Jurisdiction: | Eparchy |
Chełm and Belz | |
Latin: | Dioecesis Chelmensis et Belthiensis Ruthenorum |
Headquarters: | Chełm, Poland |
Denomination: | Catholic Church |
Sui Iuris Church: | Ukrainian Greek Catholic |
Rite: | Byzantine Rite |
Dissolved: | 1875 (suppressed) |
Cathedral: | Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Chełm |
Language: | Church Slavonic |
The Eparchy of Chełm–Bełz (also known as Chełm–Bełz of the Ukrainians, Latin: Dioecesis Chelmensis et Belthiensis Ruthenorum) was an eparchy of the Ruthenian Uniate Church from 1596 until 1875. It was a suffragan of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia. It was situated in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Today, the territory of the eparchy is located in the south-eastern corner of the modern state of Poland and in north-western corner of Ukraine around the province (oblast) of Lviv. The episcopal see of the eparchy was situated in the city of Chełm; today, the cathedral is used by the Latin Church as the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary. The eparchy was forcibly suppressed in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church by the Russian Empire in May 1875 in the Conversion of Chełm Eparchy.
It was established in 1596 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on territory that had not previously been served by the church. It was suppressed by the Russian Empire on 18 March 1875. In Ukraine, a modern successor to the eparchy in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church may be considered to be the Eparchy of Sokal–Zhovkva.