PHILADELPHIA – Bishop Richard Stephen Seminack of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago, fell asleep in the Lord, on August 16 after a prolonged illness. At the time of his death, he was serving as the fourth bishop of the Chicago eparchy.
Bishop Seminack was born on March 3, 1942, to Raymond and Anna Cwiek Seminack in Philadelphia. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Ternopil, Ukraine, while his maternal grandparents came from Peremyshl. The oldest of seven children, he attended St. Martin of Tours Catholic Elementary School and Father Judge Catholic High School in Philadelphia.
Responding to a call to the holy priesthood, he received a B.A. in philosophy from St. Basil’s College Seminary in Stamford, Conn., in 1963. He continued his priestly formation as a seminarian at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Seminary and continued his theological studies at The Catholic University of America, both in Washington.
After his ordination on May 25, 1967, by Metropolitan Archbishop Ambrose Senyshyn of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Father Seminack pursued graduate studies at the Pontifical Institute for Oriental Studies in Rome and received a baccalaureate degree in canon law in 1969.
In the Philadelphia Archeparchy, he served the faithful in the following Pennsylvania parishes: Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Philadelphia; Holy Ghost Parish, Chester; Presentation of Our Lord Parish, Lansdale; St. Anne Parish, Warrington; and Sacred Heart Parish, Philadelphia.
He also served as chaplain for the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Philadelphia, as campus minister at Manor College in Jenkintown, Pa., and as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy.
When the Philadelphia Archeparchy was divided in 1983, Father Seminack was serving as pastor of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Miami, and he became incardinated into the newly erected Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio, of which the Miami parish is a part.
On June 8, 1984, he was appointed by Bishop Robert Moskal as pastor to the Holy Trinity Church in Carnegie Pa.
He was elevated to the rank of reverend monsignor by Pope St. John Paul II on October 5, 1984.
Within the Eparchy of St. Josaphat, Msgr. Seminack held many eparchial positions, including director of religious education, diocesan consultor, member of the executive board of the priests’ pension program, chairman of the diocesan priests’ personnel board, chairman of the diocesan presbyteral council and staff member of the offices of pastoral ministry and of examiners for junior clergy.
Pope St. John Paul II named him as the bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago on March 25, 2003. He was ordained to the episcopacy by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, then major archbishop of Lviv, on June 4, 2003. The principal co-consecrators were Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia and Bishop Robert Michael Moskal of Parma.
Bishop Richard relied upon his earlier experiences in church life to help him exemplify the motto of his episcopal coat of arms. Insofar as the episcopal state is an embodiment of Christ – as Teacher, Shepherd, King, Priest and even sacrificial Lamb, Bishop Richard plunged fully into the life of the Eparchy of St Nicholas.
With the image of Christ “Not Made By Human Hands” prominently displayed above an Early Christian sketch of a fish inscribed with the Greek acronym ICHQUS, Bishop Richard strove to exemplify the simple, yet complex role of bishop.
Over the years, Bishop Richard was invited to observe milestone anniversaries, bless new buildings, baptize new Christians and bless weddings. He came to honor patronal feast day celebrations, or to be a visible sign of support to a struggling pastor or congregation.
During his episcopacy, St Nicholas Eparchy observed its 50th anniversary.
The event was solemnized with an opening celebration in the easternmost part of the eparchy – and a year-long step by step, parish by parish participation in an ongoing process of prayer as each parish had the honor and responsibility to host a specially commissioned Jubilee Icon of the Protection of the Mother of God.
A tall man, Bishop Richard could easily “oversee” almost every element of eparchial life. A gentle man, he was not overbearing in fulfilling his role. His simple four-word motto inscribed in his heraldry did not form a sentence. “Taken – Blessed – Broken – Given” – these are four terms that accurately describe the life and mission of Christ.
Bishop Richard is survived by his sister, Joanne McCarthy, and her husband, Kevin; his brothers and their wives, Raymond P. and Carol Seminack, Robert W. and Janis Seminack, Gregory J. and Bernadette Seminack, Stephen J. and Ave Seminack, and Thomas J. and Valerie Seminack; and his many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
Services for Bishop Seminack included: August 22 – lying In repose and parastas for a hierarch at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Chicago; August 23 – divine liturgy and funeral service at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Chicago; August 26 – lying In repose, divine liturgy and funeral service at Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Philadelphia, followed by interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Elkins Park, Pa.
Source: The Way.