Its parishes observe the Byzantine Rite, which is also celebrated by the majority of Orthodox Christians, as provided for in the original terms of the Union of Uzhhorod.

In the political and spiritual climate of the day, union with Rome was considered by many to be a productive solution to promoting both the welfare of the people and the church.

Following a model similar to that proposed at the Council of Florence, the people were allowed to maintain their Byzantine Rite spiritual, liturgical and canonical traditions, while recognizing the Roman Pontiff as the head of the universal church.

On September 19, 1771, after decades of efforts on the part of the bishops of Mukachevo for recognition as a fully self-governing ecclesiastical entity, free from the control of the Latin Catholic bishops of Eger (today in Hungary), the Habsburg Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa issued a decree, subsequently approved by Rome, that created a jurisdictionally independent Mukachevo Eparchy no longer subordinate to the Latin Church ordinary.

During the episcopate of Bishop Andrii Bachynskyij (1772-1809), the eparchy retained its historic name but its seat was moved to Uzhhorod (1780), where it remains to this day.

During the Soviet years, the Greek Catholic Church in Galicia, Transcarpathia and Slovakia continued to operate secretly in the underground.