METROPOLITAN FEOFIL (BULDOVSKY) OF KHARKHIV
August 5th 1865 - January 23rd 1944
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Fyodor Ivanovich Buldovsky was born on August 5th 1865 in the village of Vasilyevka, Khorol region, Poltava province. His father was the Archpriest at Kladovyshchenskaya Church in Poltava. He would enroll as a student in the Lubny Theological Academy and graduated on August 15th 1880. He would obtain a second doctorate from the Poltava Theological Academy in 1886 and after graduation he would become a school teacher in Vasilyevka.
Fyodor married a woman named Maria and had three sons and a daughter. His sons were Vitaly, an Army Officer, Oleksandr, a professor at a school in Poltava, and Aleksei, who would become a priest and would serve at the St. Nicholas Church in the town of Mayachka in Kobelyatsky district, his daughter was named Elena.
In 1887 Bishop Ilarion (Yushenov) of Poltava and Pereyaslav would ordain him to the Priesthood. In 1900 he would serve as the second priest at the Poltava Memorial Church of All Saints while also teaching at the Kobzychensky Zemstvo primary school. In May 1908 he would be appointed a Diocesan officer for Makarievsky.
For his work in Makarievsky Fr. Fyodor would be awarded the Order of St. Anna in the third degree the following year in May 1909. Throughout his ministry he was well known as a “Ukrainophile”, speaking in the common Ukrainian language rather than the “High Russian” in his sermons and campaigning for the Ukrainian Exarchate to be autonomous.
In 1910 his wife would repose, shortly thereafter he would be tonsured a monk with the name Feofil after St. Theophilus of Antioch. Between May 3rd and 6th 1917 Fr. Feofil would attend the Poltava Clergy Synaxis and deliver a report about how the Ukrainian Exarchate should be administered after the February Revolution. Fr. Feofil's report would be well received by Archbishop Parfeniy (Levitsky) of Poltava.
Archbishop Parfeniy would ask Fr. Feofil to become his secretary and the following year in 1918 at the All-Ukrainian Church Council in Kyiv he would be elected as a Church delegate to the Ukrainian People's Republic under the government of Symon Petlura. At the same Council he would denounce the Renovationists and be placed as a permanent Diocesian officer in Poltava.
The time during the Civil War was very difficult for Fr. Feofil, one of his sons Vitaly had become an officer of the Sich Riflemen and would be killed by the Bolsheviks in 1919. The shift of power within the Ukrainian People's Republic would also see him removed from the government in 1919.
In 1920 Fr. Feofil was captured by the Red Army and sentenced to death. Fr Feofil would escape prison before he could be killed with the help of Cossacks under the command of Ataman Pavlo Skoropadsky. During the events of the 1921 so-called “Kyiv People's Church Council” where the former priest Vasyl Lypkivsky created an illegal church structure, Fr. Feofil and Abp. Parfeniy would strongly condemn Lypkivsky and his followers.
While struggling against the parasynagogue of the Lypkivskites, in the autumn 1921 Abp. Parfeniy would petition Archbishop Mikhail (Ermakov, who would later sign the infamous “Declaration”) to help him consecrate Fr. Feofil to the Episcopacy and appoint him as a Vicar Bishop to the Poltava Diocese; Abp. Mikhail refused to help Abp. Parfeniy consecrate Fr. Feofil however.
After Archbishop Parfeniy reposed on January 16th 1922 Fr. Feofil was saddened, having lost a man whom he considered a spiritual father. He continued to speak out against the Bolsheviks and the Lypkivskites. He would be arrested again by the Communists in 1922, but would escape prison with a group of other inmates.
Almost a year later on January 13th 1923 Feofil Buldovsky would be consecrated a Bishop by Vladyka Parfeniy's successor Archbishop Grigori (Lisovsky, later the founder of the sect known as the “Gregorians”) of Poltava and his two Vicar Bishops, Bp. Pyotr (Kireyev) of Zolotonosha and Bishop Nikolai (Braylovsky) of Cherkasy and Chigrin in the Dormition Cathedral in Poltava. Vladyka Feofil would be another Vicar for the Poltava Diocese as the Bishop of Lubny and Mirgorod.
Bishop Feofil would travel to Moscow after his enthronement, but would not arrive until September of 1924. While there he would meet with Metropolitan Sergei (Stragorodsky, eponymous namesake of the heresy of Sergianism) and would discuss the need for an autonomous Ukrainian Church, a condemnation of the parasynagogues of the Lypkivskites and Renovationists and how to maintain canonical order during the persecutions of the Bolsheviks.
Met. Sergei agreed with Bishop Feofil on all matters except for granting autonomy to the Ukrainian Church and would recommend Vladyka Feofil to break communion with Abp. Grigori – who had gone into schism from the Church structure led by Metropolitan (St.) Joseph of Petrograd – and commemorate him instead. Upon his return to Lubny in December 1924 – which had been annexed by the Polish Republic – he would break communion with Abp. Grigori.
On December 12th 1924 Met. Sergei would elevate Vladyka Feofil to a ruling Bishop and bestow on him the rank of Archbishop, soon after they would consecrate the Archpriest Sergei Ivanitsky as the Bishop of Chernigov. Mikhail Ermakov would become the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia – succeeding Met. Antony Khrapovitsky – and would not accept Vladyka Feofil as a ruling Bishop, secretly convening a Council against him.
Metropolitan Mikhail would attempt to get the support of Patriarch (St.) Tikhon to condemn Abp. Feofil, who refused to make or accept any accusation against Archbishop Feofil. Thus Mikhail Ermakov decided to wait until Patriarch Tikhon's falling asleep on March 25th 1925 before taking any action against Archbishop Feofil.
Without inviting Abp. Feofil and gathering 13 “bishops” (many of whom had been ordained by the Gregorian schismatics or the Renovationists), a trial would only last for one session with no witnesses being brought forth. Mikhail Ermakov and his followers declared Abp. Feofil to be defrocked and excommunicated. Abp. Feofil and Bp. Sergei upon learning of this, refused to recognize the decision and instead placed an excommunication on Met. Mikhail and the other “bishops” for making an illegal assembly and causing a schism in the Church.
While trying to involve other Bishops to heal the schism, Abp. Feofil would write a letter to Met. Sergei, who promised he would condemn Met. Mikhail's actions. In January 1926 Met. Sergei would betray Abp. Feofil, condemning him and the “Lubny Sobor” as schismatics. Betrayed by someone he considered a friend, Abp. Feofil would write to other Bishops, but by this point the persecution in Russia had meant most Bishops were imprisoned or killed, leaving the situation unresolved.
Archbishop Ioannikiy (Sokolovsky) – who was on trial for hiding Church vessels and funds from the Soviets – would write a letter condemning Met. Mikhail and claimed his actions served the Soviet state in an attempt to divide the Church. Abp. Ioannikiy would declare his loyalty to Vladyka Feofil and become a sitting member of the Lubny Sobor.
Vladyka Feofil continued to serve and would consecrate another Bishop with the help of Bishop Sergei of Chernigov, Bishop Sergei (Labutsnev) was appointed as a Vicar in Zolotonosha. In 1927 Sergei would send out his “Declaration” claiming the Orthodox Church had to be subserviant to the god-fighting Bolshevik government. Archbishop Feofil and the Sobor would write a letter in response, condemning the Declaration and calling Sergei to repentance.
The Lubny Sobor would continue to struggle against the Lypkivskites, Renovationists, Gregorians and Sergianists, ordaining several new priests for existing parishes in Polish-occupied and Soviet-occupied Ukraine as well as establishing new parishes. There would be over 200 parishes that commemorated Abp. Feofil throughout Ukraine by August 1927.
As a result of condemning Sergianism the OGPU would order the arrest of all of Abp. Feofil's clergy in Soviet Ukraine and attempt to assassinate his clergy in Poland. Bishop Pavel Pogorilko and Ioannikiy Sokolovsky would be intimidated into joining the Sergianists, Sergei of Zolotonosha would end up renouncing the Faith completely.
By the end of 1927 Archbishop Feofil convened another meeting of the Sobor in Lubny, where he convinced the remaining Bishops Sergei (Ivanitsky) and Vladyka Iosif to ordain more clergy. By early 1928 Sergei Ivanitsky would join the Sergianists. The persecution of the Soviet authorities against Archbishop Feofil in Ukraine was severe, with the operations of the OGPU reducing the number of parishes to only two dozen by 1929. By 1930 Archbishop Feofil and Vladyka Iosif would decide to finally enter the Catacombs.
During this time in the 1930s not much is known about Archbishop Feofil's activities; in 1937 he would move to Voroshilovgrad in Soviet Ukraine (now modern day Luhansk) to serve Catacomb Christians there. His son Fr. Aleksei would be arrested on August 2nd and killed by firing squad on September 15th 1937 in Kharkiv for belonging to a “counter-revolutionary organization”. His son Oleksandr was arrested on August 28th 1937 and killed by firing squad in Vladivostok on August 21st 1938 for “anti-Soviet behavior.”
In 1939 the Catacomb churches in Voroshilovgrad would be discovered and dismantled by the Soviet authorities; they failed to capture Archbishop Feofil however. By the end of 1940 Archbishop Feofil had no churches to serve, moving to Kharkiv and serving the Divine Liturgy secretly with only one or two faithful present and under constant fear of the Bolsheviks.
With the outbreak of the Second World War and the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans would capture Kharkiv in October 1941. Abp. Feofil that month would enter into communion with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and be elevated to the dignity of Metropolitan of Kharkiv and be placed as administer of the churches in Poltava, Sumy, Voronezh and Kursk.
On May 14th 1942 Archbishop Nikanor (Abramovych), Archbishop Oleksandr (Inozemtsev) and Bishop Igor (Guba) would consecrate Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) to the Episcopacy and enthrone him as the Bishop of Pereyaslav in the cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called in Kyiv. Metropolitan Feofil would be the first to send a congratulatory letter to Bishop Mstyslav – a Poltava native – whereupon the two became close friends.
In a personal letter to Bishop Mstyslav dated July 14th 1942 Metropolitan Feofil would write: “God by His providence has been pleased to save me from death at the hands of the Bolsheviks, but they would take my sons to unknown places. My oldest Vitaly, during the Civil War, my second Oleksandr – a professor in Poltava – to Vladivostok where he has been missing since 1937. My third, the Archpriest Aleksei, was also taken from Kharkiv the same year and is still missing... I pray God may unite us in this life or the next.”
Metropolitan Feofil would not know the fate of his two younger sons during his earthly life. He would give much advice and instruction to Bishop Mstyslav, who considered him a mentor; Metropolitan Feofil would invite Bishop Mstyslav to Kharkiv many times until Vladyka Mstyslav's arrest by the Germans in August 1942.
At a meeting on July 27th 1942 with Bishop Mstyslav of Pereyaslav and the Archpriest Fr. Alexei Potulinitsky, it was discussed how to organize the Kharkiv Metropolis and the reports written by Fr. Alexei recorded: “...we recognize the parishes subordinate to His Eminence Feofil in the territories of Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy and Kursk to be an integral part of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church under our First Hierarch Polikarp (Sikorsky).”
Vladyka Feofil's ministry in Kharkiv during the war would be very difficult; constant bombing raids by the Soviets and Partisan attacks – along with the German reprisals to them – would leave the city in ruins and the population in fear. Vladyka Feofil would serve without any fear of death, even as bombing raids occurred as he was serving he would not attempt to hide or show any effort to protect himself from harm, trusting completely in the will of God.
Vladyka Feofil would personally visit the sick and infirm, give bread to the hungry during famines and would give alms to those who lost everything. On the first day the Soviets recaptured territory within the city of Kharkiv on February 19th 1943 Soviet soldiers would occupy the Bishop's residence in the city and take Metropolitan Feofil as a hostage.
Despite Metropolitan Feofil being an enemy of Communism and wanted by the Soviet authorities, he would show great hospitality to the Soviet servicemen, offering them tea and bread. The soldiers were confused by these actions, knowing that he was considered a “traitor” by the Soviet state and would ask Metropolitan Feofil about his life, which he told in detail. The officer of this group – a hardened atheist – had pangs in his conscience and decided not to report Metropolitan Feofil's whereabouts to the Soviet army command, leaving him in peace temporarily.
Metropolitan Feofil would serve peacefully until August 1943 when the Soviets would fully retake the city from the Germans. The moscow patriachate Exarch in Ukraine Mikhail Yarushevich would send an ultimatium to Metropolitan Feofil; that he must sign a document condemning the German government and commemorate Sergei. Vladyka Feofil would agree to condemn the German government – as he had personally witnessed several atrocities committed by their forces – but refused to commemorate Sergei.
He would request Mikhail to give him time to write a letter to Sergei, which would delay his arrest for a few months. He would receive another ultimatium on November 9th 1943 which prompted him to write a letter to Sergei Stragodorsky the following day on November 10th stating:
“I send my greetings as a friend. I had heard about your appointment as patriarch from various clergy and from the telegram that was sent out... I wished to send an explanatory letter but there was a delay... Nevertheless any past wrongs between us I forget, for I do not wish there to be a bitterness between us for any mistakes I may have made... I cannot set my case on paper by law, which you brother know... I am a 78 year old man, halfway dead as is from illness. I cannot come to Moscow so I ask for you to be a mediator with His Eminence (Mikhail). I hope to ask this of you as a friend:
As for the request to join the patriarchate, I already mentioned my advanced age and illness. I only have two companions, not counting the supervisors the Soviets have placed over me. My daughter also lives with me and cares for my health. If I wish to join the patriachate, you will know... Otherwise I ask to be granted a peaceful repose.”
As a result of this letter the NKVD would arrest Metropolitan Feofil on November 12th charging him with collaboration with the German forces and being part of an illegal counter-revolutionary Church organization. He was placed in a makeshift prison camp in Ukraine, being deprived of the most basic of needs and enduring severe torture by the Soviets.
While in prison he would be offered to join the moscow patriarchate serveral times by priests and bishops of the MP with the promise he would be released, each time Vladyka Feofil would refuse to join the MP. It was recorded by the NKVD that he reposed on January 23rd 1944, but how he was killed, where he was killed and where he is buried was not recorded. As of 2025 his place of burial is still unknown.
Memory Eternal! In the Heavenly Kingdom with the Saints!
(attached are two photographs of Metropolitan Feofil, one undated but likely taken in the 1920s after his consecration and the other after his elevation to Metropolitan of Kharkiv in 1942)
