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In the Fulda city parish church, the Ukrainian Ivan Kolodii is ordained a priest according to the Byzantine rite of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Fulda – A special moment for the Ukrainian-Greek-Catholic community in East Hesse: 31-year-old Ivan Kolodii will be ordained a priest in the Fulda city parish church on Sunday, March 15th. The consecration takes place according to the Byzantine Rite of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGKK). The donor of the priestly ordination is Bishop Dr. Bohdan Dzyurakh, Apostolic Exarch of the UGKK in Germany, as announced by the Diocese of Fulda.
The rite of consecration has various liturgical and ritual features. A key difference to the Roman Catholic rite lies in its own liturgical expression and church tradition. This also includes the possibility for men who have decided to live in the family and were already married before being ordained as a deacon to be ordained as priests. Kolodii has been married to Anna Kolodii since June 2023. He will receive the consecration on Sunday, March 15, from Bishop Dzyurakh, the Apostolic Exarch of the UGKK in Germany.
Ukrainian Ivan Kolodii is ordained a priest in Fulda
The native Ukrainian had previously been ordained a deacon in the city parish church in September 2025 after completing his master's degree in Catholic theology and pastoral training at the seminary of the Greek Catholic Church in his hometown of Ivano-Frankivsk in the summer of 2017. He was then given the opportunity to begin advanced studies in Germany with the goal of obtaining a licentiate. According to his own statements, he learned the German language at the seminary in Fulda and wrote his licentiate thesis in the Old Testament department.
At the beginning of his subsequent training as a pastoral officer, Kolodii formulated a wish that still applies to him today: with all his heart he wanted to use his vocation and the knowledge he had acquired during his studies for the church. For him, the most beautiful calling is to serve his neighbor and thereby be an instrument in God's hands.
Kolodii is grateful for the support of Fulda's Bishop Dr. Michael Gerber and Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh. According to him, he was influenced and supported by his spiritual mentor in the seminary in Ukraine, Pastor Jaroslaw Tymischak, Auxiliary Bishop Mykola Symenyschyn of Ivano-Frankivsk, Fulda's city priest Stefan Buß and the Fulda clinic priest Peter Bierschenk. He cites the Capuchin and religious priest Padre Pio as a great role model, who was there for people in all his actions and devotion and followed Christ.
Ivan Kolodii helped organize the peace service in the cathedral
Not leaving people alone in their needs also connects Kolodii with the war that has been raging in Ukraine for four years now. According to his own statements, he does not know any family that is not affected, whether relatives and acquaintances were deployed at the front or died, like a fellow seminarian. One can only trust in God and ask for peace. He remembers him fondly ecumenical peace service on Friday, February 28th, in Fulda Cathedralwho showed how important it is to be there for war refugees in these times, to give comfort, to give help and not to leave people alone.
Kolodii describes his path to vocation with a look at the beginning of the seminary in his Ukrainian homeland. At that time he was guided by the idea of looking first and then deciding. In this context he refers to the transfiguration of the Lord in the Gospel of Matthew (17:1-8). Just as the disciples on the mountain first saw the glory of God and realized how good it was to be in his presence, he also decided to remain in this presence. This experience gave rise to the decision not only to look at the glory of God for oneself, but to share it with people through active service as a priest. He originally planned to either become a teacher or work in the hotel and restaurant industry.
The 31-year-old now feels particularly connected to Fulda. The city has become a piece of home for him, where he feels very comfortable. He received a very warm welcome here, the people were friendly and greeted him with a smile. He experiences this again and again in his work in the city parish.
After his ordination, Ivan Kolodii will work for both churches – the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in the Fulda parish. This first requires the approval of the Pope in Rome.
