St. Josaphat Cathedral is a Ukrainian Catholic

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 ...

in McCauley,

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, one of the best examples of Byzantine Rite church architecture in Canada. It is the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and has been a cathedral (the seat of a bishop) since 1948. Occupying 18 city lots in the McCauley neighbourhood, the cathedral has been recognized for its heritage significance and "is distinguished by it seven

domes A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

ed entry

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, and

red brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

veneer Veneer may refer to: Materials * Masonry veneer, a thin facing layer of brick * Stone veneer, a thin facing layer of stone * Veneer (dentistry), a cosmetic treatment for teeth * Wood veneer, a thin facing layer of wood Arts and entertainment * ' ...

embellished with darker brick

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

and inlaid cream coloured

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

es.

History

The parish was established by the

Order of Saint Basil the Great The Order of Saint Basil the Great (; , abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is a Greek Catholic monastic order of pontifical right that works actively among Ukrainian Catholics and other Greek-Catholic churc ...

in 1902, at first without a permanent home. A small log church was built in 1904 under the leadership of the Reverend Sozont Dydyk.

Architecture

The current building was designed in 1938 by the Reverend Philip Ruh, an

Oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

missionary from Belgium who intensively studied the Byzantine Rite building designs of Ukraine so that the building would be culturally acceptable to the parishioners. His design mixes elements of

Ukrainian Baroque Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an style (visual arts), artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and Europea ...

with Western European influences, to produce a uniquely Canadian style dubbed "Prairie Cathedral". If not for the height restrictions at the time of construction because of the Edmonton City Centre Airport (which also affected the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist), an overall more properly proportioned church building would be at least 4-5m taller. Nevertheless, this cathedral is considered to be "the most elaborate Ukrainian Church in Alberta" and "one of the finest examples of Ukrainian-Canadian church architecture". Ruh also designed St. George Cathedral in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Cooks Creek ( Springfield), Manitoba, which was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. Construction lasted from 1939 to 1947. The building became a cathedral when Edmonton was selected as the seat of a new

exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Con ...

headed by a bishop. The first bishop was the Most Reverend Neil N. Savaryn, appointed "Bishop Ordinary for the Apostolic Exarchate of Edmonton serving Alberta and British Columbia". Starting in 1951 the process of painting the interior murals, frescos, and icons began under the leadership of Professor Julian Bucmaniuk, a well-known muralist. In 1968 the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

was built. St. Josaphat Cathedral was designated as a Provincial Historic Resource by the province of Alberta in 1983, and as a Municipal Historic Resource by the City of Edmonton in 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Josaphat Cathedral Churches in Edmonton Ukrainian Catholic cathedrals in Canada Churches completed in 1947 20th-century Eastern Catholic church buildings in Canada Church buildings with domes Municipal Historic Resources of Edmonton Provincial Historic Resources in Edmonton Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Alberta Catholic cathedrals in Alberta Byzantine Revival architecture in Canada Byzantine Revival church buildings

History

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links