Greek-Catholic Church of Virgin Mary's Birth (Košice)
Encyclopedia
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. It is the cathedral of the Eparchy of Košice
Eparchy of Košice
The Eparchy of Košice is an eparchy of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church which covers the territory of the Košice Region in Slovakia. The eparchy is suffragan to the metropolitan Archeparchy of Prešov. It was established on 30 January 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI on the basis of the Apostolic Exarchate...
.
Greek Catholics started to settle in Košice in the 17th century. As late as 1852 their bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
established a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
in Košice. Till then, the divine services were served in the Franciscan Church
Franciscan Church (Košice)
The Franciscan Church or the Seminary Church at Hlavná ulica is the second oldest church in Košice, Slovakia....
, and rarely at the Premonstrates or in St. Michael Chapel
St. Michael Chapel
The St. Michael Chapel is a Gothic Chapel in Košice, Slovakia.It was probably erected in the first half of the 14th century. It was built as a cemetery chapel inside the town walls in the place of the present-day park at Hlavná ulica...
.
In 1880, the community were able to buy grounds near the chapel and to build the church in the Neo-Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style in the years 1882-1898.
In the Communist era of former Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, the church was given to the Orthodox Church after the banning of the Greek Catholic (Byzantine Catholic) Church. After 1990, it was returned to the Greek Catholics and the church was restored and repaired to its current condition.