Bishop Joseph (Žuk)

Bishop Joseph (Žuk) (1872-1934)

Joseph may be spelt Iosef, Iosif, Josip.

Žuk may be spelt Zhuk, Zuk.

Early life of Joseph A Žuk

On 24 December, 1872, Joseph A Žuk was born into a Greek Catholic family in Podkamen (Pidkamin), in the Brody County, near the Lviv capital region of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.

However, in his existing biography, an alternate, perhaps more likely birthplace is given : Pidkamin Village, Rogatin County, Ivano-Frankivsk Province, Ukraine.

Joseph received his primary and secondary education in the place where he was born, and he was raised within the Greek-Catholic Church.

Higher education

After completing his secondary education, Joseph Žuk entered the Stanislavov (Stanyslaviv) Theological Seminary, from which he later graduated. This city is now called Ivano-Frankivsk.

After his graduation, Joseph travelled to Innsbruck in Austria, where he entered the Nicolaihaus seminary, the predecessor of the Collegium Canisianum. It was a Jesuit college near Innsbruck, Austria.

In 1899, while he was still in the midst of his studies, the newly-ordained Bishop Andrei Sheptytsky took Joseph Žuk to serve as his secretary.

In 1904 (by then a priest), Joseph defended successfully his doctoral dissertation in the “Collegium Canisianum”.

Priestly ordination, Roman Catholic, 1899

In 1899, after having ordained him to be a deacon, Bishop Andrei Sheptytsky then ordained Joseph Žuk to be a priest in Austria.

This was the first priestly ordination performed by Bishop Andrei Sheptytsky.

Head of the Lviv Greek Catholic Seminary, 1901

In 1901, after Bishop Andrei Sheptytsky had become the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Lviv, he appointed Father Joseph to be the rector of the Lviv Greek Catholic Seminary.

Mitred Vicar-General of Sarajevo, 1910

Then Father Joseph was elevated to the dignity of “mitrat” (mitre-wearing) and he was appointed to be the Vicar General (chancellor) of Archbishop Joseph Stadler of Sarajevo, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Father Joseph Žuk arrived in Sarajevo on 1 October, 1910, and he remained in this responsibility for several years.

Marriage

Because of destruction of documents, precise dates and places are unavailable.

Regardless, it is known that Priest Joseph Žuk met, and then 1911, he was married to Maria Hecheci in Sarajevo.

A marriage after ordination is rare, but the course of his life is evidence that it was blessed by superior authorities.

From this union, there came to them from the Lord 2 children.

1913, transfer to Vienna

On 1 May, 1913, Father Joseph Žuk was appointed to be the priest in the Church of Saint Barbara in Vienna, Austria.

It was there that he passed through World War I and the difficult years that followed. At about that time, he was decorated for his service by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.

In November, 1917, Father Joseph Žuk was appointed to serve as the first ambassador from the Vatican to Ukraine.

However, after 1918, he and his family were resident in Vienna, Austria.

Bereavement, 1919

In 1919, Father Joseph Žuk's wife Maria fell asleep in the Lord in Vienna, Austria. She had succumbed to the "Spanish Flu" pandemic.

As a consequence, her body was interred in a mass grave with many others, as was done with victims of the pandemic at that time.

Exile

With the changing borders and governments, Pope Benedict XV at the Vatican encouraged Bishop Andrei Sheptytsky and Father Joseph Žuk to emigrate to Canada for the sake of safety. They had been declared “persona non grata” by the new Polish government. They could await in Canada any possible favourable change in the political situation.

Meanwhile, Father Joseph Žuk would assist in the religious needs of the huge Ukrainian Catholic migration. He was advised to prepare himself for appointment to be bishop of all the Eastern Rite Catholics on the continent. With the untimely death of Pope Benedict, and with the elevation of Cardinal Ratti (former Nuncio to Poland) to the papacy as Pope Pius XI, everything changed. Pope Pius XI had been Father Joseph's superior in the Vatican diplomatic corps. They often clashed on delicate matters with Pope Benedict, and with the Nuncio to Germany Eugenio Cardinal Pachelli (Pope Pius XII) often interceding on Father Joseph's behalf.

Move to Canada, 1921

In 1921, Father Joseph Žuk moved to Canada, where he served in various parishes in Montréal, Québec, Toronto, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

At the time when he arrived in Canada, he certainly encountered the presence not only of the Orthodox Christian parishes that belonged to the former Russian Mission in North America of the Church of Russia, but also those that were part of the steadily increasing Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada.

Established in 1918 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, this entity was part of a substantial Ukrainian nationalist movement.

The nationalist movement was very strong as well amongst the Ukrainian Catholic parishes in Canada. The parishioners of most of the Ukrainian Catholic parishes as well as of a large number of the Orthodox Christian parishes had emigrated to Canada from (or were immediately descended from) the same region in which he had been born (in or near Galicia/"Halychina").

1928 : increased pressure from Rome to "Latinise" Ukrainian Catholics

By 1928, the determination of the Vatican to “Latinise” the North American Greek Catholics pushed him to the decision to convert to the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Since he had grown up as a Greek Catholic (Uniat), and since he had a high education, he was well aware that the origin of the Uniats had been in the Orthodox Christian Church. This was an obvious choice for him, especially under these conditions. However, this did not happen immediately.

Move to the USA

By this time, Father Joseph had been transferred to the USA, where he served in parishes in Syracuse, New York, in Passaic, New Jersey, and also in Allentown and in McAdoo, Pennsylvania.

American Greek Catholics, who doubted the canonicity of Vladyka John (Theodorovych) and who clashed with Bishop Konstantin Bogachevsky (Apostolic Exarch and Protonotarius of the Pope of Rome in the USA), held a meeting in 1929 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at which it was decided to establish a Ukrainian Orthodox diocese (with the intention to achieve canonical status).

Conversion to Orthodox Christian Faith

It was at about this time that Father Joseph Žuk was received into the Orthodox Christian Church.

Once he had taken this step, the Vatican authorities declared him excommunicate from the Roman Catholic Church, and they began the process of erasing his record.

Candidate to be a bishop, 1931

In 1931, at a meeting of Ukrainian Greek Catholic parishes in North America, Father Joseph Žuk was elected to be a candidate for episcopal ordination. At the same time, Father Joseph Žuk and the clergy of the same mind did not want to become subordinate to Bishop John (Theodorovych) of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) in the USA, who was not canonically recognised at the time as having been ordained within “apostolic succession”.

This was a particularly difficult time in which to try to find his way into the Orthodox Christian Church in North America. The whole environment of the Orthodox Church on the continent was in a state of uncertainty and confusion. The major cause of this was the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the immediately subsequent persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church. This involved the almost complete severance of communication between Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) and the missionary districts abroad of the Russian Church. In addition, the improvised Holy Synod of Russian Orthodox Bishops in exile (at that time establishing itself in Karlovci, Serbia) was not yet in a stable condition.

The search for canonical jurisdiction led him to the “American Orthodox Catholic Church”, a multi-ethnic and missionary entity. A few years previously, it had been established as a distinct entity, separate from its parent, the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America. It was in part an attempt to find a way to enable the Orthodox Christians of various national backgrounds to be able to be together in North America. Even though its actual situation had by this time become irregular, the American Orthodox Catholic Church might have seemed to be legitimate. It was one of the casualties of the aforementioned very unstable situation.

The overall confusing situation of that period in North America was described in a letter from Bishop Arseny (Chahovtsov) of Winnipeg to Bishop Leonty (Turkevich), dated 24 October, 1931 :

 Everywhere, both in America and Canada, they are organising some kind of new Orthodox churches 
 with Žuk and we, the Orthodox, pray and observe that our sheep are turning to foreign folds. 
 Why do we not come to agreement with other Orthodox bishops, that is, with Greeks, Serbians, 
 Bulgarians, Syro-Arabs and discuss at our Sobors about the ways and means to preserve true, 
 historic (original) Orthodoxy.  I am afraid to die, to leave the Church in such chaos.  
 It is obvious we are ‘bliustiteli’ of the Church.  We are guardians of the Church.

In 1927, Saint Demetrius Church in Carteret, New Jersey, had voted to withdraw from the Greek Catholic diocese, and the parishioners had decided to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It had been in 1927 also that the “American Orthodox Catholic Church” had been established by the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in North America.

Bishop-elect, 1931

In July, 1931, Father Joseph Žuk, by then bishop-elect of the American Orthodox Church, became the pastor of the Saint Demetrius parish in Carteret, New Jersey, and he maintained his residence and office in the rectory.

Episcopal ordination, 1932

On 23-24 September, 1932, Mitred Archpriest Joseph Žuk was ordained to the Holy Episcopate.

The ordination was performed by Archbishop and Primate of the American Orthodox Catholic Church Aftimios (Ofiesh) ; Bishop Sophronius (Beshara) of Los Angeles ; and Bishop Emmanuel (Abou-Hatab) of Montréal (North American Metropolitanate).

Episcopal service

Bishop Joseph (Žuk) was ordained to serve in the American Orthodox Church as the Bishop of New York.

The previously-cited words from a letter of Bishop Arseny indicate that Bishop Joseph had not wasted any time. Rather, even before his ordination he had begun sharing widely his hope for a distinct Ukrainian Orthodox diocese which could be canonically recognised within the whole Orthodox Christian Church.

On 27 September, 1932, Bishop Joseph (Žuk) and Bishop Sophronios (Beshara) assisted Archbishop Aftimios (Ofiesh) in the ordination of Father Ignatius (William Albert Nichols) to be the Vicar-Bishop of Washington, DC.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America, 1933

By that time, Bishop Joseph was nourishing a small number of Ukrainian parishes of the American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC).

After the collapse of the AOCC in 1933, he created the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America, which began to grow quickly.

On 9 November, 1933, Bishop Joseph (Žuk) announced that a day of mourning would be held in the parishes subordinate to him on Sunday, 26 November, 1933. This mourning was to respond to the Great Famine in Ukraine that had become known, in which millions of people had perished. On that day, the parishes were to perform "a memorial service for the souls of our unfortunate brothers and sisters who died a terrible death by starvation in Great Ukraine, and for all those who died in the prisons of the Chekhovka, on the Solovetsky Islands, and in Siberia, far away from their native land”.

It is important in this context to be aware that by this time, Bishop Joseph had begun working with Hamilton Fish, chair of the "Fish Committee" of the the United States Congress regarding the investigation of the activities and influence of the Soviet Union. They were working towards exposing the Holodomor which was happening in Ukraine.

He began negotiations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople regarding the settlement of his canonical position.

At this time also, under his supervision, Priest John Hundiak was selected to become the parish priest of the Saint Demetrius parish.

This pastorate then lasted for about 50 years.

Nevertheless, even though Bishop Joseph (Žuk) was active in these ways, very soon after the episcopal ordination, his health began to deteriorate. Eventually, he went to the south of the USA for warmer weather.

Repose, 1934

On 23 February, 1934, Bishop Joseph (Žuk) fell asleep in the Lord both suddenly and unexpectedly in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where he had gone to visit because of his fragile health.

After his repose, his body was transferred north to New Jersey. The body was met upon its arrival by a delegation of clergymen headed by Archpriest Michael Lysiak, chancellor and pastor of Saint Mary's Ukrainian Church in Perth Amboy ; Priest John Hundiak, secretary of the diocese and pastor of Saint Demetrius Ukrainian Church ; Priest Andrew Ivanyshyn, pastor of Saint Mary's Church, New Britain, Connecticut, and Priest Gregory Pryluk, of Monessen, Pennsylvania.

As the coffin was borne into the Temple, it was escorted by Protopresbyter Nicholas Pidhorecky, pastor of Saint Michael’s Church, Scranton, Pennsylvania, administrator of the diocese.

There, in the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, the body of Bishop Joseph rested in the Temple until the time of the funeral. However, the funeral obsequies were delayed for a day because of very bad weather.

On 27 February, 1934, the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Bishop was offered at Saint Demetrius Cathedral in Carteret, New Jersey, in the evening.

On 28 February, 1934, in the morning, the Memorial Divine Liturgy took place at Saint Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Carteret, New Jersey. It was followed by a Memorial Litiya. The services were presided by Archbishop Athenagoras (Spyrou), head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in North and South America, assisted by many of the more than 50 priests whose parishes were by then included in the diocese of Bishop Joseph (Žuk).

After the funeral services, the body of Bishop Joseph (Žuk) was interred at the Saint Mary Greek Catholic Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

– Bishop of New York 1932-1934. Preceded by : See established. Succeeded by : Metropolitan Bohdan (Shpylka).

Reflections

The fact that Archbishop Athenagoras (Spyrou) of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America presided at the funeral made a public statement that the bishop's petition had been received favourably in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, although the acceptance had not yet been formalised.

On 27 February, 1934, at the evening funeral service, a 10-page letter from Bishop Joseph (Žuk) was opened and read aloud in total. Written on 6 February, when he was aware of what was to come, the bishop had written (in part) :

 I am leaving no riches and estates to you my dears.  I am leaving true love and sincere wishes. 
 I ask of you that my funeral be a most simple one without pomp and grandeur.  I desire that the 
 funeral services be held in our church in Carteret.  I ask you all not to make expenses for flowers. [...] 
 I thank the Carteret parish of St. Demetrius that has shown so much consideration and understanding 
 to me.  To you, my children, I always came with confidence. It was pleasant to be among you.  It will 
 be pleasant to rest near you [...].

In 1936, the Ukrainian parishes that had been cared for by Bishop Joseph (Žuk) were received into the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Thus began the canonical history of the Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America. It is thus also that Bishop Joseph (Žuk) may be considered to be the first bishop of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.

On 3-4 July, 1939, the body of Bishop Joseph (Žuk) was exhumed and transferred to the Clover Leaf Memorial Park, where an Orthodox section was blessed. There, his body was re-interred. A published report followed :

RE-INTERMENT

CARTERET - Rev. Bohdan, bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America, consecrated
the St. Demetrius section of Clover Leaf Memorial Park on Tuesday, and conducted the rites
there for the re-interment of his predecessor, the late Bishop Joseph A Žuk. Over 600 persons
from Carteret and other communities were present.

A cement vault containing the late bishop's body had been transferred to the cemetery the
preceding day from the St. Mary's Greek Catholic Cemetery in Perth Amboy. Over the vault
was placed a canopy and many floral pieces, one of them a blanket from Bishop Bohdan which
covered the whole casket. Other flowers were sent by Clover Leaf Park, St. Demetrius
Ukrainian Church, the Society of the Blessed Virgin of Carteret, St. Mary's Church of
South Plainfield, and other churches and Societies. A guard of honour from St. Demetrius
stood at the grave throughout the night of July 3.

Dedication of the burial grounds was followed by the pontifical requiem liturgy celebrated
by the Bishop, assisted at the altar by Very Rev. Nicholas Pidhorecky, vicar general,
Very Rev. John Hundiak, archpriest of the diocese and pastor of St. Demetrius Church here,
and ten other priests from various points in the diocese, including Utica, N. Y. and St. Louis.

Bishop Bohdan preached in Ukrainian, and Father Hundiak in English, and there was music by
St. Demetrius Choir, directed by Dmitry Zaiworsky. The bishop paid tribute to the late
Bishop Žuk and quoted from his pastoral letter written on his death-bed in St. Petersburg, Florida,
in 1934. The bishop cited the re-interment of the late ecclesiastic's body on Independence Day
as symbolic of the spirit of Christian Democracy preached, by the church. Frank S. Huffman of
the Clover Leaf Memorial Park delivered the deeds to the shrine plot to the Bishop and to
Father Hundiak.

John L. Ginda, president of the board of trustees of St. Demetrius Church headed fill committees.
He was assisted by Michnel Proskura, secretary, John Gural, treasurer, Harry Wolansky,
Harry Hayduk and Nicholas Kira, trustees.

Obituary can be found in Carteret Press, July 7, 1939, page 2.

In 2023, Orest Zuk, Ph.D., grandson of the bishop, contributed this statement :

 The Biden administration is considering a joint ceremony with 
 the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to move his remains from the 
 New Jersey cemetery to the Lavra in Kyiv.  Bishop Žuk was 
 being poisoned with arsenic by a fellow priest and secret 
 communist.  Stalin ordered his murder from Moscow for Red Army 
 Day, 1934.  Stalin was worried that Bishop Žuk would continue 
 to co-operate with the USA Congress on the issue of the holodomor.  
 Bishop Žuk was in regular contact with the head of the 
 congressional foreign relations committee, Hamilton Fish.  
 Shortly after Bishop Žuk's murder in Florida, Franklin Delano  Roosevelt 
was informed and subsequently classified the murder for 75 years, 
 as it would cause him immense embarrassment because he had just 
 recognised the USSR.  The files were declassified in 2010, 
 with the contents being delivered to me by ambassador Taylor 
 in Kyiv along with an apology for lying to me for over five years.

In November, 2023, Mr. Zuk provided this further clarification :

 He was the last casualty of Operation Tryst.  This was Stalin’s program to eliminate enemies 
 overseas.  In 1932, Stalin sent over a false Orthodox priest to Carteret. New Jersey, to poison 
 (arsenic) slowly, and interfere with Bishop Joseph’s work.  Stalin viewed Bishop Joseph as a major 
 threat as the Bishop was working with Congressman Hamilton Fish the head of the foreign 
 relations committee to expose the holodomor.
 
 After FDR recognized the USSR in 1933, Stalin ordered Bishop Žuk to be killed on Red Army Day 
 1934.  An NKVD agent lured Bishop Joseph to the Don Caesar Hotel in St Petersburg where he 
 was murdered with a final dose of arsenic at lunch on Red Army day, 1934. 
 
 A bit later, Federal Law Enforcement uncovered the plot, and presented the findings to FDR.  
 To prevent embarrassing repercussions, FDR classified the details for 75 years.  In 2010 US 
 Ambassador Taylor disclosed the newly declassified material to the Bishop’s family at lunch  
 in Kyiv.
 
 The Biden administration in co-operation with the Ukrainian government and the Orthodox 
 Church of Ukraine are considering reburying Bishop Joseph by exhuming his remains and
 transferring them  from Carteret, New Jersey, to the Pecherska Lavra in Kyiv (as a symbol of
 unity between the countries, and to correct a horrible coverup).  Bishop Joseph was a US 
 citizen when he was murdered.

References

Russian Wikipedia biography

Orthodoxwiki biography

Orthodox History biography

Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine biography

Additional information :

Marunchak, Mikhail H, “Biographical guide to the history of Ukrainians in Canada, Volume 1” (Ottawa : Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences, 1986).

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., “Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America” (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

Wikipedia article about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

Orthodoxwiki article about Bishop Joseph (Žuk) of New Jersey

Church of Constantinople web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Constantinople

Archbishop Athenagoras (Spyrou)

Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky)

Metropolitan John (Theodorovych)

Bishop Leonty (Turkevich)

Bishop Arseny (Chahovtsov)

Metropolitan Bohdan (Shpylka)