Basil Takach
Encyclopedia
Basil Takach was the first bishop
of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
, the American
branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church
.
village in Máramaros
County, Austria-Hungary
, he followed the example of his father and his uncle and entered the Ungvár Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 14, 1902, aged 23. He served as a parish priest for nine years. The then Mukacevo Eparch Julius Firczak appointed him as the controller of the Eparchial bank and executive officer of its Unio Publishing Company, as well as the superior of the "Alumneum", the Eparchy's boarding school.
After World War I
, he became spiritual director (1920–1924) of the Eparchy's seminary and professor at Ungvár Theological Seminary. At this time he was selected as the new bishop for the newly established Greek Catholic Exarchate in the United States.
Consecrated as a bishop in Rome, Italy on Pentecost Sunday, June 15, 1924, he set sail two months later aboard the liner Mauretania for the United States. On August 13, 1924, a crowd greeted him on the pier of New York
Harbor. He led a service of thanksgiving at St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church in New York and followed by a welcoming banquet at the Hotel Pennsylvania
.
The papal bull
appointing Takach as bishop expressly stated that the new episcopal seat was to be New York City. New York, however, had a small Rusyn population. So he established temporary residences, first in Trenton, New Jersey
, and later in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
, as he deliberated on a more appropriate location.
Representatives of St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church
in Munhall, Pennsylvania
, a steel town suburb of Pittsburgh, presented to him a formal proposal offering land and financial assistance—if he would establish his residence and episcopal seat at the parish. Given the parish's close proximity to the main offices of the Greek Catholic Union of the USA
, the oldest and largest fraternal organization serving the Rusyn community, and especially because Western Pennsylvania
was home to the largest Rusyn-American population, Takach accepted the offer. He designated St. John's as the cathedral
of the new Exarchate. St. John the Baptist had been constructed in 1903 and designed by the Hungarian
-born architect
, Titus de Bobula
, who patterned it after the Rusyn Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Uzhhorod. By February 1926, a new bishop's residence and chancery was completed across the street from his the cathedral.
Bishop Takach next visited his people with an eye toward creating regional governing districts or deaneries for the Exarchate. Thirteen deaneries were created with the following seats: New York City, Jersey City
, Philadelphia
, Scranton
, Hazleton
, Johnstown
, Punxsutawney
, Pittsburgh, Homestead, Uniontown, Youngstown
, Cleveland, and Chicago
. The first church census showed the new Pittsburgh Greek Catholic Exarchate consisted of almost 300,000 faithful organized into 155 parishes and mission churches served by 129 priests. Also, during his tenure the Sisters of St. Basil established and staffed ten parochial schools and six catechetical schools throughout the Exarchate.
Fearing that a minority of married Greek Catholic priests might cause envy among celibate Roman Catholic priests, Pope Pius X
in 1907 issued an apostolic letter enjoining celibacy upon all Catholic priests in the United States. Many Greek Catholics were angered. They argued that by the 1646 Union of Uzhhorod
their clergy had been granted the right to marry before ordination. Some members of the church snubbed the papal letter, and it remained unenforced.
The Holy See
issued a decree in 1929 entitled Cum Data Fuerit, which reiterated Rome's previous position that the Greek Catholic clergy in America must be celibate. Takach opposed the new decree, but his appeals were rebuffed. During the 1930s some priests and laity started an open campaign
against him and attacked his authority to govern, and many parishes were drawn into the conflict and numerous legal battles for control of church properties ensued. The conflict produced a schism within the Exarchate and led to the formation of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
, which affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church of the Catholic Church, originally serving members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and their descendants in the United States...
, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church
Ruthenian Catholic Church
The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church , which uses the Divine Liturgy of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite. Its roots are among the Rusyns who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia, in and around the Carpathian Mountains...
.
Early life
Born in a RusynRusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
village in Máramaros
Máramaros
Máramaros is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in north-western Romania and western Ukraine...
County, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, he followed the example of his father and his uncle and entered the Ungvár Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 14, 1902, aged 23. He served as a parish priest for nine years. The then Mukacevo Eparch Julius Firczak appointed him as the controller of the Eparchial bank and executive officer of its Unio Publishing Company, as well as the superior of the "Alumneum", the Eparchy's boarding school.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he became spiritual director (1920–1924) of the Eparchy's seminary and professor at Ungvár Theological Seminary. At this time he was selected as the new bishop for the newly established Greek Catholic Exarchate in the United States.
Consecrated as a bishop in Rome, Italy on Pentecost Sunday, June 15, 1924, he set sail two months later aboard the liner Mauretania for the United States. On August 13, 1924, a crowd greeted him on the pier of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Harbor. He led a service of thanksgiving at St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church in New York and followed by a welcoming banquet at the Hotel Pennsylvania
Hotel Pennsylvania
The Hotel Pennsylvania is a hotel located at 401 7th Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City.- History :...
.
Episcopate of Bishop Takach
The new Exarchate had been erected on May 8, 1924 with the official English name "Apostolic Exarchate of the United States of America, Faithful of the Oriental Rite (Ruthenian)" .The papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
appointing Takach as bishop expressly stated that the new episcopal seat was to be New York City. New York, however, had a small Rusyn population. So he established temporary residences, first in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, and later in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
, as he deliberated on a more appropriate location.
Representatives of St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (Pittsburgh)
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral is the mother church of Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church...
in Munhall, Pennsylvania
Munhall, Pennsylvania
Munhall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Monongahela River, south of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers where the Ohio River begins. It abuts the borough of Homestead. A large part of the Homestead Works of the Carnegie Steel Company...
, a steel town suburb of Pittsburgh, presented to him a formal proposal offering land and financial assistance—if he would establish his residence and episcopal seat at the parish. Given the parish's close proximity to the main offices of the Greek Catholic Union of the USA
Greek Catholic Union of the USA
The Greek Catholic Union of the USA is the oldest continuous fraternal benefit society for Rusyn immigrants and their descendants in the United States....
, the oldest and largest fraternal organization serving the Rusyn community, and especially because Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
was home to the largest Rusyn-American population, Takach accepted the offer. He designated St. John's as the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the new Exarchate. St. John the Baptist had been constructed in 1903 and designed by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Titus de Bobula
Titus de Bobula
Titus de Bobula was a Hungarian American architect.He was born in Hungary to János Bobula, Sr. , a Budapest architect and politician, and he studied at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, along with his brother, János Jr...
, who patterned it after the Rusyn Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Uzhhorod. By February 1926, a new bishop's residence and chancery was completed across the street from his the cathedral.
Bishop Takach next visited his people with an eye toward creating regional governing districts or deaneries for the Exarchate. Thirteen deaneries were created with the following seats: New York City, Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
, Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, Punxsutawney
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Punxsutawney is a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh. In 1907, Punxsutawney and Claysville boroughs were consolidated and incorporated as Greater Punxsutawney. A high-grade soft coal was mined in the surrounding region...
, Pittsburgh, Homestead, Uniontown, Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Cleveland, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The first church census showed the new Pittsburgh Greek Catholic Exarchate consisted of almost 300,000 faithful organized into 155 parishes and mission churches served by 129 priests. Also, during his tenure the Sisters of St. Basil established and staffed ten parochial schools and six catechetical schools throughout the Exarchate.
Controversy and schism
Greek Rite Catholicism in the United States, which began in the 1880s with large-scale emigration from Eastern Europe, was administered by the American Roman Catholic hierarchy, which by the early 20th century instituted a subtle campaign to Latinize its conduct.Fearing that a minority of married Greek Catholic priests might cause envy among celibate Roman Catholic priests, Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
in 1907 issued an apostolic letter enjoining celibacy upon all Catholic priests in the United States. Many Greek Catholics were angered. They argued that by the 1646 Union of Uzhhorod
Union of Uzhhorod
The Union of Uzhhorod, also referred to as Union of Ungvár, was the 1646 decision of 63 Ruthenian Orthodox priests from the south slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, to join the Catholic Church on terms similar to the Union of Brest from 1596 in the lands of the...
their clergy had been granted the right to marry before ordination. Some members of the church snubbed the papal letter, and it remained unenforced.
The Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
issued a decree in 1929 entitled Cum Data Fuerit, which reiterated Rome's previous position that the Greek Catholic clergy in America must be celibate. Takach opposed the new decree, but his appeals were rebuffed. During the 1930s some priests and laity started an open campaign
Open campaign
An open campaign can encompass several definitions.An open campaign may be a set of public protest actions against a person , an organization An open campaign can encompass several definitions.An open campaign may be a set of public protest actions against a person (e.g. a politician), an...
against him and attacked his authority to govern, and many parishes were drawn into the conflict and numerous legal battles for control of church properties ensued. The conflict produced a schism within the Exarchate and led to the formation of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese or American Carpatho-Ruthenian Orthodox Diocese is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. It was led by the late Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos...
, which affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Death
Basil Takach died in Pittsburgh on May 13, 1948, aged 68. He is buried in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina MonasteryMount Saint Macrina
Mount Saint Macrina is the site of the largest pilgrimage among Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics in North America. It is also home to the monastery of Byzantine Catholic Order of Sisters of St...
in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
.