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Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sources to describe all Eastern Slavs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as an exonym for people of the former Kievan Rus', thus including ancestors of the modern Ukrainians, Rusyns, and Belarusians. The use of Ruthenian and related exonyms continued through the early modern period, developing several distinctive meanings, both in terms of their regional scopes and additional religious connotations.
Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the Ukrainian language. As traditional adherents of Eastern Christianity, the majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, though a minority of Rusyns still practice Eastern Orthodoxy. Rusyns primarily self-identify as a distinct Slavic people and they are recognized as such in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, where they have official minority status. Alternatively, some identify more closely with their country of residence: as Polish, Slovak, or Ukrainian.
The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church that uses the Byzantine Rite for its liturgies, laws, and cultural identity. It is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches that are in full communion with the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome. There are significant, culturally distinct communities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. In the United States, the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh is self-governing. In Europe, Ruthenian jurisdictions are exempt directly to the Holy See. The European branch has an eparchy in Ukraine and another in the Czech Republic.
The Byzantine Catholic Metropolis of Pittsburgh is a metropolitan province for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in the United States of America, with specific jurisdiction over several communities that originated from the regions of Carpathian Ruthenia, Slovakia, Hungary and former Yugoslavia. Its membership thus includes several Byzantine Catholic groups, mainly among Rusyn Americans, Slovak Americans, Hungarian Americans, and Croatian Americans. Since 2022, the Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto in Canada has also been under the provincial jurisdiction the Metropolis of Pittsburgh rather than the Slovak Greek Catholic Church.
Monsignor Basil Shereghy was a leading Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church priest and professor, as well as a cultural activist for Rusyns in the United States.
The Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius is an American degree-granting school of theology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The seminary prepares candidates for priestly ministry to the Byzantine Catholic churches of North America. As of 2019, this includes the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St George's in Canton, and the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma
Not to be confused with Russian Americans: Russians, and their progeny who came to live in, or live in the United States.
Julia Warhola was the mother of the American artist Andy Warhol.
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. It is located at 210 Greentree Road in Munhall, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh in the Monongahela River valley.
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. Basil.
Basil Takach was the first bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.
Nicholas Thomas Elko was the third bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. At the age of 46 he became the first American-born Bishop of the Greek Catholic Church. He later served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Stephen John Kocisko was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church
Thomas Victor Dolinay was the second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church that serves portions of the Eastern United States. Its territory covers the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. The current archbishop is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla, whose is resident in the archepiscopal see of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Eparchy of Passaic is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States. Its headquarters are at 445 Lackawanna Avenue, Woodland Park, New Jersey. The Eparchy of Passaic is a suffragan eparchy in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, Ohio and its bishop is Milan Lach, SJ.
Stephen Varzaly was a leading priest, journalist, and cultural activist for Rusyns in the United States.
Judson Michael Procyk was the third Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.
The Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto is a ecclesiastical territory or exarchate serving Slovak Greek Catholic Church of the Catholic Church in Canada. Its territory extends over the whole territory of Canada. In 2022, Pope Francis transferred the jurisdiction of the exarchate from the Slovak Greek Catholic Church to the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, a ecclesiastical province allocated to the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, changing the territory's status from eparchy to exarchate at the same time.
References
- Magocsi, Paul Robert and Ivan Pop (2005). Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3566-3.
