On December 29, 1980 he was appointed Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated bishop in Rome on March 1, 1981.

He supervised the construction of a new chancery center and bishop’s residence and cathedral rectory. He renovated the sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and landscaped the adjoining grounds. He established the Seminary Endowment Fund to finance the education of seminarians and to provide income for St. Josaphat’s Seminary.

At the request of the Vatican, he was involved in sensitive diplomatic talks with members of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine at the time the Soviet Union was collapsing, Ukraine was becoming an independent nation and the Ukrainian Catholic Church was emerging from its existence as a persecuted catacomb church under atheistic communism of the Soviets.

He has served on various committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

After reaching the canonical age for retirement, Pope John Paul II accepted his resignation on November 29, 2000.

June 14, 2002 was the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the Holy Priesthood and his Golden Jubilee was observed with the celebration of a hierarchical Divine Liturgy and a testimonial banquet on June 23, 2002.

During his retirement years, he lived in Cherry Hill, NJ