Alexis Toth | |
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| Confessor and Defender of Orthodoxy | |
| Born | March 14, 1853 Kobylnice,Austrian Empire |
| Died | May 7, 1909 (age 56) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | 1994 byOrthodox Church in America |
| Majorshrine | Saint Tikhon's Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania |
| Feast | Commemorated onMay 7 |
Alexis Georgievich Toth[a] (alsoAlexis of Wilkes-Barre; March 14, 1853 – May 7, 1909) was aRuthenian priest who later became aRussian Orthodox missionary in theUnited States.
He was born in the village ofKobylnice inSlovakia, nearPrešov, belonging then toSáros County of theKingdom of Hungary (part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire). Toth belonged to theRusyn (Ruthenian) ethnic group that inhabited the Carpathian region.
Toth was originally aGreek Catholic priest. After being rejected by theAmerican Catholic bishopJohn Ireland, he and many of his parishioners converted toEastern Orthodoxy, leading to the reception of an estimated 20,000 Eastern Catholics into theRussian Orthodox Church. This movement significantly contributed to the growth of Orthodoxy in the United States and the eventual formation of theOrthodox Church in America. He wasglorified as a saint by the Orthodox Church in 1994.
Alexis Toth was born to George and Cecilia Toth (or Tovt) on March 14, 1853, inKobylnice, nearPrešov, inSáros County of theKingdom of Hungary (then part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire). He belonged to theRusyn (Ruthenian) ethnic group, which inhabited the Carpathian highlands. Having completed his primary schooling, he attended aLatin Catholic seminary for one year, followed by three years in aGreek Catholic seminary and later atCharles University in Prague, where he graduated with a degree intheology.
Toth married Rosalie Mihalics on March 12, 1878, and wasordained to thepriesthood in 1878 byBishop Nicholas Toth, the Greek Catholic Bishop of Prešov. Following the death of his wife and child a few years later, he served in local parishes, asdiocesan chancellor, and as professor and director at the Greek Catholic seminary of Prešov. In 1889, Fr. Alexis' bishop received a petition from theRuthenian Catholic Church in the United States, asking that Toth be sent to them as a priest. He arrived on November 15, 1889, and by the 27th of that month was holding services at St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church inMinneapolis, Minnesota. Finding the church barely furnished and deeply in debt, he set about rectifying the situation, ultimately bringing the parish to a place of fiscal stability whilst never drawing a salary.
As an Eastern Catholic, Toth honored the custom of paying a visit to the localLatin Church bishop in his area, since there was no Eastern Catholic bishop serving in the United States at that time. The ordinary of theArchdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis wasJohn Ireland, who had been attempting to "Americanize" German and other Catholic immigrants, and was hostile to ethnic parishes such as the one in which Toth served.[1]
When speaking of their meeting, Toth later claimed that Ireland became angry and threw Toth's priestly credentials onto his table while ardently protesting his presence in the city. Toth reported that Ireland said he did not consider Toth or his bishop to be truly Catholic,[2] in clear contradiction of theUnion of Uzhhorod and papal decrees to the contrary.[3] Toth reported that the conversation became more heated as it progressed, with both men losing their tempers.[4] Ireland refused to give Toth permission to serve as a priest in Minneapolis, and furthermore ordered his parishes and priests not to have anything to do with the Ruthenian Catholic priest or his parishioners. Although Toth sent letters to his bishop inHungary, detailing his experience and requesting specific instructions, he reportedly never received a reply.[5]
Toth came to believe that he and other Eastern Catholic priests in North America were to be recalled toEurope, and their parishioners folded into existing Western Catholic congregations in their respective cities.[6]
Having heard nothing from his own bishop, he and other Eastern Catholic priests who had shared similar experiences began to cast about for a solution to their dilemma. In December 1890, they contacted theRussianconsul inSan Francisco, California, asking to be put in touch with aRussian Orthodox bishop. Correspondence and personal meetings with Bishop Vladimir Sokolovsky of San Francisco followed, culminating in Toth's decision to formally enter the Russian Orthodox Church in March 1892. Toth was accompanied by 361 fellow Eastern Catholics; thousands more would follow in the years to come, largely due to his own efforts to evangelize them toward this move.[7]
Following his conversion to Orthodoxy, Toth tirelessly preached his new faith to other Eastern Catholics in North America. This, combined with further demands by U.S.Latinbishops againstEastern Rite parishes facilitated the conversion of over 20,000 Eastern-rite Catholics to Russian Orthodoxy by the time Toth died in 1909. TheOrthodox Church in America has claimed that by 1916 the Latin Catholic Church had lost 163 Eastern Rite parishes, with over 100,000faithful, to the Russian missionary diocese.[8]
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Toth was elevated to the rank ofprotopresbyter later in life, continuing his efforts to convert the Eastern Catholics of North America to Eastern Orthodoxy. He died on May 7, 1909, inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and was honored with a special shrine atSt. Tikhon's Monastery inSouth Canaan, Pennsylvania. On May 29, 1994, Toth wasglorified as Saint Alexis of Wilkes-Barre by the Orthodox Church in America.[1]
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