Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church that follows the Byzantine rite and remains in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Union of Brest: A 1596 agreement by which several Ruthenian Orthodox bishops entered communion with the pope while retaining Byzantine traditions. It established the communion with Rome from which the church developed.
Eastern Catholic Churches: Autonomous Catholic churches that preserve Eastern Christian liturgical, spiritual, and canonical traditions. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is one of these self-governing churches.
Andrey Sheptytsky: The metropolitan archbishop of Lviv from 1901 to 1944, a leading churchman and patron of Ukrainian culture. His long leadership strengthened the church’s institutions and cultural influence.
Lviv pseudo-synod of 1946: A Soviet-organized assembly that declared the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church dissolved and transferred its parishes to the Russian Orthodox Church. It formalized the church’s forced suppression inside the Soviet Union.
Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom: The principal Eucharistic liturgy of the Byzantine tradition, attributed to Saint John Chrysostom. It is the church’s most commonly celebrated form of the Eucharist.
Ruthenian Uniate Church: The historical Eastern Catholic church formed from the Union of Brest and predecessor of several modern churches. It is the church’s historical institutional ancestor.
Byzantine Rite: A family of Christian liturgical traditions rooted in the worship of Constantinople. Its liturgy, calendar, and spirituality belong to this rite.
Josyf Slipyj: A Ukrainian Greek Catholic cardinal who led the church after years of Soviet imprisonment and exile. His resistance to Soviet suppression made him a central symbol of the church’s endurance.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the Soviet Union: The church’s underground existence in Soviet Ukraine after its official liquidation in 1946 and before legalization in 1989. Clandestine clergy and worship maintained the church despite state prohibition.
Iconostasis: A wall of icons separating the sanctuary from the nave in many Eastern Christian churches. Its placement and icons shape the visual setting of Byzantine worship.

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