Bishop Soter Stephen Ortynsky: Genesis of the Eastern Catholic Churches in America - Paperback

by Ivan Kaszczak (Author)

From the author's preface: This book traces the life of Bishop Sotor Stephen Ortynsky, the first Eastern Catholic Bishop in the Western Hemisphere. The book also records the early years of the Ruthenian-Ukrainian "Greek Catholic Church" in the United States, which set the stage for the beginnings of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the United States. Bishop Ortynsky served as the first hierarch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the United States. As the first Eastern Catholic bishop in the Western Hemisphere, he significantly influenced the U.S. Catholic Church in its structure and ecclesiology. The lack of episcopal oversight at the inception of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the U.S. led to the fracturing of its membership. Ortynsky, in spite of his best efforts, became a target and scapegoat for much of the dissension within his church, and the lack of understanding from without. For many fellow Catholics in the Latin Church, Bishop Ortynsky stood in direct opposition to the Latin rite Catholic Church's unity of jurisdiction and uniformity of discipline. Various churches sought the conversion of Ruthenian Catholics. The diverse ethnic composition of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church was fertile ground for misunderstanding. Many members considered themselves Rusins, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Hungarians and other ethnicities; nevertheless, in spite of these challenges Ortynsky persevered, asserting his church's rightful autonomy and evangelical mission to preach the Gospel to all nations. To understand the history of Catholicism in the United States, one needs to understand both the Western (Latin) and the Eastern Catholic Churches that took root in the Land of Washington. The Catholic Church is divided into East and West based on the ancient division of the Roman Empire. The Latin Church has been dominant in the West, while twenty-one Eastern Catholic Churches, devolving from the Antiochian, Alexandrian, Byzantine, and Armenian traditions, predominated in the East. The Ruthenian Catholic Church discussed in this book is presently divided into two Churches: The Byzantine (Ruthenian) and the Ukrainian Catholic Churches. Both belong to the Byzantine tradition. In the late nineteenth century, the Latin Church had systematically consolidated its position in American society through its religious communities and institutions. By the 1870s, this church, which had spread throughout the planet in concert with the European empires with which it was aligned, began to face a new challenge to its identity. The Eastern Catholics from Eastern Europe and the Middle East had begun to immigrate to America, due to economic factors and the pressures of regional wars. This book addresses the confluence of these Western and Eastern Churches. It speaks to both the accomplishments and the shortcomings of the Church's history-the "good" and the "bad"-and it follows a principle articulated by Rev. John Tracy Ellis, an outstanding historian of the Catholic Church in America, who cited the words of Pope Leo XIII, as he opened the Vatican Secret Archives, on August 18, 1883: "The first law of history is to dread uttering falsehood; the next is not to fear stating the truth." In that spirit, I have attempted to present a balanced and inclusive, though not exhaustive, view of the history that includes both the Eastern and Western strains of Catholicism, strains that form the crux of Catholic Church history in the United States. I believe this approach can inform and illuminate, while showing respect for both the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ruthenian Catholic Church-and shedding light on their common heritage.

Author Biography

Ivan Kaszczak was born in Szprotawa, Poland, on September 13, 1959. He and his family immigrated to the United States on November 17, 1963, and settled in Yonkers, New York. His parents, Andrew and Teresa, along with his siblings Lydia, George, and Lesia, attended St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church. He attended St. Basil Prep School and St. Basil College (B.A) in Stamford, Connecticut, and Oblate College (M.A.) in Washington, D.C. He received his Master's of Education (M.Ed.) degree from LaSalle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1997, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Fordham University, New York City, in 2005. He was ordained a priest of the Stamford Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy on Saturday, May 4, 1985. He has served parishes in Troy, Spring Valley, Syracuse, Hempstead, and Rochester-all in the state of New York. He has also served parishes in Woonsocket, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Kerhonkson and Hunter, New York. On May 1, 2010, he retired from the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps, after twenty-one years of service in the Reserves. Since 1988, he has been a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). He currently serves as National Chaplain for PLAST (Ukrainian Scouting). At present, he serves as pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kerhonkson, New York, and St. John the Baptist Church in Hunter, New York. He has authored two books and several articles on the history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.