Thomas Dolinay
Encyclopedia
Thomas Victor Dolinay was the second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
, the American
branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church
.
immigrant parents in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
, Dolinay’s father was a Greek Catholic priest
. Dolinay attended public schools in Struthers, Ohio
, and Uniontown and graduated in 1941. He earned his undergraduate degree at St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois
in 1945 and completed his theological studies at the Benedictine Seminary in 1948. On May 16, 1948, Bishop Daniel Ivancho
ordained him to the priesthood in the chapel of Mount Saint Macrina
Monastery
in Uniontown.
Dolinay had parish assignments for the next 18 years throughout the Pittsburgh Exarchate
and the Passaic Eparchy
. He also served as the first managing editor of The Byzantine Catholic World
and the first editor of the Eastern Catholic Life eparchial newspapers. Pope Paul VI
named him a papal chamberlain with the title Monsignor
in 1966.
bishop
of the Passaic Eparchy on November 23, 1976. His installation was held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Scranton
, Pennsylvania. As auxiliary to Bishop Michael Dudick
, he served as the Vicar for the churches located in Eastern Pennsylvania.
, establishing parishes there. On December 3, 1981, Pope John Paul II
by decree established a new eparchy, the Eparchy of Van Nuys
, composed of 13 western states. Its center was Van Nuys, California, a suburb of Los Angeles
, and its cathedral would be at St. Mary's Church, the first Byzantine Catholic parish formed in the western United States. John Paul II appointed the auxiliary bishop of the Passaic Eparchy, Dolinay, to head the newly-created Van Nuys Eparchy.
The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys was canonically erected on March 9, 1982. At the same time Metropolitan Archbishop Stephen Kocisko
installed Dolinay as the first Bishop at a ceremony in St. Cyril of Jerusalem Roman Catholic Church
in Encino, California. Archbishop Pio Laghi, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, read the papal decrees. Timothy Manning, the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles, was the homilist.
In 1990, with the retirement of Archbishop Kocisko of Pittsburgh approaching, Pope John Paul II relieved Dolinay of his duties as Bishop of Van Nuys and appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop
of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
on February 19, 1990. The Pope appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of Passaic, George Kuzma, to succeed Bishop Dolinay.
After a brief illness he unexpectedly died at age 69 on April 13, 1993. He is buried in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery
in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church of the Catholic Church, originally serving members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and their descendants in the United States...
, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church
Ruthenian Catholic Church
The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church , which uses the Divine Liturgy of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite. Its roots are among the Rusyns who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia, in and around the Carpathian Mountains...
.
Early life
Born July 24 to RusynRusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
immigrant parents in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
, Dolinay’s father was a Greek Catholic priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
. Dolinay attended public schools in Struthers, Ohio
Struthers, Ohio
Struthers is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,036 at the 2000 census. Struthers is served by a branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :John...
, and Uniontown and graduated in 1941. He earned his undergraduate degree at St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois
Lisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
in 1945 and completed his theological studies at the Benedictine Seminary in 1948. On May 16, 1948, Bishop Daniel Ivancho
Daniel Ivancho
Daniel Ivancho was the third bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.-Early life:...
ordained him to the priesthood in the chapel of Mount Saint Macrina
Mount Saint Macrina
Mount Saint Macrina is the site of the largest pilgrimage among Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics in North America. It is also home to the monastery of Byzantine Catholic Order of Sisters of St...
Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in Uniontown.
Dolinay had parish assignments for the next 18 years throughout the Pittsburgh Exarchate
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the Catholic archeparchy governing all of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the Western portion of Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and in the states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia...
and the Passaic Eparchy
Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic
The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the eastern United States. Its headquarters are at 445 Lackawanna Avenue, Woodland Park . The current bishop is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla.The Eparchy was erected July 6, 1963 and its...
. He also served as the first managing editor of The Byzantine Catholic World
Byzantine Catholic World
The Byzantine Catholic World is the official newspaper of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and the first editor of the Eastern Catholic Life eparchial newspapers. Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
named him a papal chamberlain with the title Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
in 1966.
Episcopate
Monsignor Dolinay became the first auxiliaryAuxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
of the Passaic Eparchy on November 23, 1976. His installation was held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Scranton
Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, of which St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the mother church, consists of 11 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States....
, Pennsylvania. As auxiliary to Bishop Michael Dudick
Michael Dudick
Michael Joseph Dudick was an American priest and bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the U.S. branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church....
, he served as the Vicar for the churches located in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Eparchy of Van Nuys
Since the 1950s the Byzantine Catholic Church had experienced growth in the western United StatesWestern United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, establishing parishes there. On December 3, 1981, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
by decree established a new eparchy, the Eparchy of Van Nuys
Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys
The Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics in the western United States. Its headquarters are at 8131 North 16th Street, Phoenix, Arizona...
, composed of 13 western states. Its center was Van Nuys, California, a suburb of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and its cathedral would be at St. Mary's Church, the first Byzantine Catholic parish formed in the western United States. John Paul II appointed the auxiliary bishop of the Passaic Eparchy, Dolinay, to head the newly-created Van Nuys Eparchy.
The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys was canonically erected on March 9, 1982. At the same time Metropolitan Archbishop Stephen Kocisko
Stephen Kocisko
Stephen John Kocisko was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church-Early life:...
installed Dolinay as the first Bishop at a ceremony in St. Cyril of Jerusalem Roman Catholic Church
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church and School
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church and School is a Catholic church and elementary school located in Encino, Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1949, St. Cyril's was voted the "Best Parish" for music in the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 2000.-Early years:...
in Encino, California. Archbishop Pio Laghi, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, read the papal decrees. Timothy Manning, the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles, was the homilist.
In 1990, with the retirement of Archbishop Kocisko of Pittsburgh approaching, Pope John Paul II relieved Dolinay of his duties as Bishop of Van Nuys and appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the Catholic archeparchy governing all of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the Western portion of Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and in the states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia...
on February 19, 1990. The Pope appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of Passaic, George Kuzma, to succeed Bishop Dolinay.
Metropolitan Dolinay
Kocisko submitted his resignation and entered into retirement on May 16, 1991, automatically making Dolinay the second Metropolitan of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia.After a brief illness he unexpectedly died at age 69 on April 13, 1993. He is buried in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery
Mount Saint Macrina
Mount Saint Macrina is the site of the largest pilgrimage among Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics in North America. It is also home to the monastery of Byzantine Catholic Order of Sisters of St...
in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.