Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - Canonical
Encyclopedia
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Canonical (UAOC-C) is an independent Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

, that declares its canonical origin from the Polish Orthodox Church
Polish Orthodox Church
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in full communion...



History

At the beginning of the 20th century, together with the struggle for the Ukrainian statehood, the movement for the autocephality of UOC began in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

From Polish Orthodox Church

During the World War II, the rebirth of the canonical branch of UAOC took place. It received the Autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

 from Dionisiy Valedynskyi, the Metropolitan of Polish Orthodox Church, which in 1924 received the status of autocephality from Ecumenical Patriarch Gregorios VII
Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople
Gregory VII was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1923 until 1924.He imported the New Style Calendar to the Church of Constantinople. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack in 1924.-External links:*...

.

Metropolitan Dionisiy was elevated into the Bishop dignity
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 in 1913 by Gregorios IV, the Patriarch of Antioch, who had the ordination in the lineage of Apostle Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

.
In 1932, Metropolitan Dionisiy ordained Metropolitan Polikarp Sikorskyi and in 1942 appointed him to the Nazi-occupied Ukraine for the renewing of UAOC and ordination of new bishops. Thus, all the hierarchy of UAOC in 1942 received the canonical ordinations of Bishops in the lineage of Apostle Peter. Among the ordained into Bishops were the deceased Patriarch Mstyslav Skrypnyk
Patriarch Mstyslav (Stepan Skrypnyk)
Patriarch Mstyslav, secular name Stepan Ivanovych Skrypnyk , was a Ukrainian Orthodox Church hierarch.Born in Poltava , Stepan Skrypnyk was the nephew of Symon Petlura, a prominent Ukrainian military and political figure...

 and Metropolitan Hryhoriy Ohiychuk. From Metropolitan Hryhoriy Ohiychuk arose the canonical ordination of Patriarch Moses
Patriarch Moses (Koulik)
Patriarch Moses is a Patriarch in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He was born May 3, 1962 and given a secular birth name of Oleh Kulyk....

.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew recognized the canonicity of UAOC. The evidence of that is the fact of taking under his omophorion
Omophorion
In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition, the omophor is the distinguishing vestment of a bishop and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority...

 the Bishops and the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 of UAOC in the United States and Canada in the present dignities in 1995.

After the World War II in 1945 the UAOC in Ukraine was liquidated by the Soviet power. Some Bishops and the clergy of UAOC were delivered to the German concentration camps
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...

 and some managed to emigrate to Europe and America, where they continued their church life and built the churches of UAOC.

UAOC in the Independent Ukraine

In 1990 after the celebration of the 1000-anniversary of Rus-Ukraine Christianization in Ukraine, the new movement for rebirth of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church began. It was initiated by Metropolitan Ioann Bondarchuk; and in the central Ukraine, in April 1990 the rebirth of the UAOC was initiated by archpriest Oleh Koulik, who organized about 200 religious communities of the UAOC being the Metropolitan administrator for Khmelnytskyi
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast is an oblast of western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.The current estimated population is around 1,401,140 .-Geography:...

, Vinnytsa
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Vinnytsia.-Geography:The area of the region is 26,500 km²; its population is 1.7 million....

 and Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937....

 regions.

In 1990, on the 5-6th of June, the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Council was held in Kyiv
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 where more than 700 delegates from the whole Ukraine took part, among them there were 7 bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s and more than 200 priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s. The Council
Ecumenical council
An ecumenical council is a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice....

 declared the fact of establishing the UAOC and elected Metropolitan Mstyslav (Skrypnyk)
Patriarch Mstyslav (Stepan Skrypnyk)
Patriarch Mstyslav, secular name Stepan Ivanovych Skrypnyk , was a Ukrainian Orthodox Church hierarch.Born in Poltava , Stepan Skrypnyk was the nephew of Symon Petlura, a prominent Ukrainian military and political figure...

, who had the episcopal lineage from Polish Orthodox Church, to be the Patriarch of Kyiv and all Ukraine.

On 2 October 1990 the authorities of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic registered the UAOC in the official order. And on 18 November 1990 in St. Sophia Cathedral
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex...

 in Kyiv, Metropolitan Mstyslav was enthroned
Enthronement
An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. This ritual is generally distinguished from a coronation because there is no crown or other regalia that is physically...

 into the Patriarch of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

Since that time Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) had not only become the first Patriarch but he united the UAOC in Ukraine with the UAOC in the USA and the Diaspora that had the canonical lineage from Polish Orthodox Church. Since that time the hierarchs
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 and priesthood of the UOC in the USA began to come to Ukraine, officiate in Ukrainian temples, to take part in ordaining the priests. Patriarch Mstyslav together with Bishop of Washington Antoniy (Shcherba) consecrated Antoniy (Fialka) for bishop of Khmelnytskyi and Panteleymon (Romanovskyi) for bishop of Dnipropetrovsk, but those canonically ordained Bishops passed to ROC
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

. Since that time the canonical ordination lineage in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church disappeared.

On the 25th - 26 June 1992, in Kyiv at the residence of Metropolitan Filaret, the betrayal of the UAO Church on the part of the Metropolitan administrator Antony (Masendych) took place. He acted behind the back of Patriarch Mstyslav and all the clergy supporting the initiative of President Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk is a Ukrainian politician, the first President of Ukraine serving from December 5, 1991 until his resignation on July 19, 1994, a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine faction.After a...

 as for the fake union of UAOC and ROC.

Patriarch of the UAOC Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) did not accept this treason of the UAOC and appealed to the Ukrainian higher authorities and believers of the UAOC not to acknowledge this unification and to oppose this betrayal. But the higher authorities of Ukraine supported the Filaret Denysenko and illegally handed down all the church property of the UAOC under Filaret Denysenko.

On 11 June 1993 Patriarch of Kyiv and all Ukraine Mstyslav died. Before death, Patriarch considering himself and the UAOC betrayed declared his will that the UAOC couldn't have any relation to the former metropolitan of the ROC Filaret Denysenko who was defrocked by his mother Church – ROC.

In 1995, in two years after death of Patriarch Mstyslav, hierarchs of UAOC in the USA passed under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to the fold of Mother-Church, breaking off the canonical branch that gave hope for the return to Ukraine of the apostolic episcopal lineage and revival of UAOC.

UAOC-Sobornopravna

In October 2002, in the USA was held the Council of the hierarchs of UAOC-Sobornopravna of North and South America – the branch from Polish Orthodox Church
Polish Orthodox Church
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in full communion...

 that was headed by Metropolitan Hryhoriy (Ohiychuk) and after his death in 1985, by Metropolitan Andrew (Prazsky) (1985–1990), then by Metropolitan Alexis (Nizza) (1990–1999), then by Metropolitan Stephan(Babiy-Petrovich) (1999–2004).
the Council of the hierarchs of UAOC-Sobornopravna, having considered the current situation of UAOC in Ukraine, decree:
  • return the ancient patriarchal model to the church system of UAOC-Sobornopravna;
  • resume the presence on the Ukrainian land by the establishment of Archdiocese of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine;
  • elevate Archimandrite Moses (Koulik) into the dignity of Bishop and assign in the rank of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine to Ukraine for the establishment of Archdiocese of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine.


On 10 October 2002, The consecration and elevation to the rank of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine of Bishop Moses (Koulik) took place in the Boris and Gleb Cathedral of city Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, USA. Metropolitan Moses is assigned to Ukraine "for the re-establishment of Kyivan Metropolitanate and the revival of UAOC-Sobornopravna in Ukraine with the right to complete administrative management and spiritual care».

On 1 November 2002, Was held the press-conference of Metropolitan Stephan (Babiy-Petrovich), the Primate of UAOC-Sobornopravna of North and South America, dedicated to the historical Council of UAOC-Sobornopravna hierarchs and its decision as for return of Church from Diaspora to the territory of Ukraine.

Starting in 2002 and till nowadays, Vladyka Moses fulfils the mission of revival of UAOC-Sobornoprana canonical lineage in Ukraine, charged to him by the decision of Diaspora hierarchs.

In 2004–2005 In UAOC-Sobornopravna in the USA took place the events that changed cardinally the status of UAOC-Sobornopravna in Ukraine. UAOC-Sobornopravna of North and South America became UAOC of North and South America and Diaspora and, headed by metropolitan Michael (Yavchak-Champion) joined with UAOC in Ukraine, declaring Metropolitan Mefodiy (Kudriakov) to be their Primate.

Due to such union, instead of return of UAOC from Diaspora to Ukraine happened the development of UAOC from Ukraine to Diaspora, thereby one more canonical branch of Ukrainian Church was abolished.
UAOC-Sobornopravna in Ukraine, headed by Metropolitan Moses, kept apart from this union
and acquired the status of the independent jurisdiction. Metropolitan Moses realized the active educational work, converting into Christianity a great number of atheists in the post-totalitarian Ukraine

and calling upon the unification of the scattered all over the world shatters of UOC because of the historical reasons.

UAOC-Canonical

On17-18 June 2005, On the Feast of the Holy Trinity, in Kyiv, the Hierarchs Council of UAOC-Sobornopravna under the omophorion of Moses, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine took place, where the name of the Church was asserted as UAOC-Canonical by the decision of the Holy Synod and by the decision of the Ecumenical Hierarchs Council .

UAOC-Canonical is the canonical successor of the Kyivan Rus Metropolitanate of the millenary Christening of Rus-Ukraine and has the very direct relation to the Tomos of autocephaly of 1924 granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch Gregorios VII on the canonical basis of the historical inhering to the Kyivan Rus Metropolitanate.

The mission of the Thom action renewal for UAOC in Ukraine by the decision of the Holy Synod of UAOC in Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...

 is entrusted to the canonically ordained His Eminence Moses (Koulik), Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine.

Patriarch

On 17-18 June 2005, by the decision of the Holy Synod and by the decision of the Ecumenical Bishop's Council of UAOC-canonical, under the action of the Holy Spirit and by the will of Heavenly Father, Metropolitan Moses was elected and enthroned into the dignity of Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine. 12 Hierarchs, the clergy and the hundreds of the faithful from all over the world took part in the Holy Council.
The enthronement took place on the Feast of the Holy Trinity
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...

 in the orthodox sanctuary of the people of Ukraine, in the principal Temple of Ukraine - the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

Doctrine

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church-Canonical acknowledges the absolute faith in the teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, the faith in the Holy Scripture
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 and in the Apostolic Canons
Canons of the Apostles
The Apostolic Canons or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Church, first found as last chapter of the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions and belonging to genre of...

. The clergy have the canonical ordinations from Our Lord Jesus Christ in the lineage of Apostle Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

.

Keeps seven Sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...

s: Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

, Confirmation, Confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

, Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

, Marriage
Christian views of marriage
Christian views on marriage typically regard it as instituted and ordained by God for the lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife, and is to be "held in honour among all...."...

, Ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...

, Anointing
Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick, known also by other names, is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person...

.

Church-office

UAOC-Canonical ministers the divine liturgies
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

 according to the tradition of the Eastern Byzantine Rite and keeps the old (Julian) calendar of religious holidays. The language of the divine liturgies – modern Ukrainian in Ukraine, Spanish – in Mexico, English – in the USA, Italian – in Italy etc.

UAOC-Canonical is the universal church and the divine services are ministered in the language of the country, where they are held.

Dioceses

  • Diocese of Kyiv
  • Diocese of Uzhgorod
  • Diocese of Fastiv
  • Diocese of Zhytomyr
  • Diocese of Mexico
  • Diocese of the USA
  • Diocese of Greece
  • Diocese of Italy
  • Diocese of Colombia
  • Diocese of Brazil
  • Diocese of Chicago and Illinois—Chor-Bishop Eugene

External references


See also

  • Patriarch Moses (Koulik)
    Patriarch Moses (Koulik)
    Patriarch Moses is a Patriarch in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He was born May 3, 1962 and given a secular birth name of Oleh Kulyk....

  • History of Christianity in Ukraine
    History of Christianity in Ukraine
    The History of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the apostolic church. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great , who instated it as the state religion of Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state.Although...

  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church may refer to:*Ukrainian Orthodox Church , established in 1990*Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, established in 1992*Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, established in 1921...

  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
    The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States. It consists of three eparchies , ruled by two diocesan bishops, including about 85 active parishes and missions. The Church's current primate is Metropolitan Constantine...

  • Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
    Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
    The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Canada, primarily serving Ukrainian Canadians. Its former name was the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada ...

  • Polish Orthodox Church
    Polish Orthodox Church
    The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches in full communion...

  • List of Orthodox Churches
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