Bishop Franciszek "Francis" Hodur (1 April 1866 – 16 February 1953) was the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

and first Prime Bishop of the

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC; , PNKK) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish Americans that is part of the Union of Scranton. The PNCC is not in communion the Roman Catholic Church. S ...

(PNCC). Ordained by the Roman Catholic church in 1893, Hodur served two parishes in the Scranton diocese before he was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

five years later in 1898 for his release of a National Church program, which called for reformation to canon laws of temporal goods. His excommunication was also a result of his rejection of the dogmas of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

and supremacy after the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. With a congregation of approximately 200 families, he founded the St. Stanislaus Parish in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

and celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

vernacular of the congregation, instead of Latin, as was common in the Roman Catholic church. Hodur was consecrated a bishop in 1907 with

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

by the bishops of

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...

and went on to expand the episcopate of the PNCC to manage diocesan affairs and ordain priests therein. Under Hodur, the church expanded to 245

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

across the United States and Poland. After his death in 1953, he was succeeded by Leon Growchowski, whom he had consecrated in 1924.

Early life and Priesthood

Hodur was born on

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Sunday, April 1, 1866, to Jan and Maria Hodur in the village of

Żarki Żarki () is a town in Myszków County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,556 inhabitants (2019). The history of Żarki dates back to the early 14th century, as the village was first mentioned in documents from the 1320s. For centuries, Żark ...

, 35 miles from

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland. He enrolled as a seminarian in Kraków and studied at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. He left Europe in December 1892 for the United States of America, where he hoped to serve Polish immigrants. Hodur made his way to the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was sent to the seminary at St. Vincent's Benedictine Archabbey in Latrobe. On August 19, 1893, he was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church by Bishop

William O'Hara William O'Hara (April 14, 1816 – February 3, 1899) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania, serving from 1868 until his death in 1899. He founded St. Thom ...

.Kuliczkowski, Czeslaw, ''Father Franciszek Hodur'', The Bishop Hodur History and Archives Commission, Central Diocese, Polish National Catholic Church, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 2002.

Break with Rome

When issues of contention arose between Polish Catholic immigrants in Scranton, Nanticoke, Wilkes-Barre, Plymouth, Duryea, and Dickson City, and their Irish-American bishop

Michael Hoban Brian Michael Stanislaus Hoban (7 October 1921 in British Guiana – 6 July 2003), was a teacher of classics, and Headmaster of Harrow School from 1971–81. His father died when he was a small child and he spent two years in an orphana ...

, Hodur traveled to Rome in January 1898 to seek redress from the Holy See but was unsuccessful, being excommunicated by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. Returning to the United States, he met with the parishioners that he had represented and made known his decision not to remain under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church.Fox, Paul, ''The Polish National Catholic Church'', School of Christian Living, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 24-26.

Episcopate

Hodur was consecrated a bishop on September 29, 1907, by Gerardus Gul, the

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

Archbishop of Utrecht, the Netherlands, assisted by Bishop Jan Van Thiel of Haarlem and Bishop Peter Spitz of Deventer. He then served as the first Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church and consecrated other bishops, ensuring the maintenance of

. He died in Scranton. His funeral was attended by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Charles L. Street, suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, and Bishop Frederick J. Warnecke of the Diocese of Bethlehem, along with other prominent Episcopal Church leaders. He was succeeded as Prime Bishop by

Leon Grochowski Leon Grochowski (11 October 1886 – 17 July 1969) was the second Presiding Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church in the United States, Canada and Poland and early American radio evangelist. Born in Skupie, Poland, he came to the United ...

References

1866 births 1953 deaths American Old Catholic bishops Jagiellonian University alumni People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from Chrzanów County Polish emigrants to the United States Polish Old Catholic bishops Prime Bishops of the Polish National Catholic Church Founders of new religious movements {{US-bishop-stub