Daniel Ivancho was born in the village of Jasinia, Maramoroš County in the Eparchy of Mukačevo (present-day Ukraine), on March 30, 1908. At the age of eight, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Cleveland, Ohio with his … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Bishop Basil Takach
Basil Takach was born in the small village of Vučkovoje in Maramoroš County (present-day Hungary) on October 27, 1879. Following the example of his father and his uncle, young Basil entered the Seminary in Užhorod and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Julius Firczak on December 12, 1902. After nine years of service as a parish priest, he was appointed Controller of the Eparchial Bank and executive officer of its printing society by the bishop. In addition to these responsibilities, he also was named superior of the “Alumneum,” the Eparchy’s boarding school. His honesty, dedication and kindness made him one of the most loved and respected priests in the Mukačevo Eparchy. Continue reading
Bishop John M. Bilock
John Michael Bilock was born to Michael and Anna (Timko) Bilock in McAdoo, Pennsylvania on June 20, 1916. After being graduated from the public schools in McAdoo, he pursued his collegiate and theological studies at St. Procopius College and Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. On February 3, 1946, Bishop Basil Takach ordained him to the priesthood in the bishop’s private chapel in Munhall, Pa.
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Metropolitan Archbishop Stephen J. Kocisko
Stephen John Kocisko was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 11, 1915, one of nine children of John and Anna (Somos) Kocisko. After his graduation from De La Salle Catholic High School, he pursued his vocation to the priestly life by attending Nazareth Preparatory Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. Later, he was sent by Bishop Basil Takach for his philosophical and theological education to St. Josaphat Seminary in Rome where he earned a Licentiate (Master’s) Degree in Sacred Theology. Just prior to his departure for the United States, Bishop Alexander Evreinoff, the Russian ordaining prelate for Byzantine Catholics in Rome, ordained him to the priesthood on March 30, 1941. Continue reading
Metropolitan Archbishop Bishop Thomas V. Dolinay
The son and grandson of Byzantine Catholic priests, Thomas Victor Dolinay was born to Paňi Yolanda Dobra and Father Julius Dolinay in Uniontown, Pennsylvania on July 24, 1923. He attended the public schools of Struthers, Ohio and Uniontown, and graduated in 1941. He then studied at St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois, and upon receiving his degree in 1945, entered the Benedictine Seminary, completing his theological studies in 1948. On May 16, 1948, Bishop Daniel Ivancho ordained him to the priesthood in the monastery chapel of the Sisters of St. Basil in Uniontown, Pa.
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Metropolitan Archbishop Judson M. Procyk
Judson Michael Procyk was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania on April 9, 1931. After graduation from high school, he answered the call to serve God as a priest in the Byzantine Catholic Church. His first two years pursuing this vocation were spent at St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois. With the opening of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh, he continued his studies at Duquesne University and was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953. On May 19, 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Nicholas Elko.
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Bishop Nicholas T. Elko
Nicholas Thomas Elko was born in Donora, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1909. After receiving his elementary and secondary education in the public schools of his hometown, he attended and was graduated in 1930 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Upon completion of his theological studies at the Greek Catholic Seminary in Užhorod (western Ukraine) and his graduate studies at the University of Louvain in Belgium, he, along with the future Bishop Daniel Ivancho, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Basil Takach on September 30, 1934 at St. Nicholas Church in McKeesport, Pa. Continue reading
Metropolitan Archbishop Basil M. Schott OFM
Myron Schott was born in Freeland, Pennsylvania on July 21, 1939, the youngest of the five children of Michael and Mary Schott. His early education was at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic School in Freeland and at St. Gabriel High School in Hazleton, Pa.
He entered the Byzantine Franciscans at Holy Dormition Monastery in Sybertsville, Pa. on August 3, 1958, and he made the profession of his religious vows there a year later, taking the name Basil. He attended Immaculate Conception College in Troy, New York and St. Mary Seminary in Norwalk, Connecticut, earning bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology, and a master’s degree in theology and pastoral counseling.
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