The Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kharkiv ( la, Archiepiscopi Exarchatus Charcoviensis) was established on 2 April 2014 after division of the Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk – Kharkiv in two Exarchates . The current, and first, Archiepiscopal Exarch is
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Vasyl Tuchapets, O.S.B.M.
It is one of only five archiepiscopal exarchates worldwide - all of them being
Ukrainian Rite
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.
In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Tuchapets described the social reality of his diocese in the following terms. “We started our work with our Greek Catholic Church faithful, made up mostly of former university students who remained in Kharkiv, and by former deportees to Siberia, but now most parishioners are locals who have found their faith through contact with our parishes. I think our task is to plough, to prepare the ground, after us come those who will sow, and the next generations will already reap."
Status as Archiepiscopal Exarchate
As
Major Archbishop
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...
s have similar authority to that of
Patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
s, Archiepiscopal Exarchates similarly have roughly the same status in canon law as Patriarchal Exarchates.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Culture in Kharkiv
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