The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma ( la, Eparchia Parmensis Ruthenorum) is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

of 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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, an ...

and its bishop is Milan Lach, SJ. It is a suffragan diocese in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of the metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (and dependent upon the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches) and is the eparchy for the Midwestern

. While not the only Byzantine Rite

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

eparchy with the episcopal see of Parma, the title "Byzantine Catholic" in its name refers to the title under which the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church operates in the United States.

Statistics

Saint Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Coventry, Ohio

, the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma pastorally served 9,020 Eastern Catholics in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio in 28 parishes and 5 missions with 36 priests (diocesan), 16 deacons, 6 lay religious (6 sisters), 2 seminarians. Ten parishes in the Youngstown, Ohio area are part of the

Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh ( la, Archieparchia Pittsburgensis Ritus Byzantini) is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church that serves portions of the Eastern Unite ...

History

* The eparchy was erected on 21 February 1969 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

as the Eparchy of Parma (of the Ruthenians) / Eparchia Parmen(sis) Ruthenorum (Latin), on US territory split off from its present Metropolitan, then the Eparchy (Diocese) of Pittsburgh). On 22 March 1969, Father John Mihalik was appointed as its first ordinary. He was consecrated as its eparch by Archbishop

Stephen Kocisko Stephen John Kocisko (June 11, 1915 – March 7, 1995) was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church Early life Born June 11, 191 ...

on 12 June 1969. On 30 May 1983, Father Andrew Pataki was appointed as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic and consecrated by Kocisko on 23 August 1983 with the title of Titular Bishop of Telmissus. When Mihalik died on 27 January 1984 Parma's see became

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

. Pataki was appointed as the eparch on June 19, 1984 and was installed on August 16, 1985. * The eparchy lost ecclesiastical territory on 3 December 1981 when the Eparchy of Van Nuys was erected.

Episcopal Ordinaries

The following bishops have been appointed as ordinaries of Parma eparchy. # Emil John Mihalik (1969-1984) #

Andrew Pataki Andrew Pataki (August 30, 1927 – December 8, 2011) was an Eastern Catholic hierarch, the second bishop of Parma for the Byzantines, and the third bishop of Passaic for the Byzantines. Life Andrew Pataki was born in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, i ...

(1984-1995), appointed Bishop of Passaic of the Ruthenians # Basil Myron Schott, O.F.M., (1996-2002), appointed Archbishop of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians # John Michael Kudrick (2002-2016) # Milan Lach, S.J. (2018–present) http://www.parma.org/documents/2017/6/New%20Administrator%20Lach.pdf

Churches

St. Basil the Great Byzantine Catholic Church
Sterling Heights, MI
Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Church

Livonia, MI Livonia is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality. Livonia is a part of Metro Detroit and is located about west of th ...

St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church Toledo St. Michael parish is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, which uses the Divine Liturgy of the Byzantine Rite. Accordingly, St. Michael is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (more commonly referred to as the Pope of Rome) and is a parish wit ...

St. Louis Byzantine Catholic Mission

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church
Minneapolis, Minnesota
St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church

Marblehead, Ohio Marblehead is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 903 at the 2010 census. It sits at the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula, which divides Lake Erie proper from Sandusky Bay. Marblehead is part of the area that is ...

References

Sources and external links

Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Parma Official Site

The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

* * {{authority control

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

Parma, Ohio