The Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk ( la, Archiepiscopi Exarchatus Doneckiensis) is one of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

( Byzantine Rite,

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...

)'s five Archiepiscopal

Exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the firs ...

(Eastern Catholic pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction under a

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...

) in Eastern

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

episcopal see is the Cathedral of the

Virgin of Mercy The Virgin of Mercy is a subject in Christian art, showing a group of people sheltering for protection under the outspread cloak, or pallium, of the Virgin Mary. It was especially popular in Italy from the 13th to 16th centuries, often as a speci ...

, in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

. There is a Basilian monastery at Zvanivka, in the north of Donetsk Oblast. The current, and first, archiepiscopal exarch is

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Stepan Meniok, C.Ss.R.

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 The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Kyiv is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese (archeparchy) of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, a particular Eastern Catholic Church, that is located in the central part of Ukraine. The ordinary ...

). 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.

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Archiepiscopal Exarch of Donetsk–Kharkiv * Stepan Meniok, C.SS.R. (2002.01.11 – 2014.04.02 'see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

Acarassus Acarassus or Akarassos was a city in ancient Lycia. The town, with high probability, was located at the site of today's Elmalı, Antalya Province, Turkey. Bishopric Since it was in the Roman province of Lycia, the bishopric of Acarassus was a s ...

(2002.01.11 – ...) ** Auxiliary Bishop Wasyl Ihor Medwit,

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

(2009.03.17 – 2013.10.25), emeritus; previously Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians (Ukraine) (1994.03.30 – 1996.09.30), Titular Bishop of Hadriane (1994.03.30 – ...),

Apostolic Visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is deputed ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

of the Ukrainians (1996.09.30 – 2002.10), Archiepiscopal Exarch of Kyiv–Vyshhorod of the Ukrainians (Ukraine) (1997.09.20 – 2004.12.06), Bishop of Curia of the Ukrainians (2004.12.06 – 2009.03.17) ;''Archiepiscopal Exarchs of Donetsk'' * Stephan Meniok, C.SS.R. (''see above'' 2014.04.02 – ...)

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org with incumbent biography links

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Culture in Donetsk {{UkrainianGreekCatholic-diocese-stub