during the revolutions of 1848, yakhimovich was the leader of the supreme ruthenian council, which supported the ukrainian national revival and the pro-austrian position of the western ukrainian clergy, as opposed to the western ukrainian russophiles. he was consecrated as the metropolitan of lemberg on 23 march 1860, which made him the primate of the ukrainian greek catholic church. he also served rector of the university of lemberg from 1860–1861. he suddenly died in lemberg on 29 april 1863.