The Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia was an ecclesiastical territory or

archeparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...

of the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church (; ; ; ) was a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church of the Catholic Church in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was created in 1595/1596 by those clergy of the Ea ...

, a

particular In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

church. It was erected in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in 1595/96 following the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

. It was effectively disestablished by the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

(1772–1795). Its successor — the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

— continues to operate in the modern states of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The first

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

was

Michael Rohoza Michael Rohoza (died 1599) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' in the Patriarchate of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1588 to 1596. In 1595, he signed the Union of Brest which moved the metropolis from the eccle ...

Ecclesiastical structure

Within the Commonwealth, the metropolis had the following

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s and

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

s (archeparchies): * Archeparchy of Polotsk * Archeparchy of Smolensk (1625-1778) * Eparchy of Lutsk and Ostroh (1594-1636, 1702-1795 and 1789–1839) During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

, Volhynia was occupied by Russian troops and the eparchy was converted to Orthodoxy until the withdrawal of troops. * Eparchy of Turov and

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

* Eparchy of Volodymyr and Brest * Eparchy of Lviv *

Eparchy of Chełm Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...

* Eparchy of

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

and

Sambir Sambir (, ; ; ) is a city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the Capital city, administrative center of Sambir Raion (Raion, district) and is located close to the border with Poland. Sambir hosts the administration of Sambir urba ...

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

's 1596 bull ''Decet Romanum Pontificem'' gave metropolitans the same rights that Kievan metropolitans had enjoyed under Constantinople. In elections for the office, candidates were chosen by direct vote of the assembled bishops and by the Superior-General ( Proto-Archimandrite) of the Basilian order. He would then be nominated by the Polish king and confirmed by the pope.

History

For much of the 17th century, the

was

at war ''At War'' () is a 2018 French drama film directed by Stéphane Brizé. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The film gained acclaim for its portrayal of working people. Plot After promising 1,100 em ...

with the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. The

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

(1648–1657) also known as the Cossack–Polish War, was a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

in the eastern territories of the Commonwealth, which led to the creation of a

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

right-bank Ukraine The Right-bank Ukraine is a historical and territorial name for a part of modern Ukraine on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding to the modern-day oblasts of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, as well as the western parts o ...

. As a result, the Kiev and Chernihiv dioceses which lay in the hetmanate were lost to the metropolis as the Cossacks were firmly anti-Catholic. While most Orthodox bishops in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth supported the Union of Brest, as with the previous Florentine Union, not all of them accepted the union. Some

eparchies Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...

(dioceses) continued to give their loyalty to Constantinople. These dissenters had no ecclesiastical leaders but with

Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny (; ; born – 20 April 1622) was a political and civic leader and member of the Ruthenian nobility, who served as Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks, Hetman of Zaporozhian Cossacks from 1616 to 1622. During his tenur ...

— the

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

of the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

— they had a secular leader who was opposed to the union with Rome. The Cossacks' strong historic allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox Church put them at odds with the Catholic-dominated Commonwealth. Tensions increased when Commonwealth policies turned from relative tolerance to the suppression of the Orthodox church, making the Cossacks strongly anti-Catholic. By that time, the loyalty of the Zaporozhian hetmanate to the Commonwealth was only nominal. In August 1620, the Hetman prevailed upon Theophanes III — the

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem or Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, officially patriarch of Jerusalem (; ; ), is the head bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Easte ...

— to re-establish an Orthodox metropolis in the realm. Theophanes consecrated

Job Boretsky Job Boretsky (, secular name Ivan Matfeyevich Boretsky, , died 2 March 1631) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1620 to 1631. He was a Ruthenian ...

as the new " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" and as the "

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

of Ukraine". There were now two metropolitans with the same title but different ecclesiastical loyalties within the Commonwealth. By 1686, Russia had complete sovereignty over the lands of the

Zaporozhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich (, , ; also ) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Zaporozhian Cossacks that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries, for the latter part of that period as an autonomous stratocratic state within the Cossa ...

and

left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...

, as well as the city of Kiev. The

Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 The Polish-Russian Peace Treaty of 1686, officially known as Treaty of Perpetual Peace , , but also known in Polish tradition Grzymułtowski Peace, ) was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to finally ...

which was concluded by Russia and the Commonwealth affirmed this reality. As a result, the Greek Catholic population in those areas suffered oppression and many deaths. It also spelled an end to the independence and unity of the Hetman state. The

Starodub Starodub (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets (river), Babinets River in the Dnieper basin, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

, Chernihiv, and other territories in left-bank Ukraine went to Russia; the rest remained in the Commonwealth. The end of the Commonwealth came with the

when the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

divided the realm between them. Following the partitions, its successor states treated the Uniate Church differently: * In the territory annexed by the Russian Empire, the Church was effectively dissolved; most of the

were

forcibly converted Forced conversion is the adoption of a religion or irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, wh ...

to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

after the

Synod of Polotsk The Synod of Polotsk was a local synod held on February 12, 1839, by the clergy of the Ruthenian Uniate Church, Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the city of Polotsk for Union of Brest, reunification with the Russian Orthodox Church. Polotsk was ...

of 1839. * In the territory of the

Congress Kingdom of Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established wh ...

the Eparchy of Chełm-Belz was united in

Conversion of Chełm Eparchy The Conversion of Chełm Eparchy was the forced conversion of the Eparchy of Chełm–Belz that took place between January and May 1875. It was the last eparchy of the Ruthenian Uniate Church that remained on the territory of the Russian Empire f ...

to the Orthodox Church in 1875 * In the territory annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, the Eparchy of

Supraśl Supraśl (; ; ) is a town and former episcopal see in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Supraśl. It is situated on the Supraśl (river), Supraśl River, about northeast of Białyst ...

operated from 1798 to 1809. Following the

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

, the territory was annexed by the Russian Empire. As a result, this eparchy was effectively dissolved and reunited to the Eparchy of Brest, the territory was later converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1839. * In the territory annexed by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

(the

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

), the Church continued to operate as a

Greek Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

. A similar situation continued in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

of 1918 to 1939. It was suppressed in the Soviet Union from 1946 but survived to become the core of the

from 1989.

List of metropolitans

The below is a list of metropolitans of "Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia": * 1596—1599

* 1600—1613

Hypatius Pociej Hypatius Pociej (, , ) (12 April 1541 – 18 July 1613) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned from ...

* 1613—1637

Joseph Velamin-Rutski Joseph Velamin-Rutski (born as ''Ivan Velyaminov''; , , , ) - (1574 – 5 April 1637) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with ...

Ludvik Nemec, "The Ruthenian Uniate Church in Its Historical Perspective", ''Church History''; Vol. 37, No. 4 (Dec., 1968), pp. 365-388 * 1637—1640

Rafajil Korsak Rafajil Nikolai Korsak (, , ) (c. 1599 – 28 August 1640) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned fr ...

* 1641—1655

Antin Sielava Anton Anastas Sielava (, , ) (1583 – 5 October 1655) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned from 1 ...

* 1666—1674

Havryil Kolenda Yuri Havryil Kolenda (, , ) (1606—1674) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned from 1665 to his death ...

* 1674—1693 Kyprian Zochovskyj * 1694—1708

Lev Zalenskyj Lev Shlubych Zalenskyj (, , ) (c. 1648–1708) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned from 1694 until hi ...

* 1708—1713

Yurij Vynnyckyj Gabriel Yurij Vynnyckyj (, , ) (1660—1713) was the Administrator of Kiev–Galicia from 1708 and the "Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia (Ruthenian Uniate Church), Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" of the Ukrainian Greek ...

* 1714—1729 Lev Kiszka * 1729—1746

Athanasius Szeptycki Athanasius Szeptycki (born as Antoni Alexandrowycz Szeptycki; ; 1686 – 12 December 1746, Lviv) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" On 13 September 1715 Szeptycki was ordained by Primate of the Uniate church Leo Kiszka as ...

* 1748—1762

Florian Hrebnicki Florian Hrebnicki (born as Franciszek Hrebnicki; ; 1683 – 18 July 1762) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" On 14 March 1716 Hrebnicki was ordained by Primate of the Uniate church Leo Kiszka as a archbishop of Polock. On ...

* 1762—1778 Felicjan Filip Wołodkowicz * 1778—1779

Leo Szeptycki Leo Sheptycki (born as Leon Ludwik Szeptycki; ; 23 August 1717 – 13 May 1779) was the "Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia (Ruthenian Uniate Church), Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" On 14 May 1749 Sheptycki was ordained ...

* 1780—1786 Jason Smogorzewski * 1787—1805 Theodosius Rostocki

Ecclesiastical structure

History

List of metropolitans

References

Further reading