Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk

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Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk
Coat of arms of Donetsk (UGCC).svg
Coat of arms of Donetsk exarchate
Location
CountryFlag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
TerritoryEastern Ukraine (Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhya Oblasts)
Headquarters Donetsk (temporary in Zaporizhya), Ukraine
Population
  •  
  • 8,000
Information
Sui iuris church Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Rite Byzantine
EstablishedJanuary 11, 2002
CathedralCatholic Cathedral in Donetsk
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk
Archiepiscopal Exarch Maksym Ryabukha, S.D.B. Exarch of the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk
Map
Map of Greek Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk.svg

The Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk (Latin : Archiepiscopi Exarchatus Doneckiensis) is one of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite, Ukrainian language)'s five Archiepiscopal Exarchate (Eastern Catholic pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction under a Major Archbishop) in Eastern Ukraine.

Contents

Church of the Holy Mother of God, Donetsk Donetsk greko-katolicheskiy hram.jpg
Church of the Holy Mother of God, Donetsk
Monastery of the Heart of Christ, Zvanivka Artemivs'kyi district, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine - panoramio (4).jpg
Monastery of the Heart of Christ, Zvanivka

Its cathedral episcopal see is the Cathedral of the Virgin of Mercy, in Donetsk. There is a Basilian monastery at Zvanivka, in the north of Donetsk Oblast.

The first archiepiscopal exarch was Bishop Stepan Meniok, C.Ss.R., who retired in 2024. He was replaced by Bishop Maksym Ryabukha.

History

It was established on 11 January 2002 as the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donets’k – Kharkiv, on territory split off from the then Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kyiv – Vyshhorod (which became the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Kyiv).

On 2 April 2014 the Exarchate was renamed as Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk, having lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kharkiv.

Russian invasion

The Archeparchy was seriously affected by the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, as around half of its territory was taken by Russian forces. Bishop Maksym Ryabukha told pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need that "before the war we had over 80 parishes, and now we have only 37 active parishes. The rest were closed, occupied or destroyed." He went on to say that "the laws of the occupation force forbid any affiliation with the Catholic Church, either Greek-Catholic or Latin rite, and it is very difficult to provide any sort of ministry there. My exarchate no longer has any priests in these territories, all our churches have been destroyed, or they are closed and people are not allowed to attend them."

In the same interview [1] he described himself as a "bishop on wheels", and described the state of mind of his faithful: "We feel helpless, because it is as if nobody sees what is happening. What hurts most is seeing that the world remains silent while civilian areas are bombed and people are killed. From a practical standpoint, we can’t see a significant response from the world. The only thing that gives us hope is that God is stronger than the evil we can find in the world."

Episcopal ordinaries

Archiepiscopal Exarch of Donetsk–Kharkiv
Archiepiscopal Exarchs of Donetsk

48°00′00″N37°48′00″E / 48.0000°N 37.8000°E / 48.0000; 37.8000


  1. ↑ Burgos, Xavier (12 August 2025). "Greek-Catholic Bishop of Donetsk: "Before the war we had over 80 parishes, but more than half closed, are under occupation or were destroyed"". ACN International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
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