Since its creation in the 16th century, this church has been an important cultural and intellectual resource for Ukrainian id-entity. Most Ukrainians regard themselves as Orthodox, not Catholic. But with anywhere from 4.5 million to 6.5 million members, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the third-largest church in Ukraine, representing about 10% to 15% of the Ukrainian population.
Despite its relatively small size, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has, in the words of historian Kathryn David, “played an outsized role … in the creation of the Ukrainian nation.”
As a professor of religious studies who has spent three decades exploring the social and political role of religion in Eastern Europe, I am fascinated by the growing influence of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine.
As its name suggests, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has a complex heritage. It is a Ukrainian church consisting of Ukrainian parishioners and headquartered in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.