| Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh Archieparchia Pittsburgensis Ritus Byzantini |
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|---|---|
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Ecclesiastical province | Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Total |
(as of 2009) 58,997 |
| Parishes | 79 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church (Eastern Catholic) |
| Rite | Byzantine Rite |
| Established | May 8, 1924 |
| Cathedral | St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Benedict XVI |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Sede vacante Metropolitan of Pittsburgh |
| Website | |
| www.archeparchy.org | |
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (Latin: Archieparchia Pittsburgensis Ritus Byzantini) is the Catholic archeparchy (archdiocese) governing all of the Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Church in the Western portion of Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and in the states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia. Its chancery office and the residence of the Archbishop are located at 66 Riverview Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Since the death of Metropolitan Basil Schott on June 10, 2010, the Archeparchy is sede vacante.
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Byzantine Catholics in the United States were given sui iuris (self-governing) status as a Metropolia by Pope Paul VI in 1969. Archbishop Stephen Kocisko was installed as the first Metropolitan-Archbishop on June 11, 1969, at Holy Spirit Church in Oakland (Pittsburgh). He was the first prelate in the history of people from the Subcarpathian Rus region (of present day Ukraine and Slovakia), to hold this rank.
In 1924, the church had been established by the Holy See as an exarchate, known as the '"Apostolic Exarchate of Pittsburgh for Faithful of the Oriental Rite (Ruthenian)'". Exarchate is an ecclesiastical term which indicates a "missionary diocese" or territory.
This move separated the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the United States into two distinct groups: one for those originating from Galicia (in modern day Ukraine) with its see in Philadelphia, PA and the other for those who were from the Carpathian Mountain region (in modern day Ukraine and Slovakia), as well as those from Hungary and Croatia. In time, the two groups would come to be known as Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics, respectively. The Exarchate of Pittsburgh was elevated to the status of an eparchy in 1963.
The seat of the Archeparchy is the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Munhall, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh also operates SS. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in the North Side section of the city, for the training of candidates for the priesthood and diaconate, cantors and those in other ministries. Established in 1950 by Bishop Daniel Ivancho, the seminary serves all four eparchies of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh.
As of 2010, the Archeparchy has 85 parishes under its canonical jurisdiction.
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