Basil or Vasiľ Hopko (21 April 1904,

Hrabské Hrabské (, ) is a village and municipality in Bardejov District in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia. History In history, historical records the village was first mentioned in 1338. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 230 ...

— 23 July 1976) was an

eparch Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

(

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

) of the

Slovak Greek Catholic Church The Slovak Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia, is a ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church based in Slovakia. As a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular ch ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 14 September 2003 for his

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

under

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

occupation.

Life

Basil Hopko was born in the Rusyn village of

, in the

Sáros County Sáros (- Hungarian, Slovak: ''Šariš'', Latin: ''comitatus Sarossiensis'', German: ''Scharosch'') was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northeastern Slovakia. Today, Šariš is only an in ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(present-day eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). His parents, Basil and Anna née Petrenko, were landless

peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising f ...

. While Hopko was still an infant, his father was struck by lightning and died. His mother left him in care of her father, while she emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in search of work. When Hopko was 7 he was sent to live with his uncle Demeter Petrenko, a Greek Catholic priest. He attended the Evangelical gymnasium in

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

, then

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, graduating with honors in 1923. Hopko studied at the Eparchial Seminary in Prešov. He had dreams of joining his mother in America, and of pursuing his priestly vocation there, but the cost of recurring health problems left him unable to afford to travel. He later wrote that when he finally decided to stay and to serve in his homeland, he was suddenly cured, and realized he had been given a sign about his calling. He was ordained a Greek Catholic priest on 3 February 1929. He served as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

(1929–1936) at the Greek Catholic parish in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, the Czechoslovak capital, where he was known for his focus on the poor, the unemployed, and students. His mother returned from America after 22 years and rejoined her son in Prague, becoming his housekeeper at the parish rectory. In 1936 he returned to teach in Prešov's Eparchial Seminary, and was awarded the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

. He had already begun graduate studies at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

while in Prague, and he completed his Doctor of Theology in 1940 at

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. In Prešov he headed the

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

's publishing division, where he edited a monthly periodical. After World War II, a growing Soviet Communist influence caused Bishop

Pavol Peter Gojdič Pavol is a masculine Slovak given name, equivalent to Paul. Notable people with the name * Pavol Adami (1739–1795), Slovak scientist and scholar, one of the first veterinarians * Pavol Bajza (born 1991), Slovak footballer * Pavol Baláž ( ...

of Prešov to ask the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

for an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

to help defend the Greek Catholic Church. Hopko was appointed to the post on 11 May 1947. The Communist take-over of Czechoslovakia wrought havoc on the Greek Catholic Church. In 1950 it was officially abolished by the state as a religious organization, and its assets were turned over to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. Bishop Gojdič was arrested and was imprisoned for life. Bishop Hopko was arrested on 28 April 1950 and kept on starvation rations and tortured for weeks. Eventually he was tried and sentenced to 15 years for the "subversive activity" of staying loyal to Rome. He was repeatedly transferred from prison to prison. His health, physical and emotional, failed, and in 1964 he was transferred to a home for the aged. He never recovered his health. During the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

the Czechoslovak government legally cleared Hopko on 13 June 1968 and the Prešov Eparchy was restored. However, activists insisted that a Slovak bishop be appointed to the see, and the

named the Slovak priest

Ján Hirka The Most Reverend Ján Hirka (16 November 1923 – 10 April 2014) was a bishop of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church. Life Hirka was born in Abranovce, Abranovce, Czechoslovakia and was ordination, ordained a priest (Catholic Church), priest on 31 ...

as Bishop Hopko's successor. Bishop Hopko died in Prešov at age 72 on 23 July 1976. He was buried at the

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Prešov The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist () in Prešov is a Greek Catholic cathedral, the seat of Archbishop of Prešov and the metropolitan church of Slovak Greek Catholic Province. Former eparchy bishops and martyrs Pavol Gojdič and Vasiľ ...

. Parish of Prešov website, ''Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Prešov''
/ref> On 14 September 2003 Pope John Paul II beatified him at a ceremony in Bratislava, Slovakia.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopko, Basil 1904 births 1976 deaths People from Bardejov District People from the Kingdom of Hungary Rusyn people Slovak Greek Catholic bishops Slovak beatified people 20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs Eastern Catholic beatified people Comenius University alumni Czechoslovak prisoners and detainees Slovak prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Socialist Republic rehabilitations 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Beatifications by Pope John Paul II