On Sunday, Prime Bishop Anthony Mikovsky will take part in a
ceremonial transition of leadership in the Polish National Catholic
Church that he has witnessed before, but this time his hand will be on
the crozier.
The 44-year-old prelate who was elected to the
Scranton-based church's highest post in October will be officially
installed as the seventh prime bishop in a 3 p.m. ceremony and Mass in
front of an anticipated crowd of 600 people at St. Stanislaus Cathedral.
The
prime bishop, a mathematician, has spent his 13-year priesthood in
Scranton, first as an assistant pastor, then as bishop of the Central
Diocese, which stretches from Albany, N.Y., to Washington, D.C., but has
its seat in the city.
Until February, when Bishop John Mack
will arrive to lead the Central Diocese and the pastorate of St.
Stanislaus, Prime Bishop Mikovsky will serve his old and new roles
simultaneously.
Although he has been an active Polish National
Catholic all his life, he joked during an interview in the St.
Stanislaus rectory on Thursday that "I pray with a lot more fervor and
urgency now."
"There's certainly a lot to worry about being in charge of a denomination and being in charge of souls as well."
The
113-year-old denomination includes about 25,000 members. It is a family
Prime Bishop Mikovsky hopes to grow and invigorate during his tenure.
"The
best way to accomplish that goal is to get people to be more actively
involved in church," he said. "That doesn't just mean showing up on
Sunday. That's part of it. But to get people to think in a religious
way, a moral way."
In recent years, as the population has dwindled
in older ethnic communities, the denomination has developed new
parishes in places like Texas, especially by welcoming new immigrants
whose experiences are not unlike those of the Polish immigrants who
founded the church.
The church, which has a democratic
constitution and a deep lay involvement in its governance, is also
inviting to people who "cherish Catholic belief and Catholic practice
but want to participate in that in a way in which they can be more
involved," he said.
Prime Bishop emeritus Robert Nemkovich, who
will preside over the installation on Sunday before he begins his
retirement in Florida in December, said the democratic ideals that
helped form the denomination in the 1890s are the same ideals that keep
it vital, and make it appealing, today.
"In today's society, it's right on," he said.
Prime
Bishop Nemkovich, 67, who was too old by church law to run for a second
eight-year-term as prime bishop, said Prime Bishop Mikovsky is both
"young and energetic" and "very capable and qualified" for the position.
"It's
an awesome responsibility, I told him, to serve God and his people as
prime bishop," he said, recounting his advice to his friend and
colleague over the last few weeks.
"He has to remember that he is the
first among equals. He is not infallible. And that he needs to seek the
guidance of the Lord every day."
SIC: CV/USA