Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat Editorial. Leader’s Impact was Far-Reaching: Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko Touched Many Lives
Friends, parishioners, clergy, and members of the Johnstown community will gather today to celebrate the life of Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko. The long-time leader of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA died Sunday of cancer at Windber Hospice. His funeral will be at 10.00 EDT today at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, 300 Garfield St, Johnstown PA. Many will share tears, smiles, and memories. He was a great man whose contributions to our region were many. Those called to a life in the clergy leave behind at their passing many that were touched by their hard work, wisdom, and passion.
For Smisko, the trail of impact winds well beyond the doors of the churches he served to include many other faith groups and the local community. “The church at large was very, very important to him”, said the Very Rev Protopresbyter Frank P Miloro, diocesan chancellor at Christ the Saviour. The Metropolitan’s mission naturally included the nurturing and educating of his flock, and the extension of the traditions of his church. However, he also believed his calling included the bridging of gaps and healing of differences among those within his faith, and reaching outward to others. Smisko’s connections with the greater community were evident in those who visited with him during his final days. Those at his bedside included many of his closest friends and family members as well as his own parishioners. Not only them, but clergy from other church backgrounds also visited the room, and by those who knew Smisko through community activities as much as through a shared spirituality.
The Metropolitan wrote a piece for this newspaper that appeared in our August 2010 “Homelands” feature on Carpatho-Russian immigrants, and illustrated his understanding that heritage and faith are tightly entwined. Under the headline “Our religious beliefs are in our blood”, Smisko wrote:
Our ethnic traditions include a poor immigrant heritage and memories of holy night Christmas, Lenten, and Easter customs. Our ethnic customs include traditions of respect for grandparents, elders, and humble devotion to the church and her clergy. Our ethnic traditions include our memory of our grandfathers in the mountains and in the pastures of Europe, the farmlands, and the villages. It’s always been our intent to pass on the spirit of this legacy so that all who possess our Carpathian background might be able to share the many good things we have inherited with others.
Smisko was successful in communicating his message of family, history, and faith to those in his own church and diocese. All the same, his message reached outward and touched the hearts and lives of many who were not of the Russian Orthodox faith. The following words appeared in his obituary:
True to his patron Saint, Nicholas the wonderworker, His Eminence was perhaps best known and respected for his pastoral sensitivity, generosity of spirit, and compassion for the sick and suffering and the less fortunate. In the words of St Paul, He fought the good fight, he finished the course, and he kept the faith. May his memory be eternal.
Nicholas Smisko was born in Perth Amboy NJ, where he will be laid to rest next week. On the other hand, he attended seminary in Johnstown and lived out most of his life of service here in the Cambria-Somerset region. For that, we are all blessed.
18 March 2011
Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat
http://tribune-democrat.com/editorials/x1498154960/Leaders-impact-was-far-reaching
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Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos (1936-2011), First Hierarch of the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese of the USA, seen in happier days…
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Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat Obituary: Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko
His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko, of Johnstown PA, First Hierarch of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), reposed in the Lord on Sunday, 13 March 2011, after a courageous battle with cancer. Born on 23 February 1936, to Anna (Totin) and Andrew Smisko, Metropolitan Nicholas is survived by his brothers, George, and wife, Rosemary; and Michael, and wife, Maryann; nieces, RoseAnn and Melissa; and great-nephew, Hudson.
A priestly vocation from St. John the Baptist Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church, Perth Amboy NJ, after graduating from Perth Amboy High School, he entered Christ the Saviour Seminary in Johnstown PA to study for the Holy Priesthood. Upon graduation, he was ordained 11 January 1959, by Bishop Orestes Chornock in Perth Amboy NJ. His first pastorate was at Ss Peter and Paul parish, Windber PA, where he served until 1962. A new phase of his life began when he embarked on a year’s study at the renowned Patriarchal Theological Academy at Halki, Istanbul. During his stay in the city, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras Spyrou assigned the young priest to serve the spiritual needs of the large Slavic Orthodox community in the Galata section of Istanbul. He also travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East, visiting the sacred sites of the Holy Land and living for a time on Mount Athos, the ancient monastic centre of the Orthodox Church. Upon his return to the United States, he resumed his studies at the University of Youngstown (OH), and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (PA). Then, he became the Prefect of Discipline at Christ the Saviour Seminary in Johnstown PA, and served several parishes in the Johnstown area, before relocating in 1971 to New York NY, where he served as pastor of St Nicholas parish.
He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite in 1976; later, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople elected him as Auxiliary Bishop for the Ukrainian Orthodox Diocese of America, and he underwent episcopal consecration on 13 March 1983. Following the death of Bishop John Martin in September of 1984, Bishop Nicholas became the third ruling hierarch of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese and His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos Koukouzis installed him on 19 April 1985 in Christ the Saviour Cathedral. He was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan by His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Archontonis on 24 November 1997.
During his many years of service to Christ and His Holy Church, His Eminence has proven to be a worthy labourer in the Vineyard of the Lord. In recognition for his labours, he was the recipient of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Award, given by the Orthodox Church of Czechia and Slovakia, the St Sava Award from Patriarch Pavle Stojčević of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline MA. Many noted His Eminence’s love for his flock and the liturgical services of the church, and his devotion to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
He was well-respected in Orthodox and Ecumenical circles as being a promoter of peace and mutual understanding amongst all Christ-loving people. True to his patron Saint, Nicholas the Wonderworker, His Eminence was perhaps best known and respected for his pastoral sensitivity, generosity of spirit, and compassion for the sick and suffering and the less fortunate. In the words of St Paul, He fought the good fight, he finished the course, and he kept the faith. May his memory be eternal.
His Eminence will lie in state from 13.00 EDT Wednesday until the time of a Pannikhida service at 19.00 EDT and from 10.00 EDT Thursday until a Parastas at 19.00 EDT at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, 300 Garfield St, where a funeral service will be held at 10.00 EDT Friday. Viewing and committal will both be held in Perth Amboy NJ. Because of the Lenten season, the cathedral won’t accept flowers. In lieu of flowers, because of his love and concern for the clergy, you may make donations in his memory to the Priests’ Pension Fund, c/o ACROD, 312 Garfield St, Johnstown PA 15906. Moskal Funeral Home, West End, is in charge of arrangements.
14 March 2011
Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat
http://tribune-democrat.com/obituaries/x1498151870/Metropolitan-Nicholas-Smisko
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