On the Repose of Bishop Basil Losten
The Archeparchy of Philadelphia and our entire Metropolia mourn the loss of Bishop Basil Losten who was ordained a priest of the Archeparchy 67 years ago and served as bishop of our Metropolia for 53 years. We express our condolences to the Losten Family and to Bishop Paul Chomnycky and the entire Stamford Eparchy.
Bishop Basil Losten’s life of dedication to God and the Church was full of pioneering and lasting ecclesial and civic achievements in many diverse areas. As a priest and hierarch Bishop Basil exercised a tireless pastoral ministry of presence and engagement. Our priests and parishes, organizations, and individual community members could count on his participation and support in times of spiritual need, personal or community crisis. His presence and generosity were abiding. He demonstrated initiative and insight, exercised decades ago — but ever relevant today.
In the 1960s and 70s Bishop Basil spearheaded the construction of 240 apartments extending hospitality to hundreds of low-income Ukrainian-, African-, Asian-, and Latino-American senior citizens. Today, as the country struggles to bring harmony to peoples and races, the Ascension Manor towers, are a shining witness to how our Ukrainian Catholic community can extend a hand to our surroundings and services minorities in our neighborhoods.
During the 1980s Bishop Basil led a campaign to bring the plight of the underground Church in Ukraine to the attention of the nation and the world. The 1988 celebration of Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine was brought to a broad global audience. Bishops Basil’s leadership was seminal for these efforts. Millions of visitors to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for centuries will bow and pray before the mosaic icons of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha that Bishop Basil sponsored.
Bishop Basil helped our Church in Ukraine get off its knees in the 1990s, and in the 2000s left the Stamford Eparchy with a strong, youthful presbyterate, the most diverse in our Church.
Beginning retirement in the 2010s, he was always present and ready to help. Bishop Losten represented a continuity among generations of faith living communion in Christ. Bishop Basil’s endowment of a Ukrainian Church Studies program at the Catholic University of America will foster the understanding of the life and pastoral service of our Church in America and the world. He was a generous benefactor of the Ukrainian Catholic University and of countless ecclesial and civic causes.
In the 2020s, as the senior hierarch in our Church’s Synod of Bishops, Bishop Basil served as a trusted advisor to Patriarch Sviatoslav at a time of war, humanitarian crisis, pandemic, and critical spiritual and social need.
Bishop Basil’s legacy will serve the Stamford Eparchy, our Metropolia, and the global Ukrainian Catholic Church for many years to come. It is our vocation to continue the witness to the Gospel as Ukrainian Catholics in America.
May the Lord grant Bishop Basil eternal rest in the place of light, joy, and peace where there is no pain, sorrow nor mourning! Eternal memory!
+Borys
