Štefan Novák (4 December 1879 – 5 September 1932) was a Greek Catholic hierarch who, from 1913 to 1918, served as the bishop of the Eparchy of Prešov (present-day
Slovak Catholic Archeparchy of Prešov
Slovak may refer to:
* Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'')
* Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group
* Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages
* Slovak, Arkan ...
).
On 4 December 1879, he was born in
Ubľa
Ubľa (, ) is a border village and municipality in Snina District in the Prešov Region of north-eastern Slovakia on the border with Ukraine.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1567. Before the establishment of inde ...
,
ZemplÃn,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
(present-day
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
) as the son of a Rev. John Novak, a Greek Catholic priest. Despite being orphaned at a young age, he was supported by two clergymen during his secondary education, Canon
Julius Drohobecky (later Bishop of the
Eparchy of Križevci
Eparchy ( ''eparchÃa'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...
) and Chancellor
Antal Papp (later Bishop of the
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo
The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that was erected by Pope Clement XIV in 1771. The geographic remit of the eparchy includes the south-western parts of Ukraine that are roughly within Zak ...
). Bishop
Julius Firczak, seeing potential in the young student, decided to send him to the Latin Rite seminary in
Esztergom
Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
to study theology.
After being ordained as a priest on 9 January 1905 at
Holy Cross Cathedral
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
in
Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...
, he continued his studies in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where in 1906 he graduated as a Doctor of Sacred Theology with high honors. Upon returning to Uzhhorod, he was appointed Prefect and Assistant Professor at the Greek Catholic Seminary. However, two years later, in 1908, he was released from his duties at the Seminary to become the personal tutor of Count Mauricius Palfy's children. The Count was in the diplomatic service in Rome and had the privilege of having great influence in Vatican circles.
When the Episcopal see in Prešov became vacant due to the death of Bishop
Ján Vályi
Ján Vályi or János Vályi (22 September 1837 – 19 November 1911) was a Slovak Greek Catholic hierarch. He was the bishop of Slovak Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Prešov, Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Prešov from 1883 to 1911.
Born in GÃ ...
on 19 November 1911, it was Count Palfy who recommended that Štefan Novák be appointed as his successor. Thus, he was appointed as the Bishop of the Eparchy by the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
on 20 November 1913 at the age of 33 and then consecrated on 11 January 1914. The principal
consecrator
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...
was Bishop
Antal Papp, and the principal co-consecrator were Bishop
AugustÃn Fischer-Colbrie and Bishop
József Lányi de Késmark.
Bishop Novák resigned on 1 October 1918.
He died in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
on 5 September 1932.
References
1879 births
1932 deaths
People from Snina District
20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops
Slovak Greek Catholic bishops
{{SlovakGreekCatholic-bishop-stub