St. George's Cathedral, Lviv
Encyclopedia
St. George's Cathedral is a baroque
-rococo
cathedral
located in the city of Lviv
, the historic capital of western Ukraine
. It was constructed between 1744-1760 on a hill overlooking the city. This is the third manifestation of a church to inhabit the site since the 13th century, and its prominence has repeatedly made it a target for invaders and vandals. The cathedral also holds a predominant position in Ukrainian religious
and cultural
terms. During 19th and 20th centuries, the cathedral served as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
(UGCC)( Eastern Rite Catholic).
sviatoyurs'ka hora) since around 1280, dating back to a time when the area was still part of the Principality
of Halych-Volhynia
. After the original wooden church and the fortress it was situated in were destroyed by King Casimir III of Poland
in 1340, a four-column Byzantine
basilica
was constructed for the local Eastern Orthodox Church
. In July 1700, the Act of Unification of the Lviv
archeparchy
with the Holy See
(the Bishop of Rome — the Pope
) was proclaimed in this older version of St. George's when Bishop Joseph Shumlanskyi
openly embraced the Union of Brest
(1596).
Construction of the present Cathedral was started in 1746 by Metropolitan
Athanasius Sheptytsky and finished by 1762 by Leo Sheptytsky. Following the necessity of transferring the seat of the metropolitan of the Church to Lviv
in the 1800s, St. George's Cathedral became the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
Following the Second World War
, Soviet authorities
began persecuting the UGCC, imprisoning the newly ordained
Archbishop of Lviv, Josyf Slipyj, in 1945, as well as the rest of the church hierarchy. In March 1946, the cathedral hosted the now infamous Synod of Lviv, at which the remaining church leaders were forced to renounce the union with Rome. A young Volodymyr Sterniuk
(future archbishop and leader of the UGCC) concealed in the church loft, witnessed the decision to enjoin the Metropolinate
of Halychyna with the Russian Orthodox Church
, along with the rest the catholic parishes across Soviet Ukraine
. The Cathedral was reconsecrated as Saint Yury's, and became the mother church of the Lvіv-Ternopіl diocese.
The UGCC reemerged in 1989, when it was recognized by the Soviet authorities in the midst of Perestroika
, and began to reclaim parishes which they had ceded 45 years earlier. On August 12, 1990, members of the nationalistic
People's Movement of Ukraine
party occupied and commandeered the cathedral. Two days later, the governing council of the Lviv Oblast
recognized UGCC's claim of the cathedral, and it has remained a center for the UGCC throughout the early years of Ukraine's independence.
Restoration of the cathedral took place in 1996 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest
. However, restoration of the cathedral's grounds is ongoing.
In August 2005, the seat of the Major Archbishop
of the UGCC was moved to Kiev
, the nation's capital, changing from The Major Archbishop of Lviv to The Major Archbishop of Kiev-Halych. However, the cathedral remains one of the most important churches in Ukraine, and functions as the central church of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv
.
who stand on guard over the church portal "warning with their stern look about their readiness to fight against anyone not showing enough venerability." In contrast, the architecture of the courtyard has a more soothing effect on visitors.
An icon for the Church parish by Luka Dolynskyi depicts the banishment of merchants from the Temple. Another icon, Apostles, conveys a very strong expression of pain and desperate begging of the human being to the Almighty so that He would bestow eternity on "a feeble soul stiff with the fear of death."
The most precious relic of the church is the Wonder-working Icon of the Virgin Mary (17th century). It was brought to Lviv
from Terebovlia
in 1674 by bishop Joseph Shumlianskyi.
In the Cathedral's tombs are buried distinguished figures of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Among them are Cardinal Sylvester Sembratovych
, Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky, Major Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj, Metropolitan Volodymyr Sterniuk
, and Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky.
The architectural ensemble of St. George's Cathedral also includes a belfry, the Baroque Metropolitan Palace
and chapter house, as well as a garden, enclosed behind two gates.
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
-rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
located in the city of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, the historic capital of western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. It was constructed between 1744-1760 on a hill overlooking the city. This is the third manifestation of a church to inhabit the site since the 13th century, and its prominence has repeatedly made it a target for invaders and vandals. The cathedral also holds a predominant position in Ukrainian religious
History of Christianity in Ukraine
The History of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the apostolic church. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great , who instated it as the state religion of Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state.Although...
and cultural
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
terms. During 19th and 20th centuries, the cathedral served as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
(UGCC)( Eastern Rite Catholic).
History
A church has stood on St. George Hill ' onMouseout='HidePop("27815")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
sviatoyurs'ka hora) since around 1280, dating back to a time when the area was still part of the Principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
of Halych-Volhynia
Halych-Volhynia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenian state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'...
. After the original wooden church and the fortress it was situated in were destroyed by King Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
in 1340, a four-column Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
was constructed for the local Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
. In July 1700, the Act of Unification of the Lviv
Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv
The Archeparchy of Lviv is an archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.The eparchy was established at some time during the mid 12th century, with its see originally in Halych...
archeparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
with the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
(the Bishop of Rome — the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
) was proclaimed in this older version of St. George's when Bishop Joseph Shumlanskyi
Iosyf Shumliansky
Iosyf Shumliansky was a Ukrainian bishop in Lviv, best known for restoring unity with the Holy See in 1700....
openly embraced the Union of Brest
Union of Brest
Union of Brest or Union of Brześć refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the Church of Rus', the "Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus'", to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the Pope of Rome. At the time, this church included most Ukrainians and...
(1596).
Construction of the present Cathedral was started in 1746 by Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
Athanasius Sheptytsky and finished by 1762 by Leo Sheptytsky. Following the necessity of transferring the seat of the metropolitan of the Church to Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
in the 1800s, St. George's Cathedral became the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
Following the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Soviet authorities
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
began persecuting the UGCC, imprisoning the newly ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
Archbishop of Lviv, Josyf Slipyj, in 1945, as well as the rest of the church hierarchy. In March 1946, the cathedral hosted the now infamous Synod of Lviv, at which the remaining church leaders were forced to renounce the union with Rome. A young Volodymyr Sterniuk
Volodymyr Sterniuk
Volodymyr Sterniuk was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic archbishop and the acting head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine from 1972-91....
(future archbishop and leader of the UGCC) concealed in the church loft, witnessed the decision to enjoin the Metropolinate
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
of Halychyna with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, along with the rest the catholic parishes across Soviet Ukraine
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
. The Cathedral was reconsecrated as Saint Yury's, and became the mother church of the Lvіv-Ternopіl diocese.
The UGCC reemerged in 1989, when it was recognized by the Soviet authorities in the midst of Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, and began to reclaim parishes which they had ceded 45 years earlier. On August 12, 1990, members of the nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
People's Movement of Ukraine
People's Movement of Ukraine
The People's Movement of Ukraine is a Ukrainian center-right political party...
party occupied and commandeered the cathedral. Two days later, the governing council of the Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
recognized UGCC's claim of the cathedral, and it has remained a center for the UGCC throughout the early years of Ukraine's independence.
Restoration of the cathedral took place in 1996 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest
Union of Brest
Union of Brest or Union of Brześć refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the Church of Rus', the "Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus'", to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the Pope of Rome. At the time, this church included most Ukrainians and...
. However, restoration of the cathedral's grounds is ongoing.
In August 2005, the seat of the Major Archbishop
Major Archbishop
right|200 px|thumb|Archbishop [[Sviatoslav Shevchuk]], Major Archbishop of Kyiv-HalychIn the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous particular Church that an Eastern patriarch has in...
of the UGCC was moved to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, the nation's capital, changing from The Major Archbishop of Lviv to The Major Archbishop of Kiev-Halych. However, the cathedral remains one of the most important churches in Ukraine, and functions as the central church of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv
Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv
The Archeparchy of Lviv is an archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.The eparchy was established at some time during the mid 12th century, with its see originally in Halych...
.
Architectural features
Designed by architect Bernard Meretin and sculptor Johann Georg Pinsel, St. George's Cathedral reflects both Western influences and the traditions of Ukrainian church construction. An expressive statue of St. George the Dragon-slayer, by Pinsel , stands in the church attic. Pinsel's hands also created the stony images of St. Leo, the Pope and St. AthanasiusAthanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius of Alexandria [b. ca. – d. 2 May 373] is also given the titles St. Athanasius the Great, St. Athanasius I of Alexandria, St Athanasius the Confessor and St Athanasius the Apostolic. He was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His long episcopate lasted 45 years Athanasius of Alexandria [b....
who stand on guard over the church portal "warning with their stern look about their readiness to fight against anyone not showing enough venerability." In contrast, the architecture of the courtyard has a more soothing effect on visitors.
An icon for the Church parish by Luka Dolynskyi depicts the banishment of merchants from the Temple. Another icon, Apostles, conveys a very strong expression of pain and desperate begging of the human being to the Almighty so that He would bestow eternity on "a feeble soul stiff with the fear of death."
The most precious relic of the church is the Wonder-working Icon of the Virgin Mary (17th century). It was brought to Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
from Terebovlia
Terebovlia
Terebovlia is a small city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine, and the administrative center of the Terebovlya Raion . In modern medieval English history texts it is usually written Terebovl....
in 1674 by bishop Joseph Shumlianskyi.
In the Cathedral's tombs are buried distinguished figures of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Among them are Cardinal Sylvester Sembratovych
Sylvester Sembratovych
Sylvester Sembratovych was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1885 until his death in 1898 and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.-Life:...
, Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky, Major Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj, Metropolitan Volodymyr Sterniuk
Volodymyr Sterniuk
Volodymyr Sterniuk was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic archbishop and the acting head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine from 1972-91....
, and Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky.
The architectural ensemble of St. George's Cathedral also includes a belfry, the Baroque Metropolitan Palace
Metropolitan Palace, Lviv
The Metropolitan Palace opposite St. George's Cathedral, Lviv has been the principal residence of the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church since the 16th century. The current building was erected in 1761-62 to Clement Fessinger's designs and displays traits of the transition from...
and chapter house, as well as a garden, enclosed behind two gates.