History
Apostolic Administration
in Kazakhstan
and Central Asia

The first Ukrainian settlers arrived on the territory of present-day Kazakhstan as early as the 17th century. However, the largest number of Ukrainian Greek Catholics came to Kazakhstan in the 20th century during the Stalinist repressions, especially as a result of the mass deportations from Ukraine to Kazakhstan in the 1940s and 1950s. Around 200 Greek Catholic priests were also imprisoned in the KarLag labor camp system.

Beginning in 1955, priests, together with other political prisoners, were released from prisons and camps. After their release, these priests began providing pastoral care for the faithful. In this way, the first Greek Catholic community emerged in Karaganda. Divine services were celebrated secretly in private homes, dugouts, and barracks. Among those who served the faithful were the underground Bishop of Mukachevo, Alexander Chira; Blessed Father Oleksiy Zarytsky; Father Mykola Shaban; and Father Stepan Pryshliak. Underground services continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the legalization of the Greek Catholic Church. In 1993, the first Greek Catholic parish in Karaganda was officially registered. Later, parishes were established in other cities of Kazakhstan.

In 1991, following the creation of the Apostolic Administration for Roman Catholics in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, pastoral care for Greek Catholic faithful was entrusted to the Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Jan Paweł Lenga. From 1996 to 2002, pastoral care for the faithful of the Byzantine rite in Kazakhstan was undertaken by Bishop Vasyl Medvit, who was appointed Apostolic Visitor for Greek Catholics in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In 2002, Father Vasyl Hovera was appointed Delegate of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches for these same faithful.

On June 1, 2019, Pope Francis established the Apostolic Administration for the Faithful of the Byzantine Rite in Kazakhstan and Central Asia and appointed Father Vasyl Hovera as its first Apostolic Administrator.

It should also be noted that the Apostolic Administration for Greek Catholics in Kazakhstan had its own prehistory. In the late 1950s, the Head of the Greek Catholic Church, Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj, while imprisoned in Siberia and caring for the spiritual welfare of his faithful who had been taken from their homeland and scattered throughout the Soviet Union, appointed four Apostolic Administrators: two for the territory of the Russian Federation and two for Central Asia. In Kazakhstan, he appointed as Administrator Father Oleksiy Zarytsky, today venerated as a Blessed Hieromartyr. In Kyrgyzstan, he appointed Father Yosafat Fedoryk, OSBM, who later became a bishop. Unfortunately, these Apostolic Administrators were not able to carry out their duties for long. In 1963, Father Oleksiy Zarytsky died in the camp at Dolinka, while Father Yosafat Fedoryk left Frunze, Kyrgyzstan, and returned to Ukraine.

At present, Greek Catholic parishes operate in Kazakhstan in Karaganda, Astana, Pavlodar, Satpayev, and the village of Shiderty in the Pavlodar Region. There is also a Greek Catholic community in Almaty. In addition, priests serve several Greek Catholic communities in various villages.