‘The Miracle Worker’: Fr. Makarii Dutka Raised 27 Million for Ukraine’s Armed Forces
Editorial note: The initial (Ukrainian) version of the material was published on March 3, 2025
So says Fr. Makarii Dutka, a hieromonk of the Studite Rule, who has been actively volunteering for over a year and raising funds for various needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
By March, Fr. Makarii completed his 27th million-hryvnia fundraiser and is now close to reaching a goal of 40 million! And it all started just over a year ago. The priest has been involved in powerlifting for many years and has set several Ukrainian records in the sport.
On February 17, 2024, he set a new Ukrainian record (bench press) at the "Sparta Cup" in Kyiv. He dedicated his victory to Ukraine’s defenders. Fr. Makarii asked his friends to donate to the Armed Forces instead of sending congratulations. "Dear friends, it’s always a pleasure to read your congratulatory comments. I know you share in my joy, rejoice in my small sporting victories, and records. But a brutal war continues in Ukraine. Our defenders need funds for vehicle repairs and maintenance, batteries, tires, and other needs," he wrote then on his Facebook page. "So this time I ask that you convert your congratulations into donations. That way, we can help our boys bring victory closer."
In just one day, over 100,000 UAH was raised and transferred for the repair of vehicles used by artillery reconnaissance.
"I bow low to everyone, I pray, I thank you sincerely, truly sincerely—especially the little boy who donated his 10 hryvnias... We are invincible! Glory to our Mother Ukraine!" — said Hieromonk Makarii Dutka in his message of gratitude.
Then there was a short pause in fundraising during Great Lent. However, in mid-April, he set another record and once again called for donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. By early May, to his own surprise, he had raised 1.5 million UAH.
The priest says he didn’t expect such support from Ukrainians and decided to continue raising funds for the military. The pace of donations also kept increasing. By the first ten days of June, the third million had been collected, and by the end of the month, the fifth was already underway. By mid-August, the total had reached 10 million UAH in donations. And that tenth million was collected in a record six days. Later, even that record was broken…
By the second half of December, 20 million UAH had already been raised, and by the beginning of 2025, 21 million!
At that point, he shared a dream: to raise 25 million by the anniversary of the start of his volunteer work.
“I have a dream: by mid-February 2025, to raise at least 25 million UAH for the Armed Forces. Why that number??? A year ago, in mid-February, I began my very first fundraiser.”
But with God’s help, by that time—in mid-February—he was already raising the 26th million, and by the end of February, the 27th.
“By God’s will and with the strong support of the people,” says Fr. Makarii Dutka about the success of his volunteer efforts.
His social media pages are filled with fundraiser announcements, reports, photos, and videos documenting the transfer of funds, and messages of thanks from the military… One wonders when the priest even has time for prayer. But those are there too—especially sermons from the Divine Liturgy. Fr. Makarii also assures that he always follows his prayer rules, no matter the circumstances.
As for sports, he admits he doesn’t always have enough time or energy for it now, so there’s less news about athletic achievements. But what brings him more joy are the victories in volunteering: more funds raised for drones, electronic warfare equipment, vehicles, prosthetics for our heroes, and other needs of Ukraine’s defenders. And he is also inspired by the miracles that have accompanied him throughout the year.
"I made a personal resolution to consider any day not properly lived if I haven’t raised at least 15,000 UAH for our Defenders. One evening recently, my accounts showed only 100 UAH from one woman. What to do? The thought came to me again to appeal to God’s people, who have never let me down in fundraising for the Ukrainian military," shares Fr. Makarii.
"I recorded a video message: 'Today, to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their fight against the Russian Federation, I managed to find only 100 UAH. A sad day… I hope tomorrow will be better?' And you won’t believe it — 40,000 UAH had come in by morning! Is that not mercy, not the compassion of our people? We are strong when we are together! I do not doubt it!"
Summing up a year of fundraising, the priest identifies several key groups that have supported him the most. First and foremost, these are parishioners — starting with those at Univ Lavra, where he serves, the people of Peremyshliany region, where the Lavra is located, his native land, and then dozens of parishes from Ukraine and abroad. Individuals also donate their own money or hold separate fundraisers and pass the proceeds to Fr. Makarii. He’s especially joyful about children’s fundraisers, which can be far from “child-sized.”
"Thank you for the 25,000 UAH donation from six-year-old Oksana Sliubyk from Korosno, Peremyshliany region, who sang during my fundraiser for the 77th Brigade."
Both parish and individual donations were often thematic, for example, fundraisers targeting the specific needs of a particular military unit.
During the Christmas season, the 21st million was raised, and since the season extended all the way to the Feast of the Presentation, the following millions followed.
"The 21st million was special because it came during the Christmas holidays. I was worried about it too — I expected that support for the army would be low, since everyone would be busy preparing for the holidays, and the mood wouldn’t be conducive to giving. But things turned out differently," Fr. Makarii told RISU.
"I was amazed by the children and youth who, during the Christmas season, praised the newborn Jesus in their villages and towns. The first donation for the Army on December 25 came from a fellow villager of mine from Dobrohiv in the Drohobych region — a fifth-grade boy named Yaroslav Faryma, who managed to collect 5,000 UAH while caroling on Christmas Eve and sent it to me. Also, two nativity groups from my home village collected funds for my fundraiser and set an example for all other carolers, nativity players, and little children."
"Altogether, I received almost 450,000 UAH during Christmas from children and youth," the Studite hieromonk emphasizes.
"Sometimes we underestimate young people, but they are special, creative, and sacrificial. They need example, encouragement, inspiration, trust, and then they can move mountains. On my Facebook and Instagram pages, I thanked everyone with a video message, and also announced who took the top spots in donations."
Stories like this and many more fill the priest’s social media pages and inspire others to participate in these fundraisers. They are often shared widely by others, spreading into local groups and other networks. The priest notes that once this happens, the number of donations increases. People organize their own charity events, and the proceeds are transferred to Fr. Makarii’s fundraisers. As one parishioner from Italy wrote, through his fundraising efforts, the hieromonk from Univ Lavra is uniting Ukrainians from all over the world. Parishes from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, the USA, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, and others have joined.
“Fr. Marian Kurylo from the Czech Republic, from the city of Pardubice, raised 130,000 UAH with his parishioners at a parish fair and promised to continue supporting my fundraisers,” Fr. Makarii shared in September 2024.
“His wife Mariyana joined in too; she baked various pastries, and they made souvenirs with ribbons in Ukrainian colors. The fundraiser was mainly organized by the children.”
They painted a poster depicting a soldier’s legs — one of which was a prosthetic — and wrote an appeal to donate to prosthetics for heroes.
“These children moved me to tears. They must have heard from their parents that I was raising funds for prosthetics for soldiers, and they wanted to help,” Fr. Makarii shares, emphasizing that this parish alone has raised 3.5 million UAH for various military needs over the course of the war.
Over the past year, the Studite hieromonk has also embraced a new activity — participating in charity auctions. Together with the Birds of Victory project, he has repeatedly auctioned icons and other items gifted to him by people from around the world.
An embroidered copy of the Univ Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria (1696) was sold for 350,000 UAH at a charity auction on August 22 in Lviv. The icon was embroidered by Brother Irynei Voloshyn, a monk of the Univ Lavra. After consulting with the abbot, he donated his work to the auction regularly held by the Birds of Victory charity project.
"Brother Irynei wanted to help the Ukrainian Army. He prays, but he also wished to strengthen his faith with a noble act. So, the icon was sold for 350,000 UAH," said Fr. Makarii.
Interestingly, the icon was listed with a starting price of just 15,000 UAH. The auction host, Honored Artist of Ukraine Oleksii Hnatkovskyi, managed to raise the bidding to 300,000. The man who won the auction immediately said he would not give 300, but 350,000 UAH.
At the Lviv Theological Seminary in January 2025, Bishop Venedykt Aleksiychuk organized a Christmas gathering, during which Fr. Makarii held his own small charity auction, raising 413,000 UAH for the Ukrainian Army.
The young Greek Catholic cardinal, Bishop Mykola Bychok, personally donated several items for the auctions, including the “Jubilee Cross of the Year of Our Lord 2025” with his signature, a separate certificate, and a Nativity icon. Such icons and other valuable items raised several million hryvnias in total. One set of lots alone brought in 320,000 UAH for the military.
Fr. Makarii is especially joyful about the support he receives from fellow villagers from his native Dobrohiv and the surrounding area. For them, he occasionally holds personalized charity campaigns. One auction featured a jersey from their local sports hero, Taras Mykhavko, a footballer with Dynamo Kyiv, signed by star players including the legendary Andriy Yarmolenko, as well as a Ukrainian flag bearing the autographs of Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Hero of Ukraine Ivan Holishevskyi, commander of their own 24th Brigade.
"These unique items will be donated to the school in our native village, where our local star began his journey. Let them become a symbol of pride and inspiration for future generations!"
As a result, Fr. Makarii brought in 450,000 UAH from his home village and nearby communities for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The final contribution to the 27th million and the beginning of the 28th happened on the evening of March 2, at another auction — 333,000 UAH was raised for an icon created by Brother Ivan Panas, a monk of the Univ Lavra.
As the hieromonk notes, he is now beginning to explore a new idea: online auctions, where the lot is awarded to the person who makes the largest donation during the event. Using this approach, he sold an embroidered icon by Olia Vaniuk from Kamianka-Buzka for 150,000 UAH. The funds were used to purchase a Mavic 3T drone for the 77th Air Assault Brigade.
“The second online auction featured a portrait of Taras Shevchenko, painted by a soldier of the 80th Brigade who is now in a wheelchair. It also raised 150,000 UAH. I tailor each auction to the needs of a specific brigade. These 150,000 UAH will go to the 427th Regiment of Aviation Systems,” Fr. Makarii said.
Recently, soldiers of the Royal 24th Brigade recorded a video thanking him for 100 drones that were delivered to them, 40 of which were purchased with funds raised by Fr. Dutka.
He doesn’t keep track of all the military units for which he has raised funds — they come from various branches of the Armed Forces. Often, it’s a direct response to specific requests from brigades who contact him. Sometimes, it’s a personal plea from a soldier, and in such cases, the priest-volunteer focuses the fundraiser on that soldier’s home region.
“When you open your heart to another person's needs, when you see Christ in them, then God becomes the greatest Volunteer through you. Once, Elder Oleksandr, the recluse of Univ, told me that Jesus dwells most in the poor and those in need. With all my heart, I want to be with my people, our military, and every struggling soul to whom I want to give my love and warmth. That is the only reason for my active volunteer work,” Fr. Makarii shares.
Until January 2024, the hieromonk was the abbot of the Univ Lavra. But in February, he turned fully to volunteer work. “Clearly, God had other plans for me,” Fr. Makarii reflects, adding that this new mission fully aligns with monastic life: pray and work, which is precisely what he does.
Among those who support and help him are well-known media figures and bloggers. And recently, he gained a new fan and assistant — “Pani Nyusia”.
More details about Fr. Makarii’s activities can be found on his Facebook page and the RISU portal, which he considers his main informational partner.
He invites everyone to become his helpers and colleagues. He emphasizes that no donation is too small, because anyone can contribute to fundraisers for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which means supporting the defense of the Ukrainian state.
RISU encourages all its readers to join Fr. Makarii’s fundraisers for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or those of volunteers you trust.
While it only takes a few minutes, it is very beneficial for us all:
- PrivatBank: https://www.privat24.ua/send/d5thz
- Monobank: https://send.monobank.ua/jar/6o548eEajf