On March 18, 2021 is 50 years since the adoption of the monastic tonsure by His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Onufriy. It was on this day back in 1971 in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, with the blessing of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Pimen and the Viceroy of the Lavra, Archimandrite Augustine (Sudoplatov), ​​the future Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was tonsured into the monastic name of the Great Monk with the naming of the Great Monk. The rite of tonsure was performed by the Dean of the Lavra, Archimandrite Varnava (Kedrov) (the future Metropolitan of Cheboksary and Chuvash).

On June 20, the monk Onufriy was ordained to the dignity of hierodeacon, on May 29, 1972, to the dignity of hieromonk, and in 1980, he was elevated to the dignity of hegumen. On August 28, 1984, Abbot Onufriy was appointed rector of the Savior Transfiguration Church of the Athos representation in the village of Lukino, Moscow Region. On June 28, 1985, he was appointed Dean of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and in 1988 – the governor of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra, where he served until November 1990.

By a resolution of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of November 24, 1990, Archimandrite Onuphry (Berezovsky) was elected Bishop of Chernivtsi and Bukovynsky. The naming took place on December 8, 1990, and the episcopal consecration took place on December 9 of the same year.

In 1992, Vladyka Onufry was among those bishops who resolutely opposed the non-canonical actions of the then Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko).

Since 1994, Archbishop Onuphry has been a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

On August 13, 2014, at the Council of Bishops of the UOC in Kiev, Metropolitan Onufry of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna was elected Metropolitan of Kiev, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In his choice to become a monk, His Beatitude sees God’s providence and, no matter how obedient he may be, he considers himself a humble monk.

“I thank God for everything that God sends me! Nobody asked my consent, but it so happened that God put this cross on me [the circumstances]. I submitted to the will of God and carry this cross with gratitude to God … And wherever I carry obedience, from the day of my tonsure to today I consider myself a humble monk, ”His Beatitude noted in an interview.