History of the Eparchy of Passaic
The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic is one of the eparchies, or dioceses, of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. Its faithful are Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine tradition, rooted historically in the Carpatho-Rusyn, Slovak, Hungarian, Croatian, and related Greek Catholic communities of Central and Eastern Europe.
By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many Byzantine Catholics had immigrated to the United States, settling especially in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and other parts of the East Coast. They brought with them their Eastern Christian faith, their liturgical chant, their devotion to the Mother of God and the saints, and the customs of the Byzantine Church in communion with Rome. As these immigrant communities grew, parishes were founded throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to serve the spiritual needs of the faithful.
In 1924, the Holy See established an apostolic exarchate for Greek Catholics in the United States who were not of Ukrainian jurisdiction. This exarchate eventually became the foundation of the Byzantine Catholic Church in America. Over time, the Church grew beyond its original immigrant centers, and the need for a stronger local structure became clear.
In 1963, the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States was reorganized, and the Eparchy of Passaic was established to serve Byzantine Catholics along the East Coast. Saint Michael the Archangel Church in Passaic, New Jersey, was designated as the cathedral, and Bishop Stephen J. Kocisko became the first Eparch of Passaic.
The new eparchy originally embraced a large territory stretching from New England through the Mid-Atlantic and into the southeastern United States. Its mission was to strengthen parish life, support clergy and religious vocations, preserve the Byzantine Catholic liturgical and spiritual tradition, and serve a faithful people who were becoming increasingly American while remaining deeply connected to their Eastern Christian inheritance.
In 1968, Bishop Kocisko was transferred to Pittsburgh, and Bishop Michael J. Dudick became the second Eparch of Passaic. During his long episcopacy, the eparchy continued to develop its pastoral, liturgical, educational, and administrative life. Parishes and missions served both historic Byzantine Catholic communities and new faithful attracted to the beauty of the Byzantine tradition.
In 1969, the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh was established as a self-governing Eastern Catholic metropolitan church in the United States. From that time forward, the Eparchy of Passaic has served as one of the suffragan eparchies of the Metropolia, together with the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and, later, the Eparchies of Parma and Phoenix.
After Bishop Dudick’s retirement, Bishop Andrew Pataki served as the third Eparch of Passaic from 1995 to 2007. He was followed by Bishop William C. Skurla, who served from 2007 until 2012, when he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh. In 2013, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Kurt R. Burnette as the fifth Eparch of Passaic. He was consecrated and enthroned at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Passaic.
Today, the Eparchy of Passaic continues to serve Byzantine Catholics across a wide eastern territory, with parishes and missions in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and beyond. Its communities include both descendants of the original immigrant faithful and many others who have discovered the Byzantine Catholic Church through its liturgy, theology, music, iconography, and spiritual life.
The story of the Eparchy of Passaic is therefore not only a story of immigration and preservation, but also of mission. Rooted in the faith of the Carpathian mountains and planted in American soil, the eparchy continues to proclaim the Gospel through the beauty of the Byzantine tradition, inviting all to “come and see.”