Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh

The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh (Latin: Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is part of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church (whose members are mostly Rusyns from the Carpathian Mountains, but also Ukrainians, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Croats and their descendants) in the United States.

The Metropolia, which is structured as an ecclesiastical province, itself has four components:

Although Rusyn Americans constitute the majority of members of the Metropolia, the Church has ordinary jurisdiction over the faithful of certain Churches within the Slavic Tradition of the Byzantine Rite that do not have an established hierarchy in the United States, specifically those of the Hungarian, Slovak, and Croatian Greek-Catholic Churches.

When the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Europe was under atheistic Communist rule, and because of persecution, unable to organize publicly, the impossibility of regular communication with it meant that the distant American Metropolia, unable to be treated as a normal metropolia of an Eastern Rite Catholic Church (canons 133–139 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches), has been treated as a sui iuris (autonomous) Metropolitan Church (canons 155–173 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches). The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio has, however, always listed it not as a separate particular Church but as a Metropolia of the Ruthenian Church.

History

The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh was originally established, in 1924, as the Apostolic Exarchate for the Byzantine-Rite Faithful of Subcarpathia, becoming the Eparchy of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians in 1963, the Metropolitan See of Munhall of the Ruthenians in 1969, and changing its name to Pittsburgh of the Byzantines in 1977. The dates of foundation of the suffragan sees are: Passaic 1963, Parma 1969, Van Nuys 1981 (moved to Phoenix in 2010).

The church's Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius, established in 1950, is located on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Observatory Hill. In addition to the training of priests, it offers a program in Deacon Formation as well as a Cantor's Institute.

In January 2007 Metropolitan Basil Schott, Archbishop of Pittsburgh promulgated a major revision of two of the major Divine Liturgies (Chrysostom and Basil) of the Byzantine Catholic Church.

List of Bishops and Apostolic Administrators
  • Gabriel Martyak (1916–1924) (Apostolic Administrator)
  • Basil Takach (June 15, 1924 – May 13, 1948)
  • Daniel Ivancho (May 13, 1948 – December 12, 1954)
  • Nicholas Elko (February 5, 1955 – December 22, 1967)
  • Edward V. Rosack (July 3, 1967 - December 22, 1967) (Apostolic Administrator)
  • Stephen Kocisko (March 5, 1968 – June 12, 1991)
  • Thomas Dolinay (June 12, 1991 – April 13, 1993)
  • Michael Dudick (April 1993 - February 1995) (Administrator of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh)
  • John Bilock (April 20, 1993 – September 8, 1994) (Apostolic Administrator - Archeparchy of Pittsburgh)
  • Russell Duker (September 1994 – November 15, 1994) (Apostolic Administrator - Archeparchy of Pittsburgh)
  • Judson Procyk (February 7, 1995 – April 15, 2001)
  • Andrew Pataki (April 2001 - June 2002) (Administrator of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh)
  • John Kudrick (May 2001 – July 9, 2002) (Apostolic Administrator - Archeparchy of Pittsburgh)
  • Basil Schott (July 9, 2002 – June 10, 2010)
  • William Skurla (June 10, 2010 – April 18, 2012) (Administrator of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh)
  • Eugene Yackanich (June 2010 – April 18, 2012) (Apostolic Administrator - Archeparchy of Pittsburgh)
  • William C. Skurla (April 18, 2012 – present)

See also

References
  • Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh (1999). Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh Directory. Pittsburgh: Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. ISBN none.
  • Magocsi, Paul Robert and Ivan Pop (2005). Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3566-3.
  • Warzeski, Walter C. (1971). Byzantine Rite Rusins in Carpatho-Ruthenia and America. Pittsburgh: Byzantine Seminary Press. ISBN none.
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