Pavlo (Petro Dmytrovych Lebid) — Metropolitan of Vyshhorod and Chernobyl, Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis, and Administrator of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on April 19, 1961, in the village of Borbin, Rivne Oblast.
He attended the Lutsk Technical School of Soviet Trade, from which he graduated in 1980. He later studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary, and in 1996 he graduated from the Kyiv Theological Academy.
Career
In 1981, he was drafted into the Soviet Army, where he served for two years in Baku, which at the time was part of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
In 1987, he was ordained a deacon, and the following year he was ordained a priest. After graduating from the Moscow Theological Seminary, he was assigned to the village of Nyzkynychi in the Volyn Oblast, where he became the rector of the Church of the Dormition.
In 1989, he took monastic vows and was given the name Pavlo, and in 1992, he was ordained an archimandrite.
In the spring of 1994, he was appointed abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Three years later, Pavlo was ordained Bishop of Vyshhorod and became vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis.
In late 2002, he became head of the Synodal Commission on Monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In 2003, he was ordained an archbishop.
In 2009, he became a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Two years later, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan and received the title “of Vyshhorod and Chernobyl.” That same year, he became a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In 2012, he temporarily served as head of the Kyiv Diocese while Metropolitan Vladimir of Kyiv and All Ukraine was ill.
Political Activities
In 1998, he ran for a seat in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as a candidate for the “Party of Regions, “ but was unsuccessful.
From 2008 to 2014, he served as a member of the Kyiv City Council representing the same political party. He served on the Standing Committee on Health Care and Social Protection.
Scandals
He earned the nickname “Pasha Mercedes” because he drove luxury cars.
He has repeatedly clashed with media representatives. In late 2013, he criticized Euromaidan and publicly thanked law enforcement officials. In January 2014, he addressed then-President Viktor Yanukovych, expressing his support for him.
In 2019 , he stated that Ukraine was the “aggressor” in the war in Donbas and emphasized the need for “unity with Russia.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he ignored quarantine restrictions, urging the faithful to attend church services.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he stated that Ukrainians “had not heeded the warnings” and “are now reaping the consequences.”
Criminal Cases and Sanctions
In 2018, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted searches at Metropolitan Pavel’s country home as part of an investigation into the incitement of interfaith hostility.
On December 1, 2022, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) imposed sanctions against him for a period of five years.
In April 2023, the SBU notified him that he was suspected of violating articles related to inciting interreligious hostility and disseminating materials that justify Russia’s aggression. According to law enforcement officials, Lebid offended the religious sentiments of Ukrainians, disparaged believers of other faiths, and spoke out in support of Russia’s actions.
At that time, the metropolitan was placed under round-the-clock house arrest and required to wear an electronic ankle monitor. However, in July, the pretrial measure was changed to detention, with the option to post bail of more than 33 million hryvnias. The bail was soon paid, and Lebid was released from the detention center.
In October, the metropolitan was also suspected of:
- violations of citizens’ equal rights based on their religious beliefs;
- justifying or denying armed aggression by the Russian Federation, committed by a public official on a repeat basis.
The SBU noted that the day before the first charge was announced, the metropolitan gave an interview in which he denied the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state and referred to Russia’s war against Ukraine as a “civil conflict.”
Pavlo’s house arrest was extended several times. In April 2024, the court allowed him to remove his electronic ankle monitor, but his other conditions remained in place.
