The Catholic Church in Ukraine consists of members of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church as well as the
Latin Church,
Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, and the
Armenian Catholic Church. The majority of Ukrainian Catholics belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Latin Church in the territories of modern Ukraine has been strongly associated with Poland and
Poles, but the church has emphasized a Ukrainian identity since the nation's independence from the Soviet Union. The history of the Catholic Church in modern Ukraine starts as early as the 10th century when Christianity in Ruthenia was established as a state religion in 988 taking place before the
East–West Schism. While records of Christians and Christian temples in the Medieval state predate the date. In mid-10th century, Kyiv was visited by a mission that was led by bishop
Adalbert of Magdeburg out of
Trier Monastery. Following the schism, the Ruthenian Church which was brought to Kyiv by the
Byzantine Greeks ended up among Eastern Orthodox Churches. After annexation of the
Kingdom of Ruthenia by the
Kingdom of Poland in course of the
Galicia–Volhynia Wars in Lviv was established the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv in the 14th century. In mid-15th century Metropolitan of Kyiv
Isidore attempted to unite the Ruthenian Church with the Catholic world by attending the
Council of Florence. Due to the conflict with the
Grand Duchy of Moscow, in 1458 the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Isidore II reorganized the Ruthenian Church moving its metropolitan see to
Vilnius. Until 1480, the metropolitan see of the Church was held by a metropolitan bishop appointed by the Pope including
Gregory the Bulgarian and
Misail Pstruch. In 1595, there was signed the
Union of Brest which officially united the Ruthenian Church with the Catholic Church accomplishing the intent of Metropolitan Isidore. Following
partitions of Poland, in 1839 in Polotsk pressured by the Russian government all the bishops of the
Ruthenian Uniate Church signed the union with the
Russian Orthodox Church, while dioceses of Eastern rite that became part of the
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in the
Austrian Empire were reorganized as Greek-Catholic Church. In 1630, a bishop of
Armenian Apostolic Church Mikołaj Torosowicz also signed a union with the Catholic Church establishing Armenian Catholic diocese of Lwow. In 1646, another
Eastern Orthodox diocese of Mukachevo signed the
Union of Uzhhorod and for sometime was guided by the
Archbishop of Eger in Hungary. In 2001, Ukraine was visited by
Pope John Paul II, who held official and informal meetings in
Kyiv and
Lviv. Communities from both the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the
Latin Church warmly greeted the Pope. Additionally, Non-Catholic religious communities publicly expressed a hope that the visit would encourage a spiritual and cultural renewal in the country which has been troubled by economic and social problems.
Caritas Ukraine is the charity of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, while
Caritas-Spes Ukraine is the official charity organisation of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. Both organisations have become major humanitarian actors, providing aid to millions of people following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Among the Catholics of Ukraine there are
Ukrainians, Poles,
Czechs,
Hungarians,
Filipinos and other peoples. ==Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ==