Manuil Mykhaylo Olshavskyi,

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

, (born as Michal Židik; uk, Мануїл Михайло Ольшавський, hu, Manó Mihály Olsavszky, sk, Manuel Michal Olšavsky, c. 1700 – 5 November 1767) was the bishop of the Vicariate Apostolic for the Ruthenians in Mukacheve from 1743 to his death in 1767.

Life

Mykhaylo Olshavskyi was born in about 1700 in the village of Oľšavica, from which he took his surname (which originally was ''Židik''). He studied philosophy in Košice and than in the Jesuit college of

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...

. At the end of his studies, he was ordained a

secular priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...

in 1725 and assigned to the Eparchy of Mukacheve, where he later became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the eparchs (bishops) Stefan Olshavskyi (who was his older brother) and

Havryil Blazhovskyi Havryil Heorhiy Blazhovskyi, Order of Saint Basil the Great, O.S.B.M. (born as Juraj Mankovič; uk, Гавриїл Георгій Блажовський, hu, Gábor György Blazsovszky, sk, Gabriel Juraj Blažovsky, c. 1705 – 20 December ...

. At the death of his predecessor, he was appointed on 8 February 1743 as vicar general by the Latin Bishop of Eger: as at that time, following the Union of Uzhhorod, the eparch of Mukacheve was formally an

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of the Latin diocese. In a few months he was elected to the position by the clergy, designated by the

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

, and so confirmed by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

on 5 September 1743. He received the titular see of Rhosus and was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on 9 December 1743 by the bishop of Făgăraş, Inocenţiu Micu-Klein. A short time before consecration, Mykhaylo Olshavskyi entered the

Order of Saint Basil the Great The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

and took the religious name of Manuil. In 1746, Empress Maria Theresa requested Manuil Olshavskyi to undertake a pastoral visit to

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, that was at the time without a Byzantine Catholic bishop due to the exile of Micu-Klein. He again returned to Transylvania in 1761 to address, with his authority and predication, the disturbance fomented by the Orthodox monk

Sofronie Sofronie may refer to: Name * Sofronie of Cioara, Romanian Orthodox saint * Sofronie Drincec (born 1967), Romanian bishop * Sofronie Vârnav, Moldavian and Romanian political figure, philanthropist, collector, and Orthodox clergyman * Sofronie ...

. In 1756, Olshavskyi completed and consecrated the sanctuary of

Máriapócs Máriapócs is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It lies near Nyíregyháza. It is an important place for pilgrimage. It has a Byzantine Catholic church, which houses the W ...

which was started by his predecessor Gennadius Bizanczy. To serve the sanctuary, he built a monastery and assigned it to the

Basilian Basilian may refer to a number of groups who are followers of Saint Basil the Great and specifically to: * Basilian monks (founded c. 356), monks who follow the rule of Saint Basil the Great, in modern use refers to monks of Eastern Catholic Chur ...

monks. He also built schools in Mukachevo and in Máriapócs for the instruction of the clergy, and succeeded in obtaining the necessary funding. While his predecessors in Mukachevo lived in the Saint Nicholas Monastery, by request of the monks, he built an episcopal residence in town. In 1764 he built, with his own money, a school of theology and one for

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

s in Mukachevo. In 1759 he could write to

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

that in his eparchy there remained no Byzantine faithful who were not in communion with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. However, the

jurisdictional Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

situation of his eparchy, formally an apostolic vicariate under the Latin Bishop of Eger, was not satisfactory. So Manuil Olshavskyi contested the authority of the Bishop of Eger and tried to persuade Empress Maria Theresa to give full independence to the eparchy. He could not see the results of his work, but four years after his death, in 1771, the Eparchy of Mukacheve got its independence. Manuil Olshavskyi died in

Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...

on 5 November 1767, and he was buried in the sanctuary of

. Among his most memorable works might be his .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olshavskyi, Manuil Mykhaylo 1700 births 1767 deaths Year of birth uncertain 18th-century Hungarian people 18th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Ruthenian Catholic bishops Order of Saint Basil the Great People from Levoča District