Past Bishops of the
Central Diocese of the PNCC
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. -- 1 Peter 5:1-3
Rt. Rev. Bernard Nowicki
Rt. Rev. Bernard Nowicki took the helm of the Central Diocese of the PNCC, as well as the mother church of the PNCC, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, on August 15, 2012.
A native of western New York, the Rt. Rev. Bernard Nowicki hails from the east side of Buffalo, New York where Polish immigrants had settled. It is in this locale and around the Church that many of Bishop Nowicki’s most meaningful activities and efforts in his life revolved.
The parish church that formed his spirituality and much of who he is today was the Polish National Catholic Cathedral on Sobieski Street under the patronage of the Holy Mother of the Rosary. Parish life at the Cathedral was rich with spiritual and cultural opportunities that engaged Bishop Nowicki. Activities he was involved in included acolyte service, membership in the boys, youth and men’s societies, along with membership in the Cathedral adult and men’s choirs. He participated in the Polish dancing and stage presentations including Polish language declamations and poetry recitations at celebratory occasions.
Before assuming the pastorate at Heart of Jesus in Bayonne,NJ, the then Father Nowicki, served as the pastor of two parishes in the Pittsburgh area. During this time he met a graduate student in voice at Carnegie Mellon University, Barbara Ann Liberasky, who later became his wife. They have a daughter, Berit Elizabeth, who resides in Massachusetts.
Bishop Nowicki is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where he majored in psychology and of the Giralamo Savonarola Theological Seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church where he prepared for the priesthood. He did post-graduate work at Nashotah House, an Anglo-Catholic seminary of the Episcopal Church, and earned a masters degree in divinity from Drew University, and a Masters degree in social work with concentrations in group work and in alcohol and drug addiction studies from Rutgers University.
Several vehicles provided by the PNCC allowed Bishop Nowicki to serve in capacities that aligned with his interest in Polish music, both sacred and secular. These include the chaplaincy of the NY-NJ Seniorate United Choirs, a chapter of the PNC National United Choirs. Within that national choral organization, he served as one of the Chairs of the NUC Hymnal Commission which produced a bi-lingual collection of Polish hymnody. For many years, Bishop Nowicki was also an active participant in the Bard Choir of Pittsburgh, an NUC singing group within the Pittsburgh Seniorate specializing in Polish folk music. Other church and community Polish organizations that he is affiliated with include the Polish National Union of America, the Spojnia Credit Union, the General Pulaski Memorial Parade Committee, Inc. as the 2012 Marshall of the Bayonne Contingent in the Pulaski Day Parade, and the Kosciuszko Foundation which accorded him the honor of offering an invocation at its Ball at the Waldorf Astoria.
Among his other responsibilities within the Church, Bishop Nowicki has served as an instructor in pastoral theology at the Giralamo Savonarola Theological Seminary, and currently holds a position on the Church Synod’s standing Commission on Liturgy. He is the ecumenical liaison to the interfaith organization, Christian Churches Together, and he continues in his work as a member of the Polish National Catholic – Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission and will ex officio take his place on various standing commissions of the General Synod.
Bishop Bernard served as Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese until his retirement in October 2022. The Prime Bishop requested that Bishop Bernard stay on as Diocesan Administrator which he did through May 31, 2024 when he was succeeded by the Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky, Prime Bishop of the PNCC.
"Wonderful!" his master replied. "You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!" -- Matthew 25:23
Rt. Rev. John E. Mack
Rt. Rev. John E. Mack, took the helm of the Central Diocese of the PNCC, as well as the mother church of the PNCC, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, on February 1, 2011.
Bishop Mack was Consecrated on November 30, 2006. Prior to his appointment as Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese, Bishop Mack served for four years as the auxiliary bishop of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese, and has been longtime pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Washington, Pennsylvania. Bishop Mack was born and raised in the Polish National Catholic Church in the greater Detroit area and attended Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton. Bishop Mack and his wife Sherry have three children, aged 17, 20 and 23.
Bishop Mack served as Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese until August 14, 2012 when he was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Bernard Nowicki. As of August 15, 2012 Bishop Mack assumed duties as Bishop Ordinary of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the PNCC.
Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky
Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky is the current Prime Bishop of the PNCC. He was elected Bishop at the 21st General Synod of the PNCC in October of 2006, and was Consecrated on November 30, 2006. He was assigned as 7th Ordinary of the Central Diocese. He was elected Prime Bishop of the PNCC at the XXIII General Synod of the Church in October 2010.
The Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky is a native of Trenton, NJ and is a lifelong member of the Polish National Catholic Church. Bishop Anthony graduated from the University of Rochester with a BA in Mathematics and Physics in 1988, received his Masters Degree in Mathematics in 1995 and received his Doctorate in Mathematics in 1997 both from the esteemed University of Pennsylvania. He attended Savonarola Theological Seminary of the PNCC and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in April of 1997. Bishop Mikovsky is married and he and his wife Carol are resident at the cathedral rectory.
Bishop Mikovsky served as Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese from his consecration as Bishop until January 31, 2011 when he was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. John E. Mack.
Most Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich
Most Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich was the Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church when Bishop Casimir Grotnik passed away in early December 2005. In accordance with the Constitution and Laws of the Polish National Catholic Church he immediately named himself Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese becoming the 6th Ordinary of the Central Diocese. He served in this capacity until November 30, 2006 when Rev. Anthony Mikovsky, was consecrated to the Episcopacy.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Casimir Grotnik (1935 -- 2005)
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Casimir Grotnik was elected as 5th Ordinary of the Central Diocese at the Special Synod of 1999 and Consecrated on November 30 1999.
Bishop Grotnik was born in 1935 in Jeziorzany in Eastern Poland near the city of Lublin.
Bishop Grotnik studied philosophy and theology from 1952 to 1958 at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 1958. Between 1958 and 1962 he studied at the Institute of Church Music also at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL).
From 1962 through 1969 he served at a priest in the Lublin diocese. In 1969 he emigrated to the United States and began serving as a priest in the Polish National Catholic Church. He was pastor of the PNCC Parishes in Middleport, Summit Hill, Hazelton, and McAdoo, Pennsylvania. He also lectured at the Savonarola Theological Seminary of the PNCC. In 1989 he was appointed as Senior Priest of the Plymouth Seniorate. In 1996 he received a Doctorate from the Academy of Christian Theology in Warsaw, Poland.
Bishop Grotnik was a member and fellow of the Bishop Hodur Biographical Commission, The PNCC Archives and Historical Commission, the Polish Union of America (Spojnia), Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America (PIASA), and the Piłsudski Institute of America. He was manager of the library and archives of the Central Diocese and was Chairman of the Historical and Archives Commission of the Central Diocese of the PNCC.
Bishop Grotnik published extensively and had documented the Synods of the PNCC. He had indexed Strasz and Rola Boża and at the time of his untimely death was in the process of creating a who’s who of all the clergy that have served in the PNCC.
Rt. Rev. Anthony M. Rysz (1924 -- 2015)
On June 26, 1968 Father Senior Rysz was Consecrated to the Episcopacy and was formally installed as 4th Ordinary of the Central Diocese on October 18, 1970.
During his long pastorate, he oversaw many changes not only to the Cathedral Parish but within the Central Diocese. Bishop Rysz served as Ordinary until the mandatory retirement age of 75. Bishop Rysz continues to serve the PNCC in his retirement at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.
Most Rev. Dr. Leon Grochowski (1886 -- 1969)
Bishop Grochowski was born in 1886. in a village near Łomza, Poland, Bishop Grochowski emigrated to the United States in 1905 in order to avoid arrest by the Russian government for organizing a student strike at the Warsaw University of Technology. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 1910. He worked in several parishes and was elected bishop on July 15, 1924 by the Second Extraordinary Synod of PNCC. Bishop Grochowski was Consecrated Bishop on August 17, 1924. He served as Bishop of the Western Diocese and was later unanimously elected to the Office of Prime Bishop of the PNCC at the 8th General Synod of the PNCC in 1949, but did not take that office until the passing of Bishop Francis Hodur in 1953. After Bishop Hodur’s passing and Bishop Misiaszek’s resignation he became 3rd Ordinary of the Central Diocese.
Bishop Grochowski was extremely concerned with the state of the Polish Catholic Church in Poland under communist repression. He traveled to Poland in support of Bishop Julian Pękala and confronted communist authorities over the case of Bishop Pękala. On July 17, 1969 Bishop Grochowski engaged in shouting match with members of the Communist Government concerning the remnants of the Church in Poland. That night, at the Hotel Europiejski in Warsaw, he died – a death that to this day is still a matter of conjecture.
Rt. Rev. John Misiaszek (1903 -- 1973)
The Rt. Rev. John Misiaszek was elected Coadjutor Bishop of the Central Diocese at the Seventh General Synod of the PNCC in May 1935. He was Consecrated Bishop on August 26, 1936 . In 1949 he was elected 2nd Ordinary of the Central Diocese at the 8th General Synod of the PNCC.
Bishop Misiaszek was born on June 20, 1903 in Gilbertville, Massachusetts. He graduated from universities in Tarnów and Lwow, Poland followed by studies in theology at the Savonarola Theological Seminary of the PNCC. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on May 25, 1925. As priest, Bishop Misiaszek served in parishes in Hazelton and McAdoo, Pennsylvania. As a young priest he supervised the construction of St. John the Baptist Parish in Hazelton. In 1929 he became pastor of the second oldest parish in the PNCC – St. Adalbert’s in Dickson City, Pennsylvania. He also served at Parishes in Throop, PA and Binghamton, NY. He conducted missionary journeys to Poland where visited Parishes of Poland’s Eastern and Central Dioceses.
In November 1954 Bishop Misiaszek resigned as Ordinary due to illness. After recovering he served the oldest parish in Canada – St. Mary’s in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and commuted to the missionary parish, St. Joseph’s in Libau, and St. Joseph’s in Beausejour, Manitoba as well as a Parish in Mikado, Saskatchewan. He later served at Holy Trinity Parish in Cleveland, Ohio.
Most Rev. Francis Hodur (1866 -- 1953)
Most Reverend Francis Hodur was the organizer and first prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church as well as the 1st Ordinary of the Central Diocese. In September 1904, at Scranton, Pennsylvania, the 1st General Synod of the PNCC was held representing about 20,000 faithful in five states. The Rev. Francis Hodur was elected Bishop and was Consecrated on September 29, 1907 by Archbishop Gerard Gul of Utrecht, Bishop John Van Thiel of Haarlem, and Bishop Peter Spit of Deventer, the Old Catholic Bishops of the Netherlands.
Bishop Hodur was born April 1, 1866, in the village of Żarki, Poland, about six miles from Kracow, Poland. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood August 19, 1893, in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, PA. He took charge of Saint Stanislaus Parish, March 14, 1897 at the request of its parishioners. Bishop Hodur led the most important separation from the American Roman Catholic Church, starting with Polish-American coal miners at Scranton in 1897. He served as Pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral from its inception in 1897 as priest and then as Bishop following his Consecration in 1907 and up until the 8th Synod of the PNCC, when Rt. Rev. John Misiaszek was elected to replace Bishop Hodur as pastor of St. Stanislaus and Ordinary of the Central Diocese. Bishop Hodur continued to serve the church as Prime Bishop until his death on February 16, 1953. For more information about Bishop Hodur please see our Bishop Hodur page.