Sylvester Kosiv

Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia (1647–1657)

Sylvester Kossów

Native name|

Silvester Kosaw

Church| Ruthenian Orthodox
Metropolis| Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'
See| Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Elected| 1647
In office| 1647–1657
Predecessor| Petro Mohyla
Successor| Dionysius Balaban
Other post(s)| Bishop of Mstsislaw, Orsha, and Mahiliow (1635–1647)
Personal details
Born|

Stefan-Adam Kosaw

Zharobychi, Vitebsk Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Died| 13 April 1657
Kyiv, Cossack Hetmanate
Buried| Dormition Cathedral (Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra)
Denomination| Eastern Orthodox
Alma mater| Zamość Academy

Sylvester Kossów, Kosiv or Kosov (secular name Stefan-Adam Kosaw, Polish: Sylwester Kossów; born Zharobychi, Vitebsk Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, died 13 April 1657) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'[a] in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1647 to 1657. He reigned during the Khmelnytsky uprising.

## Education[edit]

Kossów was a descendant of a Ruthenian noble family. He studied at the Kyiv and Vilno Brotherhood schools and at the Lublin Jesuit Collegium and Zamość Academy before beginning to teach at the Vilno and Lviv Dormition brotherhood schools. After finishing his education, Kosiv accepted monastic vows at the Saint Trinity Monastery in Vilno. With the opening of the Kyiv Lavra School in 1631, Kosiv be its lecturer on the request of Metropolitan Petro Mohyla becoming its prefect. In 1632–1635 he was the first prefect at the Kyiv Collegium teaching courses on rhetoric and philosophy. At the same time in 1632 Kosiv joined the Kyiv Epiphany Brotherhood.

## Bishop Sylvestr[edit]

In 1635 he became bishop of Mstislavl, Orsha, and Mahiliow. Following the Union of Brest, the eparchy of Mstislawl, Orsha, and Mahiliow became the only Eastern Orthodox eparchy within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1647 he became the metropolitan of Kyiv. It happened just before the Khmelnytsky Uprising, a time of uncertainty in Ukraine and in the Ruthenian church.

Kossów himself was strongly opposed to union with Tsardom of Russia, and also against unreserved alliance with Poland. He condemned the 1654 treaty of Pereyaslav between the Cossack Hetmanate and the Tsardom of Muscovy. Despite being critical of some of the policies of the Ukrainian Cossacks, he attempted to rectify the situation and along with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Paiseus gave Bohdan Khmelnytsky a hero's welcome when he entered Kyiv on 2 January 1649 (Old Style 23 December 1648). Kossów strived for an independent Ruthenian Orthodox Church that would be only under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and he fought against the subjugation of the Kyiv metropolate to Moscow.

In 1650 Sylvestr headed a delegation of the Orthodox clergy and Kyiv voivode Adam Kysil to the Sejm in Warsaw and contribute to ratification of the 1649 treaty of Zboriv.

## Bibliography[edit]

* (in Polish) "Exegesis, to iest dawne sprave o szkolach Кiowskich i Winickich" (English: Exegesis, is the old issue on schools of Kyiv and Vinnytsia, 1635) - about the Kyiv Collegium, its program, advantages of studies in Latin and Liberal Arts (so called "septim artes liberalis", Seven Liberal Arts)
* (in Polish) "Paterikon, abo Żywoty ss. ojców pieczarskich" (English: Patericon or the Life of Saint Fathers of [Kyiv] Caves, 1635) - shortened version of the Kyiv Caves Patericon that included list of Metropolitans from Michael (994–998) to Peter Mogila
* (in Belarusian) "Дидаскалія, альбо наука о седми сакраментах, альбо таїнах" (English: Didascaliae, or a science about the seven sacraments, 1637)

## See also[edit]

* Kuteino Epiphany Monastery (Epiphany Cathedral)

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ The title is also known as the Metropolis of Kiev, Halych and all Rus' or Metropolis of Kyiv, Halychyna, and All-Rus'. The name "Galicia" is a Latinized form of Halych, one of several regional principalities of the medieval state of Kievan Rus'.

## External links[edit]

* Sylvestr Kosov at the Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine
* Sylvestr Kosiv at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
* Andrew Wilson. The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation. Yale University Press, 2002. p 60.

Preceded by

Petro Mohyla

|  Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'
1647–1657  | Succeeded by

Dionysius Balaban

|
|

Preceded by

Iosif Bobrikovich

|  Bishop of Belarus
1635–1647  | Succeeded by

Iosif Kononovich-Horbacki

* v
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Metropolitans of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' (1620–1686)

* Job Boretsky
* Isaiah Kopinsky
* Petro Mohyla
* Sylvester Kosiv
* Dionysius Balaban
* Joseph Neliubovich-Tukalsky
* Anthony Vinnytsky

Locum tenens – Lazar Baranovych (in left-bank Ukraine)

* v
* t
* e

Metropolitans of Kyiv

Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'
(episcopal see in Kyiv, 988-1281)|

* (Michael and Leontius)
* Theophylact
* John
* Teopempt
* Ephraim
* George
* John II
* John III
* Nicholas
* Nikephoros
* Nikita
* Michael II
* Costantine
* Teodor
* John IV
* Costantine II
* John V
* Nikephoros II
* Matthew
* Сyril
* Joseph
* Kirill II

Partition of the metropolis
(1283-1378)|

| Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'
(episcopal see in Moscow)|

* Maximus
* Peter
* Theognostus
* Alexius
* Cyprian (As "Metropolitan of Kiev, Russia and Lithuania")

|

Metropolis of Halych
(episcopal see in Halych)|

* Niphont
* Gabriel
* Theodore
* Antoniy

Metropolis of Lithuania
(episcopal see in Navahrudak)|

* Theophilus
* Roman (merged metropolises of Lithuania and Halych)

Reunited Metropolis
(episcopal see in Moscow, 1378-1441)|

* Cyprian
* Photius
* Gerasimus
* Isidore

Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'
(1441 - 1596)|

* Gregoryb
* Spyridon
* Simeon
* Jonah
* Macarius
* Joseph
* Jonah II
* Joseph II
* Joseph III
* Macarius II
* Sylvester
* Jonah III
* Elias
* Onesiphorus
* Michaelb

Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'
(1620–1686)|

* Job I
* Isaiah I
* Peter II
* Sylvester II
* Dionysius I
* Joseph III

Russian occupation|

* Sede vacante (1685-1989)

Ukrainian Orthodox Church|

| Autocephalous|

* Mstyslav I
* Demetrius I
* Methodius I
* Macarius III

|

Kyiv Patriarchate|

* Volodymyr I
* Philaretos I

Unified|

* Epiphanius I

c Recognised by Rome alone; b Recognised by both Rome and Constantinople

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* e

Eastern Orthodox Bishops of Polotsk (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople)

Bishops|

* Mina
* Elias
* Kosma the Greek
* Dionysius
* Nicholas the Greek
* Callista I
* Volodymer
* Nicholas
* Alexis
* Simeon I
* Jacob
* Gregorius I

Archbishops|

* Theodosius the Greek
* Photious
* Simeon II

Archbishops of
Polotsk and Vitebsk|

* Callista II
* Simeon III
* Jonah
* Lucas
* Euphemius Okushkovich-Bossky
* Simeon IV
* Joseph the Ruthenian
* Cyprian I
* Nathaniel I

Archbishops of Polotsk,
Vitebsk and Mstislav|

* Misail
* Simeon V
* Herman Lytavar-Khrebtovich
* Gerasimus Korsak
* Gregorius Volovich
* Arsenious Shyshka
* Tryphon Stupishyn
* Varsonophiy the Vlach
* Athanasius Paletsky
* Anthony
* Theophanes Rpinsky
* Cyprian II
* Athanasius Terletsky
* Nathaniel Selitsky-Belitsky
* Gregorius Zahorsky
* Meletius Smotrytsky
* Joasaph
* Sylvester Kosiv (temp)
* Joachim Diakonovich

Bishop of
Polotsk and Vitebsk|

* Callista Dorofeyevich-Ritoraisky

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
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National|

* Norway
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