Bishop Michael Rusnak 100th birthday
Today marks 100 years of the birth of a man who is responsible for building our Eparchy from the ground up. Bishop Michael was born August 21, 1921 in Beaverdale, Pennsylvania. During the trying times in the US, Bishop Michael left for Slovakia with his mom and finished his studies. He lived through the hardship of our church in the 1950’s, including time in prison. Being a US citizen he was able to escape back to USA and from there crossed into Canada. He served at the Nativity of the Mother of God (now the Cathedral) and in 1964 was named auxiliary bishop of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Toronto and a Visitator for the Slovaks of Byzantine Rite in Canada. He is the first Eparch to have Slovak inscription in his coat of arms: “Aby všetci jedno boli” - “So all can be one (united).”
In October 1980, our Eparchy was created and Bishop Michael was appointed as the first Eparch. He continued to serve our people all over Ontario and Canada.
In 1996, at the age of 75, his resignation was accepted by the Holy Father and he quietly withdrew to live his well earned retirement in the Ukrainian Care Centre in Toronto. He was able to attend the installation of his successor, Bishop John Pazak, CSsR, in 2001 and enjoyed being with the youth from Canada and Slovakia during World Youth Days 2002.
Bishop Michael returned to the Lord on January 16, 2003 and is resting at the Holy Cross cemetery in Thornhill, with the rest of the bishops from the Archdiocese of Toronto. Thank you for all you did for us, Bishop Michael. Eternal memory and Vičnaja pamjať!