The Church of Ukraine is an autonomous Orthodox church whose primate is confirmed by the Church of Russia. Its history extends to the introduction of Christianity into Kievan Rus' with the baptism of Prince St. Vladimir of Kiev and his people in 988, known as the Baptism of Rus'. Its current primate is His Beatitude Volodymyr (Sabodan) (who resides at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which is the heartbeat of Ukrainian Orthodoxy), Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine. Its autonomy is currently not recognized in international Orthodox gatherings.