The Reverend Father Schemahieromonk Kyrill (Stephen James Juli) reposed peacefully on the morning of January 1, 2026 at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, VA attended by his colleagues and friends from the Skete of St. Maximos the Confessor in Palmyra, VA. He was 77 years old. Born on March 24, 1948 in Auburn, NY to William and Dorothy (nee Kany) Juli, who predeceased him, he was joined at birth by his beloved identical twin, Father Mefodii.
Raised in a large Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic family with both his parents second generation in the United States, Father Kyrill was at an early age attracted to dedicating his life to service in the church. At the age of 13, he and his twin brother, William P. Juli, entered St. Basil’s Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut where they both excelled in their theological studies.
Father Kyrill astonished his friends and family in 1967 by enlisting in the US Marine Corps where he eventually served almost a year with the First Marine Division in Vietnam. While there, he was extensively exposed to Agent Orange, which was perhaps later the cause of his long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. He contracted Parkinson’s Disease almost 14 years ago and did quite well for many years before finally failing rapidly in the last few months of his life. The Veterans Administration took great care of him for many years as he eventually became 100% disabled.
He later received undergraduate and graduate degrees both from Catholic University in Washington, DC and later at Fordham University.
In 1995, he moved to the Glen Burnie estate with friends in Palmyra, VA, where eventually he played a key role in founding the Orthodox Monastery, the Skete of St. Maximos the Confessor, with his twin brother and his friend, Paul Marvin Moss, the benefactor of the Skete. Schemahieromonk Kyrill was under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Joseph of the Bulgarian Archdiocese of the United States, Canada and Australia.
He was a highly respected Orthodox monk and priest. He never lost his cheerful disposition or his great commitment to his church, its parishioners and his many friends. Father Kyrill’s faith and his great joy in life were evident to anyone who ever met him.
Eternal memory!!