The Vatican appointed Ambrose Senyshyn archbishop in 1961 to administer the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States.
The amazing story of Ambrose’s life – “Archbishop Ambrose Senyshyn and His Vision of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in America” – authored by Basil H. Losten, emeritus bishop of the Stamford Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, was published 2016. This splendid story about an accomplished Church leader is comprehensive, dispassionate, chronologically organized, factual and a joy to read.
“I first met Bishop Ambrose Senyshyn while studying at St. Basil Preparatory School and College in 1945,” writes Bishop Basil in his preface. “Bishop Ambrose remains in my memory a cheerful and amicable person. A man, I might add, who was approachable.” Given the persona of Bishop Constantine Bohachevsky, Senyshyn’s predecessor, Bishop Basil’s characterization early on is telling.
Soter Ortynsky, the first bishop for Ukrainians/Rusyns in America, did not enjoy an easy tenure. He was constantly harassed by Uhro-Rusyns who believed he was too Ukrainian. Bohachevsky was also assailed, this time by Ukrainians who didn’t believe he was Ukrainian enough. As one learns reading Bishop Basil’s treatise, Bishop Ambrose’s time as leader of Ukrainian American Catholics was also fraught with controversy. Being a Ukrainian bishop for Ukrainian Americans was never a walk in the park.
Before embarking on a biography of his subject, Bishop Basil provides the reader with a superb overview of Ukrainian history along with a map. Did you know that the Lemkos lived west of the Boykos and north of the Hutsuls? I didn’t.
Bishop Basil’s masterful biography is a joy to read and contemplate. The narrative is chronological, and there are numerous photos. Included are many homilies as well as an appendix of the significant pastoral letters. This allows the reader to reach his own conclusions regarding the bigger picture.
Ambrose Senyshyn was born in Staryi Sambir on February 23, 1903, in the Austrian crown land of Galicia, ruled by the Hapsburgs who, to their eternal credit, established formal institutions for the training of Greek-Catholic seminarians in Vienna and Lviv. “The educated priests became the first Ruthenian national awakeners in Galicia,” writes Bishop Basil, “as well as the leaders in the 1848 Ruthenian political movement.”
Senyshyn entered the monastery of the Basilian Fathers in 1922. He was ordained in 1931 by Bishop Josaphat Kocylowsky of Peremyshl, who later perished in the Soviet Gulag and was affirmed a martyr for the faith by Pope John Paul II.
Ukrainian Catholic history in America began in 1884 with the arrival in Shenandoah, Pa., of Father Ivan Wolansky and his wife, Pawlyna. There were troubles from the beginning. Shunned by the Latin-rite bishop of Philadelphia, Father Wolansky and his congregation were forced to fend for themselves, overcoming a host of difficulties until 1907 when, thanks largely to the influence of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptysky, Rome appointed Ortynsky as bishop for Ukrainian and Ruthenian Catholics. Troubles with Latin Catholic hierarchs subsided. Somewhat.
Father Senyshyn’s first assignment in America was to the magnificent St. Nicholas Church (now a cathedral) in Chicago in 1931. He served as pastor from 1937 to 1942, a time during which the Basilians saved the parish from financial ruin. I was baptized by Basilian Father Sylvester Zurawecky and received my First Holy Communion from Father Senyshyn.
During the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago Stephen Shumyeko, first editor of The Ukrainian Weekly, organized the Ukrainian Youth League of North America (UYLNA). Believing Ukrainian Catholic young people required a separate association, Father Senyshyn organized the Ukrainian Catholic Youth League (UCYL) that same year.
In June 1941, Father Senyshyn organized a Eucharistic Congress, the highlight of which was a parade of dignitaries as well as youth from the parish. I marched in that parade wearing the designated uniform: black trousers, white shirt, tie, gold silk cape. My parents were proud.
During his tenure Father Senyshyn responded positively to a request from parishioners to move from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, making it possible for my family to celebrate two Christmases, the “American” Christmas on December 25, when gifts were exchanged, and the more solemn “Ukrainian” Christmas on January 7 preceded by “Sviat Vechir.” All went well for many years until the Chicago calendar wars erupted in the 1960s, culminating in the construction of Ss. Volodymyr and Olha Church only two blocks from St. Nicholas.
The Basilian Order took control of St. George Parish in New York City in March 1942 with Father Senyshyn as its first superior. On June 6, 1942, it was announced that Pope Pius XII had appointed Father Senyshyn the new auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Constantine; he was sanctified at St. Nicholas Church on October 22, 1942, the first Byzantine consecration on American soil. He became the first bishop of the newly instituted Stamford Eparchy in 1958. His time in Stamford, Conn., was relatively serene; that changed when he succeeded Bohachevsky three years later.
The most contentious issue facing the new metropolitan was the question of the Ukrainian Catholic Patriarchate. Bishop Basil provides us with a masterful overview. It all began on November 21, 1964, during the third session of the Vatican II Council when the Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches was promulgated, affirming the right of “these Churches to preserve their heritage” as follows.
Article 4 emphasized paying heed “to the preservation and growth” of each individual Church. “Churches of the East, as much as those of the West, fully enjoy the right and are duty bound to rule themselves… according to its proper and individual procedures, inasmuch as practices sanctioned by a noble antiquity harmonize better with the customs of the faithful and are seen as more likely to foster the good of souls.” The decree also stated “that where needed, new patriarchates should be erected.”
All fine and good, except for the Vatican proviso which argued that a patriarchal form of governance required a defined geographical area that Soviet-occupied Ukraine did not enjoy. Undeterred, Ukrainian bishops convened a synod in Rome in October 1969, drew up a constitution of a patriarchal structure and forwarded it to Pope Paul VI with a formal request to establish a Kyiv-Galician Patriarchate. Leading the effort was Cardinal Josyf Slipyj, who had been recently release from the Soviet Gulag.
Ukrainian American Catholics were excited by the possibility of a Patriarchate. The Society for the Promotion of the Patriarchate (hereafter referred to as the society) was established in America; its membership came to believe that Cardinal Josyf was, ipso facto, the patriarch, the highest ranking Ukrainian Catholic prelate who had the final say on all activities of the Church. In the ensuing years the so-called “patriarkhalnyky” became increasingly combative in their approach, protesting often in front of the cathedral, claiming that Metropolitan Ambrose was not supportive of the Patriarchate; the claim was patently false.
Protests came to a head on February 22, 1971, when it was announced that the Roman Curia had appointed Msgr. John Stock auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Ambrose without the prior imprimatur of Cardinal Slipyj. Whoops! Protests materialized in front of the Apostolic delegation in Washington. Telegrams were sent to the Vatican. That same month Metropolitan Ambrose traveled to Rome to discuss the Patriarchate. Cardinal Slipyj refused to meet with him. Pope Paul VI met with the metropolitan in a private audience on March 15. On May 4 it was announced that the pope had appointed Msgr. Losten as a second auxiliary bishop, again without Cardinal Slipyj’s involvement. Whoops again! More telegrams to Rome, more protests. “The nomination of Rev. Basil Losten,” read one Society telegram, “without the consultation and consent of His Beatitude Josyf Cardinal Slipyj… is considered a hostile act against the Ukrainians in general and against… Cardinal Slipyj in particular… In the opinion of our society and the majority of the Ukrainian faithful, the nomination of Msgr. Losten is aimed at the destruction of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.”
So volatile had things become that a delegation of UNA national officers, meeting in annual session at Soyuzivka, drove to Philadelphia to meet with Msgr. Losten. I was a member of that delegation. The monsignor heard us out.
The consecration ceremony was held on May 25, 1971, in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the presence of 2,000 faithful, including some 150 protesters who sang “Vichnaya Pamiat” (Eternal Memory) and verses of the Ukrainian national anthem during the religious ceremony. It was not our finest moment.
A determined, outgoing leader, Metropolitan Ambrose had many accomplishments including completion of the new cathedral in Philadelphia, the construction of 25 new churches in his archeparchy, and mandating the use of the Gregorian calendar. He died on September 11, 1976, of leukemia.
Myron Kuropas’ e-mail address is [email protected].