
As we, and all the members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, remember you in this time of grief and mourning, we shall also offer our fervent supplications to God for His great servant Metropolitan Constantine of Irinoupolis, that he may find the reward of “the faithful and wise steward” that he most surely was, having fought the good fight for the forty years of his archpastoral ministry, and that he may rest in the blessed hope of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the memory of Metropolitan Constantine, this exceptional leader of the Church, be eternal.
According to a Press Release from the Office of Public Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, Metropolitan Constantine was stricken with a serious illness just a few weeks ago and was released only three days ago from a local Pittsburgh hospital, which enabled him to participate in the celebration of his 40th anniversary of Archpastoral ministry among the faithful of the Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. This celebration took place at the Dormition of the Mother of God Ukrainian Orthodox Church in McKees Rocks, Pa. with the presence of his brother Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs and visiting bishops of other Orthodox jurisdictions, his family from the United States and his beloved spiritual children, the clergy and faithful of the UOC of the USA, South America and Europe.
Information on funeral arrangements has not yet been released.
