In 1993 he joined the Univ Holy Dormition Lavra (monastery) of the Studite order, while continuing to serve five parishes, including one in Belarus. In 1996 he earned a master’s degree in theology at Lublin Catholic University in Poland. The same year he was transferred to St. Catharine’s, Canada, to found a monastery. In 1999 he returned to Ukraine after being elected hegumen of the Holy Dormition Univ Lavra. 

Continuing his theology studies at Lublin, he received a doctorate in 2008, with a thesis on  “The Superior as a Spiritual Father: Investigation in the Light of the Works of St. Theodore the Studite,” a Byzantine monk of the 9th century and defender of iconography. Further studies in psychology followed over the next three years. 

In 2010 hieromonk Benedict was appointed auxiliary bishop of Archeparchy of Lviv. Also serving as head of the Liturgical Commission of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. 

In 2016 he received a master’s degree in business administration from Ukrainian Catholic University. 

In 2017 Benedict was appointed Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago, a large eparchy covering the entire western half of the country, from the borders of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee to the Pacific Ocean.  

One way to lead is to ask questions. Bishop Benedict is fond of this method. In his reflection on the life of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar (+2017), Bishop Benedict closes with the searching question: “Do you, despite your human limitations, allow God to act in yourself in whatever position you may occupy in the church?”