History
The Ruthenian Church developed among the Rusyn people living in Carpathian Ruthenia as a result of the missionary outreach of Saints Cyril and Methodius who brought Christianity and the Byzantine Rite to the Slavic peoples in the ninth century. After the separation of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in 1054, the Ruthenian Church retained its Orthodox ties.
The invasion of the Magyars in the 10th century later brought Catholic missionary influence to the area. With the Union of Uzhhorod in 1646, 63 Ruthenian clergy were received into the Catholic Church, and in 1664 a union reached at Mukachevo brought additional communities into the Catholic communion. The resulting dioceses retained their Byzantine rite and liturgical traditions, and their bishops were elected by a council composed of Basilian monks and eparchial clergy.
The region became, in part, incorporated in Czechoslovakia after World War I. Annexation to the Soviet Union after World War II led to persecution of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. However, since the collapse of Communism the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Eastern Europe has seen a resurgence in numbers of faithful and priests.
Read more about this topic: Ruthenian Catholics
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