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The '''Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church''' is the smallest one of the "big three" major Orthodox Churches in Ukraine (the . The others being include the [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]], and the [[Church of Ukraine (Kiev Patriarchate)|Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kievan -Kyiv Patriarchate)]]). The original [[UAOC was created ]] has its origins in the Sobor of 1921in Kyiv, because of shortly after Ukraine's new found independence. With the new nation being created, many ethnic Ukrainian's Ukrainians living in Ukraine felt they needed the need for an indigenous [[Autocephalous]] Orthodox Church. There have been about 3 three different "resurrections" of the [[UAOC's ]] in Ukraine, each following a period of political persecution.

During World War II, the Orthodox and Ukrainian's Ukrainians were not being pursecuted persecuted due to the war (Ukraine was a battleground inbetween between the German and Soviet Army'sArmys). On October 8, 1942 Archbishop Nikanor and [[Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of KievKyiv|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.

The Russian Orthodox Church regained its general monopoly after World War II in the Ukrainian SSR. Most of the other churches were forced out 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]] these autocephalic Churches some churches sought to remain independentof Moscow; something that Moscow was tolerated until after World War Two when 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.

Re-gaining the state recongnition recognition in the late 1980s, the Church was initially ruled governed from abroad by Patriarch [[Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Kiev|Mstyslav]] . Subsequent to his death, he was succeeded by Patriarchs Volodymyr (Romanyuk) and then following Dymytry (Yarema). Patriarch Volodymyr would, during his death in 1993 re-established itself time as an independent churchpatriarch, following separate from the brief union with [[UAOC]] to found the UOC-KP, together with Metropolitan (now Patriarch) Filaret (Denysenko).

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. Geographically the church operates almost exclusively now has a stronger presence in the western Galcian Western Ukrainian provinces with minute support a smaller representation elsewhere. The church used Previous to have a lot of 1995, there were more parishes abroad in the Ukrainian emigre diaspora communities in of Canada and in the United States. However, many of these parishes now form the separate churches (whom which are now under eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada]] and the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA]]. 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. There is also a parish of the church in Canberra, Australia.