Orthodox Carpatho-Russians: The People from "Nowhere"

When American pop-artist Andy Warhol was once asked where he came from, he answered, "I come from nowhere." In a sense, he was right, because his real name was Ondrej Varchola, the son of Carpatho-Russian immigrants who came to Pittsburgh in 1918.

You will not find Carpatho-Russia on a map. It exists, and yet it has never existed; indeed, it is "nowhere." It is no wonder that some people call Carpatho-Russians "the Kurds of Europe."

A more common name for Carpatho-Russia is Ruthenia. These Eastern Slavs live in and around the Carpathian Mountains, and speak a language which is similar to -- but different from -- Ukrainian. For more than 1500 years, they have lived in these Carpathian Mountains -- the original home of all the Slavs.

With their emigration, the Carpatho-Russians number as many as one and a half million people. By folklore, the Carpatho-Russians resemble the Slovaks, Ukrainians, and Poles, with influences from Austrians and Hungarians.

Most Carpatho-Russians are Orthodox Christians. They comprise one of the nine major national Orthodox Jurisdictions in America -- the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA (ACROD).