 Alexis Georgievich Toth (Tóth Elek in Hungarian) was born to Father George and Cecilia Toth (or Tovt) on March 14, 1853, in Kobylnice, near Prešov ( at that time) in the Szepes county of Slovakia (then Austro - Hungarian Empire) during the reign of Franz Joseph.Having completed his primary schooling, he attended a Roman Catholic seminary for one year, followed by three years in a Greek Catholic seminary and additional time at the University of Prague, where he graduated with a degree in theology.Toth married Rosalie Mihalics on April 18, 1878, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1878 by Bishop Nicholas Toth, the Greek Catholic Bishop of Prešov.