St. George's Cathedral ( uk, Собор святого Юра, translit. ''Sobor sviatoho Yura'') is a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

located in the city of

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

, the historic capital of western Ukraine. It was constructed between 1744-1760St. George Cathedral.
Lviv Best Portal
29 January 2006. on a hill overlooking the city. This is the third manifestation of a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

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 Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

terms. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the cathedral served as the mother church of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church ( sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

(UGCC –

Eastern Rite Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

).Nykolyshyn, Yuriy. (2006) ''Lviv''. Apriori Press. Lviv, Ukraine. pg. 63, 67.

History

A church has stood on St. George Hill ( uk, Святоюрська гора, translit. ''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 Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...

in 1340, a four-column

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

was constructed for the local

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

. In July 1700, the Act of Unification of the

archeparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. De ...

with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

(the Bishop of Rome – the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

) was proclaimed in this older version of St. George's when Bishop Joseph Shumlanskyi openly embraced the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place ...

(1596).

Construction of the present Cathedral was started in 1746 by Metropolitan Athanasius Sheptytsky and finished in 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). After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Soviet authorities began persecuting the UGCC, imprisoning the newly

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

Archbishop of Lviv,

Josyf Slipyj Josyf Slipyi ( uk, Йосиф Сліпий, born as uk, Йосиф Коберницький-Дичковський, translit=Yosyf Kobernyts'kyy-Dychkovs'kyy; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek ...

, in 1945, as well as the rest of the church hierarchy. In March 1946, the cathedral hosted the Synod of Lviv, which nullified the Union of Brest.Soviet-Era Documents Shed Light On Suppression Of Ukrainian Catholic Church Soviet-Era Documents Shed Light On Suppression Of Ukrainian Catholic Church
''

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

'', August 7, 2009 A young Volodymyr Sterniuk (future archbishop and leader of the UGCC), concealed in the church loft, witnessed the decision to join the Metropolinate of

Halychyna Galicia ()"Galicia"
''

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, along with the rest the catholic parishes across

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. 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'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

, and began to reclaim parishes which they had ceded 45 years earlier. On August 12, 1990, members of the

People's Movement of Ukraine The People's Movement of Ukraine ( uk, Народний Рух України, Narodnyi Rukh Ukrayiny) is a Ukrainian political party and first opposition party in Soviet Ukraine. Often it is simply referred to as the Movement ( uk, Рух, Ru ...

party occupied and commandeered the cathedral. Two days later, the governing council of the

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

recognized UGCC's claim to the cathedral, and it has remained a centre 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

. However, restoration of the cathedral's grounds is ongoing. In August 2005, the seat of the

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous (''sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major arch ...

of the UGCC was moved to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, the nation's capital, changing from ''The Major Archbishop of Lviv'' to ''The Major Archbishop of Kyiv-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 The Archeparchy of Lviv is a metropolitan archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. History Eparchy of Halych (1156 – 1406) The eparchy was established as the Orthodox Eparchy of Halych suffragan to Metropolitan of Kiev at some t ...

Architectural features

Johann Georg Pinsel Johann Georg Pinsel ( pl, Johann Georg / Jan Jerzy Pinsel, uk, Йоган Ґеорґ Пінзель; 1715–1725 – 1761 or early 1762) was a Baroque-Rococo sculptor active in Eastern Galicia (then in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now Ukr ...

, 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 stone images of Pope St. Leo and St. Athanasius 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 to bestow eternity on "a feeble soul stiff with the fear of death." The most precious

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of the church is the Wonder-working Icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

(17th century). It was brought to

from

Terebovlia Terebovlia ( uk, Теребовля, pl, Trembowla, yi, טרעבעוולע, Trembovla) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is an ancient settlement that traces its roots to the settlement of Ter ...

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

, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Cathedral,Lviv Churches completed in 1762 Cathedrals in Lviv Ukrainian Catholic cathedrals in Ukraine Baroque architecture in Ukraine Rococo architecture in Ukraine Christian organizations established in the 13th century 1280s establishments in Europe Baroque church buildings in Ukraine

History

Architectural features

See also

References