Nevytsky, Omelian

Nevytsky, Omelian [Невицький, Омелян; Nevyc'kyj, Omeljan], b 20 June 1878 in Shemetkivtsi, Svydnyk region, d 30 January 1939 in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Greek Catholic priest and civic leader. After teaching at the Prešov Teachers’ College he served as a parish priest at Ujak, in the Prešov region. He and his wife, Iryna Nevytska, organized the 1918 Ruthenian People's Council in L’ubovňa. Under his chairmanship (1918–19) it became the first such council to declare itself in favor of Transcarpathia’s union with Ukraine. In 1921 he emigrated to the United States of America, where he served as a priest in the Pittsburgh Ruthenian exarchy and was an active community organizer. In 1938 he founded and headed the Committee for the Defense of Carpatho-Ukraine.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]