The Metropolis of Kyiv (; ; ) was an autonomous metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleThe subordination of the Metropolis of Kyiv to the Moscow church was carried out by Patriarch Dionysius without the consent and approval of the Holy and Holy Synod of the Great Church of Christ. with center in Kyiv after its formation in 988 as a result of the Christianization of Rus by Volodymyr the Great until January 6, 2019, when it received the Tomos on Autocephaly."Constantinople still continues to consider Ukraine its canonical territory"
In 1596, the Union of Brest was adopted which transferred the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the metropolis from the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Holy See. As a sui juris Eastern Catholic particular church, the metropolis retained its ancient rights; in time, it came to be known as the Ruthenian Uniate Church. Some clergy and laity in the Commonwealth continued to give their loyalty to Constantinople but had no hierarchs to support them. In 1620, the Ukrainian Cossacks, led by Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny, secured the restoration of the Orthodox hierarchy in the Commonwealth as the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'.
In 1685, the Moscow Patriarchate began the annexation of the Metropolis of Kiev of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, ordaining Metropolitan Gedeon of Kiev in Moscovy. In 1686, through simony, Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysius IV (who was later anathema) issued a Synodal letter granting the right to ordinate the Metropolitan of Kiev to the Moscow Patriarch in the manner of austerity elected by the council of clergy and the faithful of his diocese. It was obligatory that the Metropolitan of Kyiv should mention the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as his First Hierarch in any service, proclaiming and confirming his canonical dependence on the Mother Church of Constantinople, but none of these conditions were met. The Metropolis of Kiev actually became one of the ordinary dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate, when Peter the Great in 1722 elected Barlaam (Voniatovych) in the rank of archbishop, not metropolitan. The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the process of granting autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine during its meeting on October 11, 2018, canceled the Synodal Letter of 1686 due to simony and its gross violation.
Since its founding, the Metropolis of Kyiv has served as the cradle of Ukrainian Christianity for Orthodox and Catholics. The autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine,The Orthodox Church of Ukraine: the way through the ages (Short historical essay) – pomisna.info the sui iuris Belarusian Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchHistory.- ugcc.church and the autonomous and independentThe Moscow Patriarchate claims it is a "self-governing Church with the rights of broad autonomy." The UOC separated itself from Moscow on its own authority and disregards the opinions of the Moscow Patriarchate. Ukrainian Orthodox Church declare themselves the heirs of the Metropolis of Kyiv.Хронологія історії Української Праволсавної Церкви.- orthodox.org.ua/
History
Early Christianity
Christianity on the territory of modern Ukraine came in apostolic times. Legend has it that the Apostle Andrew the First-Called was on the hills of Kiev and proclaimed to his disciples "Do you see those mountains – God's grace shines on these mountains – a great city will arise here and God will build many churches." Thus, the supporters of this version consider the Ukrainian Church to be apostolic and put it on a par with other great churches. Many sources also indicate that the apostle Andrew preached on the northern coast of the Black Sea to the peoples of Scythia. In addition, the Apostle Paul preached in the lands of Macedonia, Greece, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and from there Christianity spread to the Ukrainian lands.
Prince Askold of Kiev was inclined to accept Christianity. According to legend, on the tomb of Askold was to be built the church of St. Nicholas, which would indicate that he was a Christian. However, Askold's limited adoption of Byzantine Christianity and his disregard for the specifics of the Slavic worldview led to the fact that in 882 Prince Oleg of Novgorod, using pagan opposition, captured Kiev. Oleg's successor at the Kiev table, Igor I (913–945), was tolerant of Christianity and did not hinder its gradual penetration into the country.
After Igor's death in 945, his widow, Grand Princess Olga, became the head of state. During her stay in 957 in Constantinople, great effort was made to obtain the highest state title of "daughter" of the emperor, for which Olga privately (most likely in Kiev in 955) was baptized. In her mail, Olga had a priest, Gregory, as told in detail by Constantine the Crimson. After returning from Constantinople, the princess began to pursue a line to limit the influence of paganism in the state, violating the "demonic trebors" and building a wooden church of St. Sophia. However, Olga's actions did not give the desired results. Unable to gain political advantage from Byzantium, she turned her attention to the West, inviting clergy from the German kingdom that had risen under Otto I (936–973). According to German chroniclers, ambassadors from Princess Olga in 959 "asked to consecrate a bishop and priests for this people." In response, he sent an embassy to Rus, headed by Bishop Adalbert. However, in 962 he returned with nothing. Olga's activity did not find support and understanding in her immediate environment. Even his son Sviatoslav, despite his mother's persuasion, refused to accept Christianity, but his sons Yaropolk and Oleg were probably already Christians. Moreover, in 979 Pope Benedict VII sent ambassadors to Yaropolk.
Formation
In 988 after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in Kievan Rus, the Metropolis of Kiev was formed, which was subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople:According to one version, the first hierarch was Michael I of Kiev. However, a number of researchers believe that he was Leon or Leontius (1004) or Bishop Nastas Korsunianin. The first Metropolitan of Kiev mentioned in historical sources was a contemporary of Yaroslav the Wise, the Greek Theopempt (1037–1048).
In 1037, Prince Yaroslav the Wise built a new cathedral – St. Sophia – and moved the metropolitan cathedra there. An indisputable fact is Yaroslav's attempt to break with the Byzantine patriarchate. In 1051, with the assistance of Yaroslav the Wise, Hilarion, the first Ruthenian metropolitan, was elected Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus. He reorganized the church hierarchy, standardized and improved the structure of the metropolis, and wrote many spiritual works. From the very beginning, the Church had the Holy Scriptures – the first and most important source of church life – in a well-understood language, such as the Gospel of Ostrom, written in Kiev in 1056, the Kiev Gospel in 1092, and others.
Under Yaroslav, the organization of the church began to take form. At the end of Vladimir's reign there were five dioceses; in Kiev, Chernihiv, Belgorod, Vladimir and Novgorod. Under Yaroslav, the sixth was founded – in Yurii, above Ros.
A delegation of the Metropolis of Kiev, blessed by Metropolitan Ivan III of Kiev and All Rus, took part in the Council in Bari (10–15.09.1089) convened by Pope Urban II to reconcile the churches. Members of this mission were in Bari to consecrate the transferred tomb of St. Nicholas of Myra (Feast of St. Nicholas). After that time came the rise of the cult of St. Nicholas in Rus.
During the pre-Mongol period, 22 Metropolitans of Kiev are known. Most of them were Greeks sent by the patriarchs of Constantinople. The natives of the lands of Rus were Metropolitan Hilarion (1051–1062), Ephraim (1089–1097), Clement Smoliatych, and Cyril II (1233–1236).It is unknown whether he was approved by the Ecumenical Patriarch
After the destruction of Kiev by Prince Vladimir-Suzdal, Andrey Bogolyubsky, when many churches and monasteries were destroyed and looted, the importance of Kiev as a spiritual center began to decline. The Metropolitans of Kiev began to settle with the northern princes. After the capture of Kiev by the Mongol-Tatars, the Metropolitans of Kiev finally chose Vladimir as their place of residence on Kliazma on the outskirts of northeastern Rus. This weakened their connection with the historical and cultural core of the state and forced the Galician-Volyn monarchs to begin the process of forming a separate Metropolis of Halych for the Kingdom of Ruthenia.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the spiritual power of metropolitans extended to modern Ukrainian and Belarusian lands as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and while in Moscow they continued to use the title "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus." Moscow princes tried to use them for their political purposes, which led to the formation of the Lithuanian-Ruthenian metropolis.
In 1448, the Council of Moscow's Bishops, without the consent of the Ecumenical Patriarch, appointed Jonah, Bishop of Riazan, Metropolitan of Kiev. This event is considered the beginning of the separation of the Church of Moscovy. After the Union of Florence, before the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Church of Moscovy, which was under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as part of the Metropolis of Kiev, seceded. Metropolitan Jonah, who died in 1461, was the last metropolitan in Moscow to hold the title of "Kiev and All Rus." The title of his successor at the department already included "Moscow and all of Rus." The Moscow metropolis was in an unrecognized state until its transformation into the Moscow patriarchate in 1589, i.e. 141 years.
After the de facto separation of the Moscow metropolis, in 1458 Gregory II was ordained metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all of Rus. The Lithuanian metropolis ceased to exist and became part of the Metropolis of Kiev. Although, for a long time the capital of the metropolitans was Navahrudak, and later Vilnius. The Metropolis of Kievincluded: Kiev, Briansk, Smolensk, Polatsk, Turaŭ, Lutsk, Volodymyr-Volyn, Bieraście, Przemyśl, Halych and Chełm. For some time, the Novgorod hierarch also recognized the Metropolitan of Kievas his superior.
The Metropolitans of Kiev during the second half of the 15th century were supporters of the Florentine Union of 1439 on the unification of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and maintained ties with the Popes, as evidenced, in particular, by the letter of Bishop Mysail elected to the Metropolis of Kiev to Pope Sixtus IV in 1476 and a letter from Metropolitan Joseph Bolgarinovych from 1500 to Pope Alexander VI. Subsequently, these relations were interrupted due to the intervention of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 1443, the Florentine Union was condemned by the Orthodox Churches (Patriarchate of Alexandria, Patriarchate of Antioch and Patriarchate of Jerusalem) at the Cathedral of Jerusalem. These events caused a crisis in the Metropolis of Kiev.