It was a suffragan of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia.

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.