Following World War II since 1945, Vasyl Bodnarchuk served as a cantor (dyak) leading a church choir in home village Ivane-Puste.
[4] Less than a month later on 8 September 1989 Metropolitan Mstyslav of UAOC in the US and diaspora, a locum tenens of Kyiv Metropolia, announced that protoiereus Bohdan Mykhailechko is his deputy and spiritual administrator with obligations to organize, coordinate, and carry out actions to revive the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine, while Dymytriy Yarema was appointed his assistant.
[4] On 13 September 1989 Ioan (Bodnarchuk) was released from management of the diocese[1] on the basis of health problems and granted a leave of absence on his personal request earlier in June 1989.
[5] Earlier on 1 October 1989 Ioan (Bodnarchuk) sent a telegram to the Holy Synod announcing that he is leaving Moscow Patriarchate and accepts a canonical rule of Metropolitan Mstyslav of UAOC in the USA and diaspora.
[8] Soon thereafter, Ioann Bodnarchuk had conversation with the Archbishop of Lviv and Drohobych Ireneus Seredniy who was a ruling bishop of the diocese and a member of Holy Synod at that time and who warned him not to cause a schism.
[8] On 14 November 1989 he defrocked by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church[1] based on the Rule 15 of the 861 Council of Constantinople and taking away his bishopric and monastic orders.
[5] To stop the schismatic tendencies in the region, the Exarch of Ukraine Filaret Denysenko toured the Ternopil Oblast in May of 1990 and spoke with local clergy.
[9] Ioan (Bodnarchuk) petition to Patriarch of Georgian Orthodox Church, vicar bishop Jonathan (Yeletskikh) of Pereyaslav, metropolitan Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chișinău and all Moldova, and others.
[8] Instead, Patriarch Mstyslav created post of the UAOC affairs administrator which was assigned to the newly ordained bishop Anthony (Masendych).
[8] In his absence, the UAOC Demetrius Yarema wrote an article in the Lviv city newspaper accusing Ioann Bodnarchuk in “hypocrisy, thirst for power and money, insidiousness and vindictiveness”.
[8] Upon return from the United States Ioann Bodnarchuk informed that along with treatment he also managed to meet with representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch to gain recognition of the UAOC.
[8] Then on 9 April 1992, he was defrocked from the clergy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church,[11] where he repented and submitted an application on returning to the Moscow Patriarchate.
In May of 1992 the Bishop Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) held a meeting in Kharkiv without their leader Metropolitan Filaret and dethroned him.