The Ukrainian Orthodox Church , commonly referred to as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is one of the three major Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in modern Ukraine. It is a constituent part of the Russian Orthodox Church ; however, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the senior-most of all the Orthodox Churches and the mother church for the historical Russian Church, disputes the legality of the ROC's ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Ukraine, which in the modern era dates back to 1686. The current statute of the ROC defines it as a self-governing [church] with the rights of wide autonomy. The current status of the UOC within the Moscow Patriarchate means that it enjoys full administrative independence from the ROC's Holy Synod, whereas the Primate of the UOC is the senior-most permanent member of the ROC's Holy Synod and thus has a say in its decision-making in respect of the rest of the ROC, including its business in the Russian Federation. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 notwithstanding, the UOC's eparchies in Crimea continue under the administration of the UOC.
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