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Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for Ukrainians and partially Belarusians, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sources to describe Eastern Slavs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as an exonym for people of the former Kievan Rus', thus including ancestors of the modern Belarusians, Rusyns and Ukrainians. 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, Ruthenians, 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 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, while others are a branch of the Ukrainian people.
The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church based in Eastern Europe and North America. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. It uses the Byzantine Rite for its liturgies, laws, and cultural identity.
The Metropolis of Pittsburgh is a sui juris metropolitan see of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that is located in the United States of America and Canada. The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church is one of 23 sui juris Eastern Catholic particular churches in the Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Holy See. The metropolis uses the Byzantine Rite in its liturgies. It was erected as a metropolis (archdiocese) by Pope Paul VI in 1969. The metropolis has jurisdiction over those communities that originated from the regions of Carpathian Ruthenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia. Worshipers come from several Byzantine Catholic groups: Rusyn Americans, Slovak Americans, Hungarian Americans, and Croatian Americans. In 2022, governance of the Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto in Canada passed to the metropolis of Pittsburgh from 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
Rusyn Americans are citizens of the United States of America, with ancestors who were Rusyns, from Carpathian Ruthenia, or neighboring areas of Central Europe. However, some Rusyn Americans, also or instead identify as Ukrainian Americans, Russian Americans, or even Slovak Americans.
The Greek Catholic Union of the USA (GCU) is the oldest continuous fraternal benefit society for Rusyn immigrants and their descendants in the United States, and established a Byzantine Catholic Church, Saint Nicholas Chapel, near their home office in Beaver, Pennsylvania.
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral is the mother church of Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. It is located at 210 Greentree Road in Munhall, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh in the Monongahela River valley.
Michael Joseph Dudick was an American priest and bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the U.S. branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.
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 an American Ruthenian Greek Catholic and the third bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. At the age of 46 he became the first American-born bishop of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. He later served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, a Latin Church archdiocese.
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 Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is an archeparchy of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that is located in the southern part of the United States of America. It is part of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh. The geographical remit of the archeparchy includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. The incumbent archeparch is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla. The episcopal seat is situated in the city of Pittsburgh.
The Eparchy of Passaic is an eparchy (diocese) of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Passaic, New Jersey. As an Eastern Catholic church, it uses the Byzantine Rite in its services. The Eparchy was erected July 6, 1963.
The Eparchy of Parma is an eparchy (diocese) of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the midwestern part of the United States. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, Ohio. The eparchy's liturgies utilize the Byzantine Rite.
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 that serves the Slovak Greek Catholic Church — a sui juris or self governing Eastern Catholic Church. Its geographical remit includes the whole territory of Canada. In 2022, Pope Francis transferred the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the exarchate from the Slovak Greek Catholic Church to the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. It became part of the ecclesiastical Metropolis of Pittsburgh. This changed the territory's status from an eparchy to an 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.
