Eparchy of Stamford

About

The eparchy of Stamford is the eparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with the center in Stamford (USA). The eparchy embraces the Northeastern part of the United States namely, New York State and New England region where the states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont are part of the region. Thus, the total area of the eparchy of Stamford is 326 925 km² and the population is around 34 520 023 people. The eparchy is part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

Parishes are located in the following cities:

According to the statistics from 2014, the eparchy of Stamford has 14,180 faithful, for whom 67 priests, including one hieromonk, and 10 deacons, perform their pastoral ministry. Also, there are consecrated persons in the eparchy: 8 monks and 44 nuns. In total, the pastorate is concentrated in 54 parish centers.

The eparchy of Stamford of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has its own Saint Basil Seminary. In 1933, thanks to the initiative of Constantine Bohachevsky, Ukrainian Catholic Secondary School named after Saint Basil was opened. There were 22 students in the first academic year. The first classrooms occupied the upper floors of the building that now houses the Ukrainian Museum in Stamford. It is said that this house belonged to a Dutch sailor and the entire diaspora community raised money to buy it.

In 1939, St. Basil’s Seminary was founded in the house purchased by Constantine Bohachevsky. The study lasted 4 years after which students received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and had the opportunity to accept the priesthood.
As a rule, Ukrainian Сatholics who were citizens of the USA were students from the very first days of the foundation of the Seminary. Sometimes, students from abroad also came to the Seminary. That is the school and seminary coexisted.

A soccer team coached by Walter Kennedy,
the future mayor of Stamford had a place at the school.

For more than sixty years, almost 250 students have graduated from the seminary. Among the graduates was the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.

In 1990, after the restoration of Ukraine’s independence, the seminary decided to offer boys from Ukraine the opportunity to study for free at this institution. The Ukrainian community in the United States had raised funds specifically for this purpose. Today, the seminary has 6 students: four from Ukraine, one from the United States, and one from Macedonia.

Location

Materials

Bishop

Since January 3, 2006, His Eminence bishop Paul Patrick Chomnycky has been the ruling Archbishop of the eparchy of Stamford.

The Cathedral of the eparchy of Stamford is St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral.

History

The enthronement of the first exarch in Stamford took place on December 15, 1956. It was carried out by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Amleto Chiconiani, who later became Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and Secretary of the Vatican State. In all our hierarchs on the American continent, many Latin bishops and representatives of our public and cultural institutions took part in these celebrations. Connecticut state was represented by Governor Abraham Ribicoff himself.

At the time of his proclamation as exarch, Bishop Ambrose Senyshyn had 14 years of experience as an auxiliary bishop.

Cyrus Ambrose was noted for his organizational skills. In 1941, as an abbot of the monastery of St. Nicholas in Chicago, he organized the majestic Eucharistic Congress. As an auxiliary bishop, he began publishing the monthly magazine Kovcheh in Ukrainian and English. In addition, he published a special bulletin for priests, Lampada, in which various issues concerning the life of our community and the Church in the United States were raised. This bulletin was published twice a month.

In June 1961, construction of a new building of the College of St. Basil began. It was completed by the second Bishop of Stamford, Joseph Shmondyuk, and enthroned by the Bishop of Stamford in November 1961. Stamford Seminary of St. Basil gave our Church more than 200 priests, and six bishops, among whom the Head of the UGCC Patriarch Lubomyr Husar. He was ordained a priest in Stamford on March 30, 1958.

Bishop Vasyl Losten, who later became the third Bishop of Stamford, also graduated from Stamford Seminary.

In the early 1990s, when the independent Ukrainian state emerged, the seminary revived. More than 70 young men from Ukraine became students. Bishop Vasyl Losten had been heading the eparchy of Stamford for 28 years and made a great contribution to its development — in strengthening its position not only as a religious but also as a cultural center. Bishop Vasyl Losten was awarded the Order of Merit of the Third Degree by the Decree of the President of Ukraine for his outstanding contribution to the preservation and development of Ukrainian culture.

The creation of the church structure contributed not only to the preservation of our Church but also to the development of the cultural and national heritage of our people in the United States. Evidence of this is the Ukrainian Museum and the Stamford Library.

The current Bishop of Stamford, Bishop Pavlo Khomnytsky, has headed the eparchy since January 2006. He continues to implement the idea of preserving and increasing the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people, supporting the development of the Ukrainian Museum and Library. His leadership style is characterized by openness to people, including support for the newcomers of the last, fourth immigration wave because they and their children will create the future of the Church of the XXI century.

Contacts

Address: 161 Glenbrook Road, Stamford, CT 06902, USA

Phone: +1 (203) 324-76-98
Fax: +1 (203) 357-76-81

Email: [email protected]

Website: stamforddio.org