Document #9

"Petition for a Bishop to the Apostolic Delegate"- 1913

Historical Background

This document is a section of a petition sent by the Greek Catholic Union to John Bonzano, the Apostolic Delegate (Vatican representative) to the United States in 1913. The petition was later reprinted in the Greek Catholic Union newspaper Amerykanskij Russkij Vistnyk (American Rusyn Messenger) on July 8, 1954. In the petition, the Greek Catholic Union appealed to the Apostolic Delegate to appoint a Carpatho-Rusyn bishop to oversee the spiritual needs of the Greek Catholic Carpatho-Rusyns in the United States. The problem was that the Greek Catholic bishop appointed by the Vatican in 1907, Soter Ortynsky, was Ukrainian not Carpatho-Rusyn. The Carpatho-Rusyns wanted a bishop of the same ethnic origins that could oversee their unique spiritual needs.

"Your Excellency: The Uhro-Rusin Greek Rite Catholic people can under no consideration renounce its intention of having its own Uhro-Rusin bishop, shall never acquiesce to being ecclesiastically united with the Galician Ukrainians, with the Galician Ukrainian bishop as their Head, since that would mean the end of their and their descendants' existence in America, and furthermore the demolition of everything that the Uhro-Rusin people have by great labor and enormous sacrifices attained for themselves. The Uhro Rusin people are averse to seeing the day when under the guise of religion, under the guise of the Catholic Church they might be thrown into the slavery of Ukrainism.

In informing Your Excellency, as the highest ecclesiastical authority in the United States of America, of this, we humbly beg to bring to Your Excellency's notice the fact that this is not a desire of some rebellious small faction, but it is the desire of the whole upright, pius and diligent Uhro-Rusin people, who have wholly legal pretentions to have a Uhro-Rusin Greek Rite Catholic bishop of their own. We furthermore request Your Excellency to take this communication into your kind consideration and to follow the action of the Uhro-Rusin people closely; and having thoroughly studied the situation to accomplish that the Uhro-Rusin people get their own Greek Rite Catholic Uhro-Rusin bishop. This may be more easily accomplished, since Bishop Soter Ortynsky during his six years regime has totally separated the Uhro-Rusins from the Galician Rusyns. Finally, we humbly announce that if this desire of the Uhro-Rusin people were not to be taken into consideration the responsibility for the great disorders, troubles shall rest upon those who are mechanically instructing this affair.

Repeating our humble announcement and kissing Your Excellency’s blessing, right we beg to remain with profound respect and filial obedience."