Stanisławów [Ivano-Frankivsk], Diocese of the Ruthenians

STANISŁAWÓW [IVANO-FRANKIVSK], Diocese of the Ruthenians (Ukrainian: Stanislaviv). - It was formerly in Poland (Galicia), now in Ukraine (USSR), a suffragan of Lviv.

S. was erected after lengthy negotiations (begun in 1830) on 25 March 1885, by detaching territory from the archdiocese of Lviv. It comprised the south-eastern part of Galicia (except the city of Halych, the metropolitan title of Lviv), and all of Bukovina. After the First World War, since Bukovina had been annexed to Romania, the Holy See erected for this part of the diocese an apostolic administration, which in 1930, in accordance with the Romanian Concordat, was incorporated into the then-erected diocese of Maramures, while nevertheless retaining a special general vicariate of the Ukrainian language. The first diocesan Synod was celebrated in 1897, the Seminary was opened in 1907.

The first bishop of S. was the distinguished theologian and historian Julian Peleš (v.). The second was Julian Kujilovskyj (1891-99), subsequently elected metropolitan of Lviv. The third bishop was Andrew Šeptyckyj (1899-1900), later metropolitan of Lviv (v.); the fourth was Gregory Chomyšyn (1904-47), deported by the Bolsheviks to Russia (in 1945) and there died as a confessor of the faith. In 1946 the diocese of S. too was officially declared schismatic and an apostate priest (later bishop, Anthony Pelveckyj) occupied the episcopal see. From then on the persecution began; the Catholic diocese in its organizational structure was destroyed.

As of 1938 the diocese had: 886 churches, of which 455 were parishes, 551 priests, 90 seminarians, 1,044,992 Eastern Catholics.

Michele Lacko