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 Catholic Church in Ukraine | |
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| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic Church |
| Orientation | European |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Major Archbishop (UGCC) | Sviatoslav Shevchuk |
| Archbishop (Latin) | Mieczysław Mokrzycki |
| Bishop (RGCC) | Nil Lushchak (Apostolic administrator) |
| Region | Ukraine |
| Language | Church Slavonic,Ukrainian |
TheCatholic Church in Ukraine (Latin:Ecclesia Catholica in Ucraina;Ukrainian:Католицька церква в Україні,romanized: Katolytska tserkva v Ukraini) is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome. Catholics make up 13-14% of thepopulation of Ukraine.[1][2] The majority of Catholics (80%) inUkraine belong to theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church andRuthenian Greek Catholic Church (Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo), while significant numbers of others belong to theLatin Church andArmenian Catholic Church.[3]
The Catholic Church in Ukraine consists of members of theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church as well as theLatin Church,Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, and theArmenian Catholic Church.
The majority of Ukrainian Catholics belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Latin Church in the territories of modern Ukraine has been strongly associated with Poland andPoles, but the church has emphasized a Ukrainian identity since the nation's independence from the Soviet Union.
The history of the Catholic Church in modern Ukraine starts as early as the 10th century when Christianity in Ruthenia was established as a state religion in 988 taking place before theEast–West Schism. While records of Christians and Christian temples in the Medieval state predate the date. In mid-10th century, Kyiv was visited by a mission that was led by bishopAdalbert of Magdeburg out ofTrier Monastery. Following the schism, the Ruthenian Church which was brought to Kyiv by theByzantine Greeks ended up among Eastern Orthodox Churches. After annexation of theKingdom of Ruthenia by theKingdom of Poland in course of theGalicia–Volhynia Wars in Lviv was established theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv in the 14th century. In mid-15th century Metropolitan of KyivIsidore attempted to unite the Ruthenian Church with the Catholic world by attending theCouncil of Florence.
Due to the conflict with theGrand Duchy of Moscow, in 1458 the Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleIsidore II reorganized the Ruthenian Church moving its metropolitan see toVilnius. Until 1480, the metropolitan see of the Church was held by a metropolitan bishop appointed by the Pope includingGregory the Bulgarian andMisail Pstruch. In 1595, there was signed theUnion of Brest which officially united the Ruthenian Church with the Catholic Church accomplishing the intent of Metropolitan Isidore. Followingpartitions of Poland, in 1839 in Polotsk pressured by the Russian government all the bishops of theRuthenian Uniate Church signed the union with theRussian Orthodox Church, while dioceses of Eastern rite that became part of theKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in theAustrian Empire were reorganized as Greek-Catholic Church.
In 1630, a bishop ofArmenian Apostolic ChurchMikołaj Torosowicz also signed a union with the Catholic Church establishing Armenian Catholic diocese of Lwow.
In 1646, anotherEastern Orthodox diocese of Mukachevo signed theUnion of Uzhhorod and for sometime was guided by theArchbishop of Eger in Hungary.
In 2001, Ukraine was visited byPope John Paul II, who held official and informal meetings inKyiv andLviv.[4] Communities from both theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church and theLatin Church warmly greeted the Pope. Additionally, Non-Catholic religious communities publicly expressed a hope that the visit would encourage a spiritual and cultural renewal in the country which has been troubled by economic and social problems.[5]
Caritas Ukraine is the charity of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, whileCaritas-Spes Ukraine is the official charity organisation of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. Both organisations have become major humanitarian actors, providing aid to millions of people following theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Among the Catholics of Ukraine there areUkrainians, Poles,Czechs,Hungarians,Filipinos and other peoples.
TheUkrainian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. The ordinary (or hierarch) of the church holds the title of Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych and All Ruthenia, though the hierarchs and faithful of the church have acclaimed their ordinary as "Patriarch" and have requested Papal recognition of, and elevation to, this title. Major archbishop is a unique title within the Catholic Church that was introduced in 1963 as part of political compromise. Since March 2011, the head of the church is Major ArchbishopSviatoslav Shevchuk.
The present Archbishop for the Latins isMieczysław Mokrzycki (ordained on 29 September 2007 byPope Benedict XVI).[6]
TheLatin Church in Ukraine had in 2007; 905 communities, 88 monasteries, 656 monks and nuns, 527 priests, 713 churches (74 under construction), 39 missions, 8 educational institutions, 551 Sunday schools, 14 periodical editions.[7][8]
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See:List of Catholic dioceses in Ukraine
Hierarchy, including ecclesiastical circumscriptions | ||||||||||||||||
| Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church |
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| Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church |
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| Episcopal Conference of Ukraine of the Latin Church |
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| Armenian Catholic Church |
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| Apostolic Nunciature |
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