Pstruch, Mysail

Pstruch, Mysail [Пструч, Мисаїл; Pstruč, Mysajil], b and d ? Orthodox metropolitan of Kyiv. The archbishop of Smolensk (1445–74), he was elevated to the office of metropolitan of Kyiv (1475–80; see Kyiv metropoly) without the consent of the Patriarch of Constantinople. At around the same time, the patriarch appointed his own metropolitan, Spyridon, who was turned away when he set off to assume his post, and ended his years in Muscovy. Pstruch is known for a letter he wrote to Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 that praised the pontiff lavishly, suggested a desire for closer co-operation between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, and then pointedly criticized the Catholic clergy for its infringements on the rights of the local Orthodox population. A slightly modified version of the letter was presented in 1605 by the Uniate metropolitan Ipatii Potii as evidence of a long-standing desire by the Orthodox population to unite with Rome.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]