Bartchak was ordained a deacon at Christ the King Seminary on September 22, 1980, and served as deacon at St. Joseph Parish, Warren, Pennsylvania. He was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1981, by the late Bishop Michael J. Murphy at St. Peter Cathedral, Erie. Immediately after ordination to the priesthood, Bishop Bartchak was assigned as temporary parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Warren, Pennsylvania. In August 1981, he was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Francis Parish, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. He was also assistant principal and theology teacher at St. Francis High School and part-time chaplain at the Clearfield Hospital. He was transferred to St. Leo Magnus Parish, Ridgway, Pennsylvania, to serve as administrator of the parish for several months when the pastor became ill. He was then appointed parochial vicar at St. Leo Magnus Parish. His duties included pastoral care at the Elk County General Hospital and the Elk County Prison. In these early parish assignments he was active in local ecumenical clergy associations. He was a speaker at ecumenical and civic gatherings. In 1982 Bartchak was appointed part-time Defender of the Bond, and in 1986 he was assigned full-time to the Tribunal of the Diocese of Erie. During his time in Washington, Bartchak assisted as a confessor at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In August, 1991, Bartchak was assigned to reside at St. Stanislaus Parish in Erie and provide weekend assistance. In 1992 Bartchak was appointed by Bishop Donald Trautman as Judicial Vicar and Director of the Office of Conciliation & Arbitration of the Diocese of Erie. In 2000 he received papal honours from Pope John Paul II with the title of Chaplain to His Holiness. In addition to these duties, he was named Vicar for Canonical Affairs of the Diocese of Erie in 2004. In the Diocese of Erie, Bartchak was an ex-officio member of the presbyteral council, the administrative cabinet and various diocesan committees. He served on the planning committee for the establishment of the permanent diaconate formation program of the Diocese of Erie. In addition to his duties in the Diocese of Erie, Bartchak has been involved in various roles in the Church on the state, national and international level. In 2004, he was appointed to the Administrative Board and the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. In 2007 he was appointed as a consultant for the USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.
Handling of sexual abuse in Erie Diocese
In a grand jury report published by Pennsylvania Attorney GeneralJosh Shapiro on August 14, 2018, Bartchak was criticized for his handling of a 2005 investigation against former Erie priest William Presley. Bartchak was assigned by the Vatican during this time to investigate claims against Presley, who served in the Erie Diocese between 1963 and 1986, and he re-interviewed a male victim who previously disclosed his alleged abuse to the diocese in 1982, 1987 and 2002. On Aug. 25, 2005, Bartchak sent a secret memo to then-Erie Bishop Donald Trautman. Parts of the memo read "I was not surprised to learn from other witnesses from the Elk County area that there are likely to be other victims" and that "it is likely that there may be others who were also of the age for the offenses to be considered delicts, but to what end is it necessary to follow every lead?" Trautman demised that it was "not likely that they will lead to information concerning delicts involving minors under 16 years of age," Bartchak wrote.
Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown
On January 14, 2011, Bartchak was appointed bishop of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and was consecrated bishop on April 19, 2011.
