Background
Stephen Soter Ortynsky was born on January 29, 1866, at Ortynyczi, Galicia (now Ortynychi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine), of old Ruthenian stock, the son of John and Mary (Kulczycka) Ortynsky.
Stephen Soter Ortynsky was born on January 29, 1866, at Ortynyczi, Galicia (now Ortynychi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine), of old Ruthenian stock, the son of John and Mary (Kulczycka) Ortynsky.
Educated in the public school and gymnasium at Drohobycz and in the University of Krakow, from which Stephen received the doctorate in divinity, he was ordained, July 18, 1891, a monk of the Order of St. Basil the Great.
As an eloquent preacher in the Slavic tongues and in German, as a writer, as a professor of philosophy in the university at Lawrow, Galicia, as a nationalist patriot, and as hegumenos of the monastery of St. Paul, Michaelovka, Ortynsky attained fame throughout Galicia, Bukovina, Hungary, and the Ukraine. Because of the increased immigration of people of these lands and of adherents of the Roman Catholic Church who followed the Greek rite, it was held desirable in Rome that a bishop be sent to the United States who would have special care of the priests and congregations of Greek Catholics as a safeguard against the religious and political proselyting activities of Greek Orthodox and Pan-Slavic agents. Hence, Dr. Ortynsky was appointed an auxiliary to the Latin bishops with the title of bishop of Daulia and with headquarters at Philadelphia. On May 12, 1907, he was consecrated by Archbishop Szeptycky of Lemberg.
In the rather difficult position which Ortynsky occupied he displayed wisdom and ability. He was tactful in dealing with the various bishops and in preventing any feeling of conflicting jurisdiction. His work among the Ruthenians and Ukrainians was marked with a high degree of success. He established parishes, built schools, counteracted Greek Orthodox propaganda, fostered Americanization, fought radicalism, and introduced the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great. These achievements led to the establishment of a Ukrainian Greek Catholic diocese and Ortynsky's appointment as Greek Catholic bishop for the United States with St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Philadelphia (which he established in 1909) as his cathedral in 1913. He founded St. Basil's Orphanage for dependent children and established for his countrymen the fraternal order "Providence, " with its organ Ameryka, to which he was an active contributor.
During the war he was deeply concerned over russian atrocities in Galicia and the imprisonment of his patron, Metropolitan Szeptycky. He published an appeal in the form of two courageous pastoral letters (1915), which condemned the Czar's Pan-Slavic crusade of "liberation of Slavic peoples" while he trampled on their churches and undermined their nationalism. At the time of his death he had charge of a half million Greek Catholics, 152 churches, and 150 parish schools.
