Ruthenian Uniate Church
The Ruthenian Uniate Church (Belarusian: Руская уніяцкая царква, romanized: Ruskaja unijackaja carkva; Ukrainian: Руська унійна церква, romanized: Rus'ka uniyna tserkva; Latin: Ecclesia Ruthena unita; Polish: Ruski Kościół Unicki) was a particular church of the Catholic Church in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was created in 1595/1596 by those clergy of the Eastern Orthodox Church who subscribed to the Union of Brest. In the process, they switched their allegiances and jurisdiction from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Holy See.
This article is about the historic Eastern Catholic church. For similarly named churches, see Ruthenian Catholic Church.The church had a single metropolitan territory — the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia. The formation of the church led to a high degree of confrontation among Ruthenians, such as the murder of Archeparch Josaphat Kuntsevych in 1623. Opponents of the union called church members "Uniates," though Catholic documents today no longer use the term due to its perceived negative overtones.[1]