Ilarion, Metropolitan

Ilarion, Metropolitan [Митрополит Іларіон; Mytropolyt Ilarion], b ?, d before 1054 in Kyiv. Eminent church and literary figure of the 11th century; the first non-Greek metropolitan of Kyiv. Ilarion was a priest in Berestove near Kyiv when in 1051, according to the wish of Yaroslav the Wise, an episcopal sobor elected him metropolitan. He codified the laws governing church life and defended the independence of the Rus’ church from the Byzantine hierarchy. A brilliant preacher and talented writer, Ilarion is credited with four works: ‘Slovo o zakoni i blahodati’ (Sermon on Law and Grace, before 1052), a prayer, a confession of faith, and a short collection of instructions for priests. The first work has been preserved in more than 50 redactions of the 15th and 16th centuries, and had an important influence on Ukrainian and other Slavic literatures.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Müller, L. Des Metropoliten Ilarion Lobrede auf Vladimir den Heiligen und Glaubensbekenntnis (Wiesbaden 1962)
Moldovan, A. 'Slovo o zakone i blagodati' Ilariona (Kyiv 1984)
Labunka, M. Mytropolyt Ilarion i ioho pysannia (Rome 1990)

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]