Remembering Ivan Czap on the anniversary of his repose
February 10 marks the 48th anniversary of the repose in 1973 at age 59 of Ivan Michaelson Czap, a Metropolitan Council member for more than three decades and a very active layman and church activist in many spheres. Professionally, he was a noted attorney and prosecutor. His expertise in legal matters and keen insights on ecclesial structure made Ivan Czap one of the key contributors for the drafting of the Metropolia Statute, adopted at the 9th All-American Sobor in 1955 and its later amendments as well as the brief and provisional Constitution of the Orthodox Church in America adopted at the 1st All-American Council in 1970. Among his many church activities, he was a member of the Federated Russian Orthodox Clubs (FROC), which is now the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA), and served as editor of the organization’s monthly journal. He was a long-time member of St. Vladimir’s Seminary Board of Trustees and also supported many other causes and initiatives. After the repose of his widow in 1996, the personal papers of Ivan Czap documenting his wide-ranging church activities became part of the Manuscript Division of the Archives of the Orthodox Church in America.
To learn more about the life of Ivan Czap, please read these obituaries:
- From The Orthodox Church newspaper
- From St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
- An article by Ivan Czap concerning the persecution of the Church in the Soviet Union that was entered into the Congressional Record in 1968.
May his memory be eternal!