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The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh (Latin: Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church of the Catholic Church, originally serving members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church (mostly Rusyns from the Carpathian Mountains, but also Hungarians and Slovakians) and their descendants in the United States. It is to be distinguished from the Latin Rite Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The Metropolia itself has four components:

• Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (60,200 faithful, 84 parishes, 83 priests)
• Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma (12,401 faithful, 37 parishes, 38 priests)
• Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic (24,031 faithful, 89 parishes, 84 priests)
• Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys (2,849 faithful, 19 parishes, 25 priests).

Although Rusyn Americans constitute the majority of members of the Metropolia, the Church has ordinary jurisdiction over the faithful of certain Churches within the Slav 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.

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 & Apostolic Administrators

• Basil Takach (June 15, 1924-May 13, 1948)
• Daniel Ivancho (May 13, 1948-December 12, 1954)
• Nicholas Elko (February 5, 1955-December 22, 1967)
• Stephen Kocisko (March 5, 1968-June 12, 1991)
• Thomas Dolinay (June 12, 1991-April 13, 1993)
  • John Bilock (April 20, 1993-September 8, 1994) (Apostolic Administrator)
  • Russell Duker (September 1994-November 15, 1994) (Apostolic Administrator)
• Judson Procyk (February 7, 1995-April 15, 2001)
  • John Kudrick (May 2001-July 9, 2002) (Apostolic Administrator)
• Basil Schott (July 9, 2002-present)

See also

• Slovak Greek Catholic Church
• Basil Shereghy
• St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church (Pittsburgh)
• Mount Saint Macrina
• St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church Toledo

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. 

Sources and External links

• The statistical information given above has been taken from the 2005 edition of the Annuario Pontificio.
• Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh at Catholic-Hierarchy.org
• Byzantine Catholic Church in America - unofficial website
• Metropolia of Pittsburgh
• The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
• The Eparchy of Passaic
• The Eparchy of Parma
• The Eparchy of Van Nuys

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 23 December 2008, at 23:59.

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