His immediate predecessor was Bishop Theodore G. Romzha.
Chira was born January 17, 1897, in the village of Irhóc, Máramaros County (Vilhivci/Vilʹkhivtsi/Olkhovtsy).
[1] His death was in exile on May 26, 1983, in the city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan.
[2] Chira "was one of the many victims of the Soviet persecution of the Greek Catholic Church.
"[1] While in a concentration camp in 1956, Chira clandestinely was appointed a bishop.