OTTAWA -- (CCCB) Pope John Paul II recently accepted the resignation of Most Rev. Michael Rusnak as Eparch for Slovaks of Byzantine Rite in Canada.

Bishop Rusnak, of the Redemptorist order, was appointed Eparch in 1981 and before that served as Auxiliary Bishop to the Eparch of Toronto since 1965. He also served as Apostolic Visitor for Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite in Canada.

He served on the CCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Interritual Discipline from 1968 until 1970 and was a member of the CCCB Episcopal Commission for Christian Education from 1973 until 1983. At the Vatican he was a member of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1968 until 1975, and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Reform of the Oriental Code of Canon Law from 1973 until 1978.

Following Bishop Rusnak's resignation, Father John Fetsco, C.Ss.R., Pastor of the Transfiguration of our Lord Cathedral in Unionville, Ontario, has been named Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy.

The Eparchy for Slovaks of Byzantine Rite in Canada has a population of 10,000 members in 12 parishes and missions.