Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate is an Orthodox church in Ukraine. She looks selbt canonical, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, of which she has split in the early 1990s, as not legitimate.

Ever since the conquest of Ukraine by the Russian Empire belonged to the Orthodox believers in Ukraine of the Russian Orthodox Church. Previously, the Ukrainian dioceses had times times the were under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Opel, Moscow. Autonomy movement led in the 1920s, first to split off the existing up to now Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church, the so-called autonomists. After the ebbing of the Stalinist persecutions of the Church (from 1943) called this loyal to Moscow branch Ukrainian Exarchate.

After the independence of Ukraine in 1991, part of the Ukrainian clergy split from the Moscow leadership and moved his center to Kiev. Since then, there is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, under the leadership of Metropolitan Filaret II.

The autonomists, who had survived mainly as exile church in the United States, entered into a temporary connection one with the Kyivan Patriarchate, but later split off again. At the Moscow Patriarch, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate remained under the Metropolitan Volodymyr, the autonomy was granted. Especially in the Russian dominated east of the country remained many believers in this " pro-Moscow " church.

In fact, there are today in Ukraine three major Orthodox Churches ( Patriarchate of Moscow, Kiev Patriarchate, autonomists ), competing for status as a national church. It is also about canonical legitimacy and real estate. In addition, the dispute comes to the united with Rome Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Pope in Rome is in legal terms.