Ivan Margitych is the Bishop of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Diocese. He was born in 1921 in the village of Borzhavske in Zakarpattia. While still in the village school, he became a member of Plast, and later the OUN youth organization. During his years of study at the Uzhhorod Theological Seminary, he was arrested by the Hungarian authorities along with other young people for wanting to annex Zakarpattia to independent Ukraine. In 1946 he graduated from the seminary and served in Vynohradiv and Rakhiv. For his devotion to the Greek Catholic Church, Ivan Margitych was persecuted by the Soviet authorities: he was imprisoned and sent to camps for his religious beliefs. However, Ivan Margitych did not give up his work - he served “in the underground” for more than 30 years. He conducted services throughout Transcarpathia. He was also ordained a bishop in 1987 “in the underground.” Ivan Margitych advocated for the unity of the autonomous Mukachevo Greek Catholic Diocese with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In 1990, in his native village of Borzhavske, together with the faithful, he began construction of a church, which was consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God in July 2002 (the image of this church is posted on the memorial plaque). The “people's bishop,” as he was called, died in 2003 at the age of 83. It happened during a liturgy in the village of Pelypets.
A bronze memorial plaque to Bishop Ivan Margitych was installed on the facade of St. Nicholas Church of the UGCC on Askold's Grave. It was unveiled in September 2017. Under the bas-relief portrait of the bishop, Bishop Ivan's words are quoted:“I will build a church and all those who are thirsty for spiritual strength will find a path to it...”.
Address: 1 Parkova Doroha.
