after the second world war most of the ethnically ukrainian and belarusian territories were annexed by the soviet union, holding up to 80% of the paoc's parishes and congregation, which were united with the recently re-instated moscow patriarchate. the remaining parishes that were now on the territory of the polish people's republic were kept by the paoc, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as around chełm and białystok. in 1948, after the soviet union established political control over poland, the russian orthodox church recognised the autocephalous status of the polish orthodox church.