Blessed Basil Hopko
Blessed Basil Hopko (born April 21, 1904 AD in Hrabské, Slovakia; died July 23, 1976 AD in Prešov, Slovakia) was a Slovak Greek Catholic auxiliary bishop who was imprisoned and tortured by the Communist Czechoslovak regime and is venerated as a confessor-martyr. Born in Hrabské in eastern Slovakia, he was ordained a Greek Catholic priest and then bishop. After the Communist coup of 1948 in Czechoslovakia, he was arrested in 1950, subjected to brutal interrogation and torture, and imprisoned for 15 years. He was released in 1964 in broken health and died in 1976. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Bratislava, Slovakia, on September 14, 2003. His feast day is July 23.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Basil Hopko
| Blessed Basil Hopko | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 23 |
| Profession | Greek Catholic auxiliary bishop of Prešov; confessor; prisoner of the Communist regime; Slovak bishop; Rusyn Greek Catholic tradition |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Catholic); Eparchy of Prešov; Slovak Greek Catholic tradition; Rusyn Catholic culture; martyrs of Communist persecution |
| Patronage | Slovakia; Eastern Slovakia; Prešov; Greek Catholics; prisoners; those tortured for their faith; victims of Communist persecution; bishops imprisoned for the faith |
| Attributes | Greek Catholic bishop's vestments (Eastern rite, including Byzantine pallium/omophorion); a prison cell (Communist imprisonment); cross; the Byzantine liturgical book; Prešov cityscape |
| Birthplace | Hrabské, Bardejov District, Slovakia |
| Death Place | Prešov, Slovakia |
| Cause of Death | Natural death, hastened by years of Communist imprisonment and torture; died July 23, 1976, in Prešov, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia); he was 72 years old; he had survived 15 years of imprisonment (1950–1964) under the Communist regime, during which he was subjected to brutal interrogation, torture, and show-trial proceedings; the physical and psychological damage inflicted during his imprisonment permanently damaged his health; he lived for 12 more years after his release in 1964, but in deteriorating health; he died in Prešov on July 23, 1976; Pope John Paul II beatified him in Bratislava on September 14, 2003 |
| Primary Shrine | Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Prešov, Slovakia — Greek Catholic Eparchy; July 23 feast; Slovak Greek Catholic pilgrimage |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman calendar; July 23 feast in Slovakia and in the Greek Catholic Church |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar |
Biography
Basil Hopko was born April 21, 1904, in Hrabské in the Bardejov district of eastern Slovakia, into the Rusyn Greek Catholic community of the Prešov region. He was ordained a Greek Catholic priest and later became auxiliary bishop of Prešov.
When the Communist regime took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, it declared the Greek Catholic Church illegal and attempted to force its merger with the Russian Orthodox Church. Basil Hopko was arrested in 1950 and subjected to brutal interrogation and torture. He was tried in a show trial on June 9, 1951, sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.
He was released in 1964 in permanently broken health. He lived for 12 more years in Prešov, dying on July 23, 1976.
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Bratislava on September 14, 2003 — the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Hrabské, Bardejov District, Slovakia
Death location: Prešov, Slovakia
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Feast day
July 23
Veneration
Blessed Basil Hopko (1904–1976) was a Slovak Greek Catholic auxiliary bishop of Prešov who was imprisoned and tortured by the Communist Czechoslovak regime (1950–1964), subjected to a show trial, and permanently damaged in health — a confessor-martyr of the Greek Catholic Church's persecution in the Soviet bloc. Beatified John Paul II, Bratislava, September 14, 2003. Feast July 23.
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