The Archeparchy of Lviv is an ecclesiastical territory or

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

— a

particular In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

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

Church, that is located in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It was erected in 1807. As a

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

see, it has three

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

sees:

Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...

, Sambir-Drohobych, and Sokal–Zhovkva. The incumbent Metropolitan Archbishop is

Ihor Vozniak Ihor Vozniak (born 3 August 1951) is the Archbishop of Lviv since 2005, succeeding Liubomyr Huzar. Life Vozniak was born on 3 August 1951 in Lypytsi, in Mykolaiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (in present-day ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church of the archeparchy is St. George's in the city of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

History

Eparchy of Halych (1156 – 1406)

The eparchy was established as the Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Halych at some time during the mid 12th century as a suffragan of the

Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' (; ) was a Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It existed between 988 AD and 1590s AD. The long lasting "tug of war" ...

. The

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the 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 denominations with an episcop ...

was located in

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

. In 1303, the eparchy was elevated to metropolitan status as the

Metropolis of Halych The Metropolis of Halych was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was erected on the territory of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in 1303 by Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople. The ...

. It held this status during several periods of the 14th century. After 1401, the title of the vacated province was moved to the Metropolitan of Kyiv.

Eparchy of Lviv

After long mediation, Sigismund I re-established the eparchy in mid-1539, moving its see to

. The eparchy at first did not recognize the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

of 1596. It joined the Union in 1700 as part of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia.

Metropolis of Galicia

Following the

Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

at the end of the 18th century, most lands fell under Russian rule. In the remaining lands ruled by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, the "Metropolis of Galicia" (or Halych) was re-established as an archeparchy in 1807 in the Habsburg-ruled

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1946 the archeparchy, together with the entire Ukrainian Church, was forcefully subjected under the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. However, it continued to operate in secret in its canonical territory. In 1959, the archeparchy was elevated to the rank of "Major Archeparchy" by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

. After the collapse of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

in 1989, the Church began to restore canonical regularity. On 19 August 1990 Archbishop Volodymyr (Sternyuk) served the first Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the return to the church

St. George's Cathedral, Lviv St. George's Cathedral (, translit. ''Sobor sviatoho Yura'') is a baroque-rococo cathedral located in the city of Lviv, the historic capital of western Ukraine. It was constructed between 1744-1760St. George Cathedral.Lviv Best Portal 29 January ...

. On 30 March 1991, the Major Archbishop of Lviv, Cardinal Myroslav Lyubachivskyi, returned from Rome to his major archiepiscopal see in Lviv. In 1992 the church synod adopted decision to create more eparchies out of the archeparchy of Lviv and on 12 July 1993 it was approved by the Pope. There were established eparchy of Zboriv, eparchy of Sambir and Drohobych, and eparchy of Ternopil. In 2000 there were created eparchy of Stryi and eparchy of Sokal. In 2004 new Major Archbishop of Lviv Lubomyr Husar moved his see to Kiev, becoming Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, leaving the archeparchy of Lviv to Archbishop

Current status

On 6 December 2004, it was downgraded in status from a "Major Archeparchy" to an "Archeparchy". On 21 November 2011 the church structure was again changed; it became a metropolitan see or ecclesiastical province with three suffragan eparchies: * Eparchy of Stryi * Eparchy of Sambir and Drohobych * Eparchy of Sokal and Zhovkva. the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv is

. He was an auxiliary bishop of the "Major Archeparchy of Lviv" during 2001–2004. In December 2004, he became an auxiliary bishop of the newly erected Ukrainian Catholic Major Archeparchy of Kyiv-Halych. In 2005, the Synod elected him as the first

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the new Archeparchy of Lviv.

Timeline

* Established in the 12th century as Orthodox ''Eparchy of Halych'', on territory split off from the

Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan a ...

. * 1303: Elevated as

. * 1406: Lost a metropolis status, again become as an eparchy with Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'. * 1540: a see transferred to

and renamed as ''Eparchy of Lviv and Halych''. * March 7, 1677: Clandestinely joined

with Bishop Yosyf Shumlyansky. * June 9, 1700: Joined

with title ''Eparchy of Lviv, Halych and Kamianets-Podilskyi''. * February 22, 1807: Elevated as Metropolis with suffragan sees Eparchy of Przemyśl–Sambir and Eparchy of Chełm–Belz. * January 29, 1830: Lost the Eparchy of Chełm–Belz, that belongs immediately to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. * March 26, 1885: Lost territory to establish the Eparchy of Stanislaviv. * December 23, 1963: Elevated as Major Archeparchy. * April 20, 1993: Lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sambir–Drohobych. * April 20, 1993: Lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ternopil. * April 20, 1993: Lost territory to establish the

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Zboriv The Eparchy of Zboriv was an eparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in the ecclesiastical province of Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the Li ...

. In 2000, this eparchy was disestablished. * July 21, 2000: Lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sokal. * July 21, 2000: Lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stryi. * December 6, 2004: Elevated as ''Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv'' (no longer a Major Archeparchy and Metropolitan). * November 21, 2011: Become a Metropolitan See with 3 another suffragan sees.

Figures

Prominent figures in the archeparchy have included: * , acting vicar general 1919–1920

Gallery of suffragan eparchies

File:Ukr LvovEP.png, Archeparchy and 3 suffragans File:Map of Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv.svg, Archeparchy of Lviv File:Map of Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sokal-Zhovkva.svg, Eparchy of Sokal-Zhovkva File:Map of Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sambir-Drohobych.svg, Eparchy of Sambir-Drohobych File:Map of Greek Catholic Eparchy of Stryi.svg, Eparchy of Stryi

References

External links

Official website
*Wasyl Lencyk.

'.

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

{{coord, 49.8667, N, 24.0833, E, source:wikidata, display=title

Dioceses established in the 12th century Eparchies of the Ruthenian Uniate Church Lviv Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia (Ruthenian Uniate Church)