Christianity was introduced into Ukraine long before it became the official state religion. St. Andrew, the first apostle called by Christ, preached in the hills of what is today's Kiev (about 50 AD). After blessing the area, he prophesied that a great city would be built on this ground.

St. Olga, wife of Prince Ihor, accepted Christianity in 945 and was baptized by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Her grandson, St. Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kievan Rus, accepted Christianity from Constantinople in 988 and made it the state religion.

The Ukrainian Church enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. The Great Schism of 1054, where Pope Leo XI of Rome and Patriarch Michael Celerius of Constantinople mutually excommunicated each other had little effect on the Ukrainian Church at first. However, the estrangement of the Ukrainian Church from the Church of Rome took place gradually over time. With the demise of Kievan State (about 14th century), Ukraine came under the dominance of the Polish Commonwealth.

In 1596, the Ukrainian bishops gathered in the city of Brest for a synod where a Union with Rome was concluded (the Union of Brest) . The Ukrainian Church would retain the Byzantine Rite and its full autonomy as a "Particular" Church was guaranteed. The Ukrainian Catholic Church became (and still remains) the largest Eastern Church in communion with Rome. However, not all Ukrainians had accepted this union which caused friction between the Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox Communities.

After the partition of Poland (1795), eastern Ukraine (the regions of Kiev, Podillja, and Volyn) were incorporated into the Russian Empire. This began a period of persecution of the Ukrainian Catholic Church which was liquidated in 1839 by imperial decree throughout the Russian Empire. The Ukrainian Catholic Church continued to flourish in western Ukraine which became part of the Austrian Empire.

Coming to America -. In the early 1870's, Ukrainians began immigrating to the United States and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church rapidly grew. The first parish (St. Michael the Archangel) was established in 1884 in Shenandoah, PA. The first parishes were under the authority of the Latin Rite Bishops. In 1907, a Ukrainian Catholic diocese was established in Philadelphia, PA. where an ecclesiastical structure was established in the United States for Ukrainian Catholics. In 1916, there were 152 parishes. In 1956, the diocese of Stamford, CT was created. In 1961, the diocese of Chicago, IL was established. In 1983, the diocese of St. Josaphat in Parma OH was established.

Persecution by Soviet Union: The Church of the Catacombs - The Soviet Union occupied Western Ukraine after the Second World War. The Ukrainian Catholic Church was singled out for persecution. It was closed, its clergy was thrown into prison camps, and as a result, the entire Church went underground, and became the modern day Church of the Catacombs. The Ukrainian Catholic Church survived in this fashion for nearly five decades.

Resurrection of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukraine - The survival of the Ukrainian Catholic Church under the severe persecution of the Soviets is a modern day miracle. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's and the establishment of a Ukrainian State, the Ukrainian Catholic Church emerged from the catacombs 5 million faithful strong. The Church organization is reestablished, a seminary has reopened its doors, and new priests are being trained to meet the needs of the faithful.

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