A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UKRAINIAN AUTOCEPHALOUS ORTHODOX CHURCH FROM 1921-1944

After WW1 and the fall of the Czar, Ukraine was in a peculiar position. It was free of the domination of the Moscow Patriarchate for the first time in 300 years,. You must remember that the Rus Church
had been established in Kiev in the 10th century and later because of the Islamic invasion moved to Moscow for protection. Several hundred years later the church leadership and become dominated by Moscowvites
and they paid the Ecumenical Patriarch 300 gold pieces to transfer the throne to Moscow. From the 17th century on the throne of Kiev was occupied by Russian Bishops. After the fall of the Empire, an event that personally
affected my family, and most Ukrainians was the establishment of a national government. Once free of Moscow, the Ukrainian Church petitioned the Orthodox world for Autocephalous status.

The Patriarch of Antioch acknowledged their claim as did the Ecumen. Bishops were unable to enter the Ukraine for some time to accomplish the necessary consecrations. The clergy and Laity called a Great Council (SOBOR) and
voted to evoke an ancient Alexndrian Canon which allowed for the Consecration of Bishops at the hand of Priests ( Third Century Church). They elected Bishops as named on our website and consecrated them. To give it a little more force they used the relic ( dead hand of Pope Clement whose relics were in Ukraine) to implement it. When the Bolsheviks took Ukraine the New Church was once again persecuted and many were executed.
The first migration of people and clergy to Europe and the west came from this first revival of the Ukrainian Church. They were considered non-canonical by many of the orthodox.+ Theodorivich was the leader of Ukrainians
in America. Most of the Ukrainians who had arrived in America aligned themselves with Him. The Ukrainian Catholics also returned in great numbers to Orthodoxy under his leadership. Most of these had been mistreated miserably by the Roman Hierarchs who had no understanding of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church.

In the motherland the 1921 church had been governed and formed more democratically then the Church had been for many centuries. It was governed by a Sacred SOBOR (Council of Clergy and Laity). It was forced to go underground or flee the Ukraine. Very similar to the Catacomb Church in Russia ( which was not governed by the communists even to this day, TROC).

With the German occupation of Ukraine during WW11 came the second modern revival of the Ukrainian Church. Free from Russian domination and without contact with the Russian Church and because of political differences
the Ecumenical Patriarch reinstituted the Autocephalous status of the UOC. Bishops were sent from the Western portion of the Ukraine (  Poland ) to consecrate leadership of the Church. These are also listed on our website.
ALL OF OUR HOLY ORDERS STEM FROM THIS SECOND REVIVAL. These consecrations were considered Valid, Licit and Canonical by the Orthodox world. The Church was recognized as the official orthodox Church of Ukraine and it joined with the rest of the church ( Automous Church of Ukraine ). When the war was over the Communist regime surprised the Church again to the Moscow Church and reprisals began. Executions and banishments and imprisonments followed. We were strongest in Western Ukraine. Many people and Hierarchs fled to Germany and other parts of Europe. A new Synod was formed in the Diaspora in Germany in 1947 and most settled in far reaching parts of the World ( Europe, South America, North America, etc.) Bishop + Mystaslav (later Patriarch of Kiev after the fall of the Soviet State) became the head of the Ukrainian orthodox Church of Canada. This was Our Jurisdiction. In America ( Chicago and Pennsylvania) were Bishops +Gregory Ohijchuk and +Hennadij , respectively. These were Our jurisdiction in America. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the USA, SOBOR nopravna 1921 Rukopalozhena. In Canada and in the USA our Bishops reconsecrated all of the 1921 Bishops and now all of our Bishops were Canonical.

At this time there were 4 main groups in America, mostly in a very close relationship but with their own Hierarchs. The 1st and largest group was headed by Theodorovich who was later succeeded by Mystaslav.
Mystaslav who was a UAOC Hierarch in this way became the head of the largest group who had been here for many years. This left the UAOC leadership in America to Archbishop Hryhorij ( Gregory Ohijchuk ) who was heir to the Throne of Kiev. He is the First American Hierarch in Our Apostolic lineage. He was aided by His friend and fellow Archbishop Hennadij. These two Hierarchs can be seen in our 1942 consecrations on our website in St. Andrew's cathedral in Kiev.

1. Largest group of Ukrainians- Archbishop Mystaslav  in South Bound Brook. Sitting members of Scoba.

2. Second largest group were already here and subjected themselves to the Ecumenical Pat., Sitting members of SCOBA were headed by Archbishop Bohdan.