His parents were John and Susan Churma Bayusik. He completed his studies at St. Procopius Seminary and College in Lisle, IL, and at the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. He was ordained a subdeacon on February 3, 1957. He was ordained a priest on July 1, 1958. Immediately after his ordination, he was assigned to Anchorage, where he served at Holy Family Cathedral until he was able to secure a plot of land for the construction of St. Nicholas Murai Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage. In 1962, he was transferred to Youngstown, Ohio, and later served in Chicago, Barnesboro, Pennsylvania, and Portage, Pennsylvania. In Portage, he built St. Joseph’s Home for retired priests.