Our Pastor

The Right Reverend Anthony D. Kopka, Auxiliary Bishop of the Eastern Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church, has served as the spiritual leader of St. Joseph's of Stratford parish since June 1982. Bishop Kopka was born on September 18, 1955 in New Castle, Pa., a small city about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. He received the sacraments in his hometown parish, Holy Trinity Polish National Catholic Church in New Castle.
Upon graduation from high school in 1973, Bishop Kopka enrolled in Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., where in 1977 he earned a bachelors' degree in speech with a concentration in religion.

It was long before his graduation from college, however, that Bishop Kopka knew where his future would lie. When he was about 8 years old, his grandmother started to tell him on frequent occasions to “go and become a good priest.” He took that calling to heart, but it was not until the ninth grade that he would commit to the Lord’s call that he heard from his grandmother. In civics class each student was assigned to research and report on the career they may pursue later in life. The future bishop felt torn between law and the priesthood. After shadowing an attorney, it soon became clear that the priesthood was the vocation he should pursue. From that time forward he began choosing courses he believed would help him later in his study and training to become a priest.

In September 1978 at the age of 22 he enrolled in Savonarola Theological Seminary in Scranton, Pa., the seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church. He completed his studies and was ordained to the priesthood on May 13, 1981 at St. Stanislaus Cathedral in Scranton.

After serving for a year as an assistant priest at Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y., then-Father Kopka was assigned to St. Joseph's parish in Bridgeport, Conn. He arrived in the late spring of 1982 and offered his first Mass as pastor on Father’s Day. Upon getting settled in his first parish, Father Kopka returned to Buffalo to marry Darlene Stempniak on November 6, 1982 and brought his bride to Bridgeport.

Under the leadership of Father Kopka, the parish began preparing for a key moment in its long history: the move from Bridgeport to the present location in Stratford. In a process that began in 1987, Father carefully guided the St. Joseph's parish family through a relocation that concluded with the inaugural Mass in the present church on January 1, 1989.

During his time at St. Joseph's he has been an active member of the Polish National Catholic Church on national and diocesan levels, holding a number of key offices, but perhaps none more important than the office of bishop. He was elected to that office at the P.N.C.C. General Synod on October 10, 2006 in Manchester, N.H. He was consecrated on November 30, 2006 at St. Stanislaus Cathedral in Scranton and was assigned as Auxiliary Bishop of the Eastern Diocese.

In his time at St. Joseph's, Bishop Kopka has also maintained a strong presence in the community. He has served as: president of the Stratford Clergy Association and treasurer of the Clergy Association’s emergency relief fund, chairman of the Stratford Ethics Commission, the Stratford police chaplain and co-chairman of the Clergy Connection of Greater Bridgeport. He has also served on many boards, some of which include the Stratford Youth and Family Advisory Board, the Bridge Building Initiative of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, the Community Resource Collaborative of Greater Bridgeport, the Regional Youth/Adult Substance Abuse Project (RYASAP), Uniting Congregations for Youth Development and Bridgeport Neighborhood Housing Services. Bishop Kopka presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport and is a member of the core group of the Connecticut Sponsoring Committee and the Fairfield County Clergy Collective.

Bishop Kopka and Darlene reside in Stratford with their daughters Kristen and Lauren. Darlene is a nurse at Lord Chamberlain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Stratford. Kristen completed her Master's degree in Business Administration in 2007 at Southern Connecticut State University. Lauren is working toward her Master's in Social Work there. They both earned their Bachelor's degrees there, following graduation from Stratford High School.