The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) (Ukrainian: Українська Греко-Католицька Церква – УГКЦ), is the largest Eastern Catholic Church sui juris, particular church in full communion with the West Patriarchal See of Rome. The Head of the Church holds the office of Archbishop-Major of Kyiv-Halych and All Rus, though the hierarchs and faithful of the church have acclaimed their primate Patriarch. Our Church is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv in 988. The Church has followed the spread of the Ukrainian diaspora and now has some 40 hierarchs in over a dozen countries on four continents.

Within Ukraine itself, the UGCC is a minority faith of the religious population, being a distant second to the majority Eastern Orthodox faith, albeit they are split into three separate Orthodox Churches: the Church in union with Constantinople; the Church in union with Moscow; and an Autocephalous Church (self-governing). The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the second largest religious organization in Ukraine in terms of number of communities. In terms of number of faithful, it ranks third in allegiance among the population of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates in three western oblasts of Ukraine, including about half the population of Lviv but constitutes a small minority elsewhere in the country.

What is truly unique about our Church is that, while in union with the Patriarch of Rome, its theology and spirituality, which flows from its liturgical practices, is strictly Eastern and like the Orthodox Churches.

For some years after its union with Rome, it became Latinized, that is it incorporated many Roman Catholic practices and its spirituality wavered from traditional Eastern Christian spirituality. After Vatican II, a Roman Catholic Council, our Church was encouraged to once again embrace Eastern Christian practices and the spirituality that is intrinsic to those practices. Many parishes have begun to embrace a much more authentic Eastern spirituality dependent upon where their pastor was trained. Our Synod of Bishops, which was formed after Ukraine gained its freedom and the Church was able to come out of the underground, have stressed the necessity of parishes embracing Eastern Christian practices, spirituality and, of course, theology.

Eastern Christianity is different than Western Christianity. Each represents a different side to a common coin. As Saint John Paul II exclaimed, the Western and Eastern Churches are like the two lungs of the one Mystical Body of Christ. They each present an authentic approach to Christianity, albeit different. Spirituality must flow from the liturgical practices of each particular Church.

We are different!