Prime bishop ready to take the lead

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