Buchko, Ivan
Buchko, Ivan [Бучко, Іван; Bučko], b 1 October 1891 in the village of Hermaniv (now Tarasivka) near Lviv, d 21 September 1974 in Rome. Ukrainian Catholic archbishop, church and civic leader. Having completed his theological studies in Rome in 1911–15, Buchko was ordained in 1915. He served as rector of the Minor Seminary (1922–9) and professor of the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv. In 1929 he became auxiliary bishop of Lviv eparchy and was active in the archeparchial administration, the improvement of the religious life of the laity, the organizations of Catholic youth (including the Ukrainian Youth for Christ manifestation), Catholic Action, and Orly Catholic Association of Ukrainian Youth, and the defense of the church and the people under the Polish occupation, particularly during the Pacification. In 1939 he was the visitator of Ukrainian communities in South America and in 1940 the auxiliary bishop of the Philadelphia exarchate and the pastor of New York. From 1942 he lived permanently in Rome, representing Ukrainian church and national interests at the Vatican. In 1946 he was appointed apostolic visitator of Ukrainians in Western Europe; in 1951 he received the title of Assistant of the Apostolic Throne and Roman count; and in 1953 he was appointed the titular archbishop of Leucadia. In 1958 he became consultor to the Congregation of the Eastern Churches, a member of the Vatican Commission of the Eastern Churches of the Second Vatican Council, and the vice-chairman of the Ukrainian Episcopal Conference. He was instrumental in the growth of the Ukrainian Catholic church in the diaspora. As a founder and head of the Ukrainian Relief Committee in Rome, he also acted as the protector of Ukrainian political refugees and displaced persons in Europe after 1944.
As a patron of Ukrainian culture and learning, Buchko was instrumental in setting up the Shevchenko Scientific Society center in Sarcelles, France, and was an honorary member of the society. He received honorary doctorates from the Ukrainian Free University and the Ukrainian Technical and Husbandry Institute.
Atanasii Velyky
[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]