The Dual Anniversaries

This year has been a momentous one for the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church in the United States, as it celebrated two significant milestones. First, it marked the centennial of the establishment of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church Exarchate in the United States, now known as the Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Metropolitan Church. On May 8, 1924, Pope Pius XI appointed Father Basil Takach as the Bishop of Ruthenian Catholics in the United States, an event that laid the foundation for what is today the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and the Eparchies of Passaic, New Jersey, Parma, Ohio, and Phoenix, Arizona.

Second, it commemorated the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, honoring the shared spiritual heritage of American and Eastern European Catholics.


From October 19-20, 2024 we celebrated with pilgrimage to Washington, DC and a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church in Annandale, VA. Bishop Kurt Burnette of the Eparchy of Passaic presided over the liturgy, which was concelebrated also by Bishop Robert Pipta of the Eparchy of Parma and Archbishop William Skurla of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. Three bishops!

Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC | October 12, 2024

On May 8, 1924, the Papal Bull of Pope Pius XI establishing an Exarchate for Ruthenians from Subcarpathia and the election of Father Basil Takach as the first bishop, was published.

The documentary commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church in America and has been under production for more than a year with Diane and Bob Grip. It features archival films, still pictures and videos gathered from the Archeparchial archives, private collections and on-site locations from all four eparchies. Metropolitan Archbishop William C. Skurla, D.D. is the Executive Producer.