An assistant bishop elected for the UGCC Exarchate of Donetsk

Nominee Bishop Maksym Ryabukha was born on May 18, 1980, in Lviv. In 1998, he joined the Society of St. Francis de Sales. (Salesians). He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. In addition, he received diplomas in Personnel Management at the Kyiv IAPM, management at the Lviv Polytechnic and Social Pedagogy at the Prykarpathian National University.

Having been ordained a priest on 4 August 2007, Fr. Maksym performed various duties in the congregation. In particular, he was the director of the Catechetical school at the parish of the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Lviv, the head of the Salesian oratorio in Vinnyky, the rector of the Salesian community in Dnipro, and the administrator of the parish of St. John the Theologian in Kyiv.

He headed the academic pastoral ministry in the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Kyiv and collaborated with the Apostolic Nunciature in Kyiv. He was also engaged in teaching activities and was a provincial Vicar of the Ukrainian province of Don Bosco's Salesian.