Bishop Basil Losten retires, successor is named (01/08/06)

Bishop Basil Losten retires, successor is named

STAMFORD, Conn. - Pope Benedict XVI has informed the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford that he has accepted the resignation of Bishop Basil H. Losten from office, as he has reached the mandatory age of retirement. In the same announcement, dated January 3, Bishop Paul Patrick Chomnycky, OSBM, currently the apostolic exarch of Great Britain, has been appointed as Bishop Losten's successor as the fourth Bishop of the Eparchy of Stamford.

In accordance with the provisions of canon law, all bishops must offer their resignation to the holy father upon reaching the age of 75. On May 11, 2005, Bishop Losten was compliant with the law and sent the Holy Father his letter of resignation, along with a copy to Cardinal Lubomyr Husar. He continued as bishop until the pope formally accepted his resignation and he now becomes bishop emeritus with a residence in the city of Stamford. He will continue to be the administrator of the Stamford Eparchy until the arrival of his successor.

Bishop Chomnycky, age 51, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 19, 1954. His father, Stephan, had immigrated to Canada in 1948 from the village of Wilchiwchyk, Husiatyn County, Ternopil region of Ukraine, while his mother, Jessie Delawski, was born in Musidora, Alberta. The bishop has a twin sister, Patricia, who is an elementary school teacher in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Both of his parents passed away in 1996.

After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1980, the bishop worked as an accountant for two years. Responding to God's call to a vocation, he entered the novitiate of the Order of St. Basil the Great at the Basilian Monastery in Glen Cove, N.Y., in November 1982.

He professed his final vows in Rome on January 1, 1988, and was ordained to the priesthood on October 1, 1988, by Bishop Jerome Chimy, OSBM at Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Vancouver. He then studied philosophy at the University of St. Anselm and the Gregorian University in Rome, receiving a bachelor's in sacred theology in 1990.

Upon his return to Canada he served briefly as an assistant pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Mundare, Alberta, and St. Basil's in Edmonton. Eventually he would return to both parishes as their pastor in 1997 and 2000; he also served as the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Vancouver in 1994-1997.

During his tenure as pastor at St. Basil's in Edmonton and St. Paul's in Mundare, he was also the superior of the local Basilian monastery. Bishop Chomnycky also served as the director of the Basilian Fathers museum in Mundare, a member of the Provincial Council of the Basilian Fathers of Canada, and a member of the college of consultors of the Edmonton Eparchy.

He was appointed Exarch for Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain on April 5, 2002, and ordained as a bishop on June 11, 2002, by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.

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