Francis Hodur | |
|---|---|
| Prime Bishop of the PNCC | |
 A 1907 portrait of Hodur. | |
| Native name | Franciszek Hodur |
| Successor | Leon Grochowski |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | August 19, 1893 by William O'Hara of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Consecration | September 29, 1907 by Gerardus Gul of the Old Catholic Church |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1, 1866 Żarki, Gmina Libiąż, Poland |
| Died | February 16, 1953 (aged 86) Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Buried | St. Stanislaus Cathedral Cemetery [1] 41°22′36″N 75°41′02″W / 41.376789°N 75.683988°W |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Education | Jagiellonian University |
Bishop Franciszek "Francis" Hodur (1 April 1866 – 16 February 1953) was the founder and first Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC). Ordained by the Roman Catholic church in 1893, Hodur served two parishes in the Scranton diocese before he was excommunicated five years later in 1898 for his release of a National Church program, which called for reformation to canon laws of temporal goods.[2] His excommunication was also a result of his rejection of the dogmas of papal infallibility and supremacy after the Council of Trent.[3] With a congregation of approximately 200 families, he founded the St. Stanislaus Parish in Scranton, Pennsylvania and celebrated Mass in the Polish vernacular of the congregation, instead of Latin, as was common in the Roman Catholic church.[2] Hodur was consecrated a bishop in 1907 with apostolic succession by the bishops of Old Catholic Church and went on to expand the episcopate of the PNCC to manage diocesan affairs and ordain priests therein.[4] Under Hodur, the church expanded to 245 parishes across the United States and Poland.[5] After his death in 1953, he was succeeded by Leon Growchowski, whom he had consecrated in 1924.
- ^ "Franciszek Hodur (1866-1953) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
- ^ a b "Our History – Polish National Catholic Church". www.pncc.org. The Polish National Catholic Church. Archived from the original on 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
- ^ Jozefski, Jeffrey M. (2008). "The Role of Polish and American Identities in the Future of the Polish National Catholic Church". Polish American Studies. 65 (2): 27–52. doi:10.2307/27652573. ISSN 0032-2806. JSTOR 27652573. S2CID 254432753.
- ^ Swiderski, Gregory (1967). "Polish-American Polish National Catholic Bishops". Polish American Studies. 24 (1): 35–38. ISSN 0032-2806. JSTOR 20147741.
- ^ "Bishop Francis Hodur | Central Diocese of the PNCC". www.centraldiocesepncc.org. 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2020-10-01.