His Eminence the Most Reverend Metropolitan Makary (Ilyinsky) of New York was a hierarch of the Russian Metropolia and later of the Russian Exarchate of North America.
Born Michael Ilyiksnky, as an archpriest, Fr. Michael in 1934 in the midst of the reaffirmation of "temporary self-government" by the Metropolia at its 5th All-American Sobor suggested that a delegation be sent to Moscow to explain this status, though his suggestion met with no support. At some point between this time and 1937, he was consecrated to the episcopacy under the monastic name Makary and given the title Bishop of Brooklyn.
In 1937 at the Metropolia's 6th All-American Sobor in New York City, where a decision was made to renew relations with the ROCOR (See: ROCOR and OCA), Bishop Makary "gave as his opinion that the commitment to the agreement was more in the nature of a moral than an administrative agreement" (Surrency, 46).
In January of 1946, along with Bishop Alexey of Alaska, Makary broke from the Metropolia and was united to the Church of Russia as a result of the Metropolia's continued support of the ROCOR and its distancing of itself from Moscow (ibid., 54). Makary's act was met with an anathema by the Metropolia, which Moscow called on the Metropolia to withdraw in 1947 as it named Makary as Archbishop of New York and Patriarchal Exarch of All America and Canada (ibid., 58).
Makary was raised to the rank of metropolitan by Moscow on August 5, 1952, and reposed in the Lord on November 12, 1953.
| Macarius (Ilyinsky) of New York | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Aftimios Ofiesh |
Bishop of Brooklyn (Metropolia) ?-1946 |
Succeeded by: John |
| Preceded by: Benjamin (Fedchenkov) |
Patriarchal Exarch of All America and Canada (Russian) 1947-1953 |
Succeeded by: Germogen |
Source
- Surrency, Archim. Serafim. The Quest for Orthodox Church Unity in America (1973), pp. 5, 7, 44, 46, 54, 58-59, 121