Difference between revisions of "Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church"

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The '''Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church''' (UAOC) was the third largest Orthodox Church in Ukraine after the autonomous [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]] under the Moscow Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the [[Kyiv Patriarchate]]. The UAOC, which claimed its origins in the early 20th century in Ukraine, preserved the vision of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Ukrainian nationalism in the Ukrainian Diaspora during the Soviet era and in independent Ukraine itself.
  
The '''Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church''' is one of the three major Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. The others include the [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]] and the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate]].  The [[UAOC]] has its origins in the Sobor of 1921 in Kyiv, shortly after Ukraine's new found independence.  With the new nation being created, many ethnic Ukrainians living in Ukraine felt the need for an indigenous [[Autocephalous]] Orthodox Church.  There have been three different "resurrections" of the [[UAOC]] in Ukraine, each following a period of political persecution.
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==Founding and Dissolution of the UAOC==
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For centuries what became the UAOC was part of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which was founded by the Church of Constantinople and remained part of it prior to the independence of the [[Church of Russia|Church of Rus']]. After the transfer of the seat of the metropolitans of Kiev from Kiev to cities further east and north (and eventually to Moscow) the territories of what today is Ukraine came under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had jurisdiction over the region returned to Constantinople and eventually to the Ukrainian Catholic Church after the [[Union of Brest]]. It wasn't until the conquest of Ukraine by the rising Russian Empire that its Church was reunited with the Church of Rus'.
  
==History==
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Due to the cultural differences that had developed as a result of the Polish occupation and the Union of Brest the reunion of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine with the Church of Rus' was opposed by some Ukrainian Orthodox, who began advocating the establishment of an independent Church of Ukraine. Although suppressed by the Russian Empire, following its collapse in the early 20th century supporters of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church held an All-Ukrainian Council (''sobor'') in Kiev that on 5 May 1920 declared the establishment of an independent Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
In wake of the break up of the Russian Empire some national groups sought autonomy or autocephaly from Moscow. In 1921 an All-Ukrainian Sobor (Synod) was called in Kyiv, the capital of the newly-independent Ukraine, and the '''Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church''' ('''UAOC''') was declared independent from the Moscow Patriarchate (MP). The Sobor delegates chose Metropolitan Vasyl (Lypkivsky) as head of the church. A few years later in 1924, Gregory VII, Patriarch of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch, issued a tomos re-establishing the Kyivan Metropolia as an autocephalous entity.  The responsibility of establishing a new Synod of Bishops was given to the Metropolitan-Archbishop of Warsaw, Dionisij Valedynskyj.
 
  
Ukrainian independence was short lived in this period, and eventually the USSR came into being. The Soviets were openly atheist and Russification was being introduced throughout the USSR.  The Soviet government persecuted the UAOC (for being Orthodox, and for being Ukrainian); and the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] also prevented the UAOC from establishing their ecclesiastical order for some time.
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The UAOC sought for hierarchical support, but none of the hierarchs serving in Ukraine would join the Church and consequently in 1921 a group of clergy and laymen together "consecrated" Archpriest [[Vasyl Lypkivskyj]] as a bishop, enthroning him as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. He consequently "consecrated" other bishops for Ukraine and dioceses of the UAOC formed in Canada and the United States by Ukrainian nationalists and converts from Ukrainian Catholicism. (These eparchies later became the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada]] and the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA|Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA]].)
  
During World War II, Orthodox Ukrainians enjoyed somewhat increased freedom under German occupation. (Ukraine was a battleground between the German and Soviet Armies). In May of 1942, with the blessing of Metropolitan Dionsiy, more than a dozen bishops were consecrated in St. Andrew Cathedral, Kyiv, in fulfillment of the 1924 tomos of the EP. Finally, it seemed that ecclesiastical order could be established for the UAOC. This time is referred to as the "second resurrection" of the church. However, history would make it a short lived reality.
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The UAOC in Ukraine was dissolved following the Bolshevik occupation and annexation of eastern and central Ukraine in the 1920s. In 1924, however, the Ecumenical Patriarchate unilaterally rescinded the transfer of the Orthodox Church in what today is western Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland to the Church of Rus' and established it as the independent [[Church of Poland]]. Although operating on the territory of interwar Poland and officially called the Polish Orthodox Church, this new Local Orthodox Church's flock was primarily Ukrainian and Belorussian in composition.
  
On October 8, 1942 Archbishop Nikanor and [[Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Kiev|Bishop Mstyslav]] of the [[UAOC]] and Metropolitan Oleksiy (Hromadsky) of the Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church entered into an Act of Union at the Pochayiv (Pochaev) Lavra uniting these two church hierarchies. German occupation authorities and pro-Russian hierarchs of the Autonomous Church convinced Metropolitan Oleksiy to withdraw his signature. Metropolitan Oleksiy was executed in Volynia on May 7, 1943 by UPA ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Insurgent_Army Ukrainian Insurgent Army]) insurgents.
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==Restoration of the UAOC==
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During World War II the German government strongly encouraged Ukrainian and Belorussian nationalism as a counterweight to Polish and Soviet resistance and influence in Eastern Europe. It was this that allowed dissident hierarchs of the Polish Orthodox Church in what had been southeastern Poland and the western USSR to declare the restoration of the UAOC in 1942. Bishop [[Polycarp (Sikorsky) of Lutsk]], formerly of the Church of Poland, became the first legitimately consecrated  hierarch to serve as primate of the UAOC (its pre-WWII hierarchical consecrations had all been invalid under canon law).
  
The Russian Orthodox Church regained its general monopoly after World War II in the Ukrainian SSR. Most of the other churches were liquidated, as the Soviet government only recognized the Moscow Patriarchate (MP). The MP was revived at the time of the Russian Revolution, as the only legitimate church in most of the Soviet Union. Many accused it of being a puppet of the Communist Party. After the suspicious death of Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow]] some churches sought to remain independent of Moscow; something that was tolerated until after World War II. In the post-war years, many Ukrainian Orthodox clergy not affiliated with Moscow fled to Germany or the United States. The UAOC in [[Ukraine]] was then liquidated by the Soviets with the assistance of the Moscow Patriarchate. Any UAOC hierarchs or clergy who remained in Ukraine and refused to join the Russian Church were executed or sent to concentration camps. A few years later the same thing happened to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Western Ukraine (Galicia) and Transcarpathia.
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==UAOC in the Diaspora==
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The restoration of the UAOC in Ukraine proved to be brief as the region was occupied by the Red Army in the 1940s and annexed to the Soviet Union. Those hierarchs and clergy of the UAOC who remained in Soviet Ukraine were forced to submit to the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] or else sent into internal exile or executed. Several of the Church's hierarchs fled the advance of the Red Army and ended up in the Ukrainian Diaspora in the West, among them Metropolitan Polycarp.
  
Re-gaining the state recognition in the late 1980s, the Church was initially governed from abroad by Patriarch [[Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Kiev]]. Subsequent to his death, he was succeeded by Patriarchs Volodymyr (Romanyuk) and Dymytry (Yarema). Patriarch Volodymyr would, during his time as patriarch, separate from the [[UAOC]] to found the UOC-KP, together with Metropolitan (now Patriarch) Filaret (Denysenko).
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In the following years the UAOC existed only in the Diaspora, with parishes scattered across the globe in Australia, North and South America, and Western Europe. It, like other jurisdictions present in the West following the Bolshevik Revolution, drifted in and out of communion with world Orthodoxy. Following the repose of Metropolitan Polycarp in France in 1953, Archbishop [[Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Kiev|Mstyslav (Skrypnyk)]] of Parma became primate of the UAOC in 1969.
  
In 2003, the Church Sobor elected Metropolitan MEFODIY (Kudriakov) of Ternopil to lead the church. As Father & Head of the UAOC worldwide, he is Metropolitan of Kyiv & all Ukraine. Since his elevation, he has worked towards a more global visibility for the church, including a pastoral visit the United States in 2006. He has fostered continued positive relations with the Ukrainian government and other religious communities. The Patriarchal Cathedral of the UAOC is the historic church of St. Andrew the First-Called in Kyiv.
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==UAOC Returns to Ukraine==
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In 1990 the weakening of the central government of the Soviet Union allowed for the restoration of the UAOC in Ukraine for the first time since World War II. Not long after the UAOC accepted into its communion hierarchs and clergy led by Metropolitan [[Philaret (Denysenko) of Kiev|Philaret of Kiev]] of the Moscow Patriarchate and elected the 92-year old Metropolitan Mstyslav as Patriarch of Kyiv and All Ukraine, enthroning him on 6 November 1990.
  
Geographically the church currently has a stronger presence in Western Ukrainian provinces with a smaller representation elsewhere. Previous to 1995, there were more parishes abroad in the Ukrainian diaspora communities of Canada and the United States. However, many of these parishes now form the separate churches, the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada]] and the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA]], (which are eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople).
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Following the repose of Patriarch Mstyslav in 1993 two new Patriarchs of Kyiv, [[Volodomyr (Romaniuk)]] and [[Dymytrii (Yarema) of Kyiv|Dymytriy (Yarema)]], were elected by factions of the UAOC, those under Patriarch Volodymyr largely consisting of supporters of the former Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Philaret who together founded the Kyiv Patriarchate of Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It was around this time that both of the UAOC's dioceses in North America together with large parts of its Western European and Australian flocks left the Church to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
  
The [[UAOC]] however, has maintained an ecclesiastical structure outside of Ukraine. There are eparchies in [http://www.uaoc.org North & South America, Western Europe and elsewhere]. Metropolitan Mykhayil (Javchak) heads the [[UAOC]] in the Americas and other locations. Significant growth has taken place in recent times in Latin America. There is also a parish of the church in Canberra, Australia.
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After the death of Patriarch Dymytriy in 2000 the UAOC elected Archbishop [[Mefodiy (Kudryakov) of Kiev|Methodius]] of Ternopil' as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The UAOC was mainly in western Ukraine and had its headquarters at the historic Church of St. Andrew in Kiev. In the Unification Council of 15 December, 2018, the UAOC dissolved itself and joined the newly established [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]].
  
His Beatitude MEFODIY continues to provide for the spiritual enrichment of the [[UAOC]] throughout the world. [http://uaoc.net In Ukraine] he has given special emphasis to the improvement of seminary life and the education of candidates for the ministry. He is also committed to the ongoing dialog for the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches.
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==External Links and Sources==
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*[http://www.uaoc.info/ua/ Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church] (Official Website of the UAOC)
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*[http://uaoc.org/ Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the USA] (Official Website of the UAOCUSA)
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*[http://www.uocc.ca/en-ca/about/history/ History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada] (Official Website of the UOCC)
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*[http://www.ukrainianorthodoxchurchusa.org/history.html History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA] (Official Website of the UOCUSA)
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Autocephalous_Orthodox_Church Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church] (Wikipedia)
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Mstyslav_%28Skrypnyk%29 Mstyslav (Skrypnyk)] (Wikipedia)
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*[http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikarp_(Sikorski) Polikarp (Sikorski)] (Polish-language Wikipedia)
  
==Source==
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[[fr:Église orthodoxe autocéphale ukrainienne]]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Autocephalous_Orthodox_Church Wikipedia Article]
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[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Autocefală Ucraineană]]
  
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Autocefală Ucraineană]]
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[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Latest revision as of 16:44, February 5, 2022

The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) was the third largest Orthodox Church in Ukraine after the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The UAOC, which claimed its origins in the early 20th century in Ukraine, preserved the vision of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Ukrainian nationalism in the Ukrainian Diaspora during the Soviet era and in independent Ukraine itself.

Founding and Dissolution of the UAOC

For centuries what became the UAOC was part of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which was founded by the Church of Constantinople and remained part of it prior to the independence of the Church of Rus'. After the transfer of the seat of the metropolitans of Kiev from Kiev to cities further east and north (and eventually to Moscow) the territories of what today is Ukraine came under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had jurisdiction over the region returned to Constantinople and eventually to the Ukrainian Catholic Church after the Union of Brest. It wasn't until the conquest of Ukraine by the rising Russian Empire that its Church was reunited with the Church of Rus'.

Due to the cultural differences that had developed as a result of the Polish occupation and the Union of Brest the reunion of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine with the Church of Rus' was opposed by some Ukrainian Orthodox, who began advocating the establishment of an independent Church of Ukraine. Although suppressed by the Russian Empire, following its collapse in the early 20th century supporters of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church held an All-Ukrainian Council (sobor) in Kiev that on 5 May 1920 declared the establishment of an independent Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

The UAOC sought for hierarchical support, but none of the hierarchs serving in Ukraine would join the Church and consequently in 1921 a group of clergy and laymen together "consecrated" Archpriest Vasyl Lypkivskyj as a bishop, enthroning him as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. He consequently "consecrated" other bishops for Ukraine and dioceses of the UAOC formed in Canada and the United States by Ukrainian nationalists and converts from Ukrainian Catholicism. (These eparchies later became the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.)

The UAOC in Ukraine was dissolved following the Bolshevik occupation and annexation of eastern and central Ukraine in the 1920s. In 1924, however, the Ecumenical Patriarchate unilaterally rescinded the transfer of the Orthodox Church in what today is western Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland to the Church of Rus' and established it as the independent Church of Poland. Although operating on the territory of interwar Poland and officially called the Polish Orthodox Church, this new Local Orthodox Church's flock was primarily Ukrainian and Belorussian in composition.

Restoration of the UAOC

During World War II the German government strongly encouraged Ukrainian and Belorussian nationalism as a counterweight to Polish and Soviet resistance and influence in Eastern Europe. It was this that allowed dissident hierarchs of the Polish Orthodox Church in what had been southeastern Poland and the western USSR to declare the restoration of the UAOC in 1942. Bishop Polycarp (Sikorsky) of Lutsk, formerly of the Church of Poland, became the first legitimately consecrated hierarch to serve as primate of the UAOC (its pre-WWII hierarchical consecrations had all been invalid under canon law).

UAOC in the Diaspora

The restoration of the UAOC in Ukraine proved to be brief as the region was occupied by the Red Army in the 1940s and annexed to the Soviet Union. Those hierarchs and clergy of the UAOC who remained in Soviet Ukraine were forced to submit to the Moscow Patriarchate or else sent into internal exile or executed. Several of the Church's hierarchs fled the advance of the Red Army and ended up in the Ukrainian Diaspora in the West, among them Metropolitan Polycarp.

In the following years the UAOC existed only in the Diaspora, with parishes scattered across the globe in Australia, North and South America, and Western Europe. It, like other jurisdictions present in the West following the Bolshevik Revolution, drifted in and out of communion with world Orthodoxy. Following the repose of Metropolitan Polycarp in France in 1953, Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Parma became primate of the UAOC in 1969.

UAOC Returns to Ukraine

In 1990 the weakening of the central government of the Soviet Union allowed for the restoration of the UAOC in Ukraine for the first time since World War II. Not long after the UAOC accepted into its communion hierarchs and clergy led by Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev of the Moscow Patriarchate and elected the 92-year old Metropolitan Mstyslav as Patriarch of Kyiv and All Ukraine, enthroning him on 6 November 1990.

Following the repose of Patriarch Mstyslav in 1993 two new Patriarchs of Kyiv, Volodomyr (Romaniuk) and Dymytriy (Yarema), were elected by factions of the UAOC, those under Patriarch Volodymyr largely consisting of supporters of the former Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Philaret who together founded the Kyiv Patriarchate of Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It was around this time that both of the UAOC's dioceses in North America together with large parts of its Western European and Australian flocks left the Church to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

After the death of Patriarch Dymytriy in 2000 the UAOC elected Archbishop Methodius of Ternopil' as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The UAOC was mainly in western Ukraine and had its headquarters at the historic Church of St. Andrew in Kiev. In the Unification Council of 15 December, 2018, the UAOC dissolved itself and joined the newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

External Links and Sources