Sylwester Sembratowicz (; 3 September 1836 – 4 August 1898) was the

Metropolitan Archbishop 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 ...

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 ...

from 1885 until his death in 1898 and a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the Catholic Church.

Life

Sylwester Sembratowicz was born on 3 September 1836, in the village of

Desznica Desznica (, ''Doshnytsia'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Żmigród, within Jasło County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Nowy Żmigród, south of Jasło, and ...

, in south-eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He studied in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and in

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 ...

. From 1854 he moved for the academic studies in the Greek College of St. Athanasius,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 1 November 1860 and he obtained a doctorate in theology in 1861. He remained in Rome until 1863 when he returned to Galicia and was appointed to serve in the village of

Tylicz Tylicz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krynica-Zdrój, within Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately east of Krynica-Zdrój, south-east of N ...

. He worked also in Greek-Ruthenian

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

of Lviv until 1865, when he was appointed professor of theology in the

University of Lviv The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

, an assignment he kept till 1879. On 20 April 1879 he was consecrated

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Archeparchy of Lviv The Archeparchy of Lviv is an ecclesiastical territory or ecclesiastical province of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — a particular Eastern Catholic Church, that is located in Ukraine. It was erected in 1807. As a metropolitan see, it has ...

by his uncle, the Archbishop of Lviv Joseph Sembratowicz. When his uncle resigned in 1882, Sylwester Sembratowicz was appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. On 27 March 1885 he was formally appointed Archbishop of Lviv, i.e. the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and he was enthroned on 5 May 1885. As Primate, he reformed the Basilian Monastic Order, published vernacular prayer books and held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in 1891. In June 1893 he was attacked in Lviv by a mob of students who were protesting his visit with the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. Sylwester Sembratowicz and another bishop were both injured, and the attack resulted in 19 arrests. On 29 November 1895 he was created

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

and he was assigned the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

Santo Stefano al Monte Celio The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Caelian Hill (, ) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is Hungary's "national church" in Rome, dedicated to both Saint Stephen, ...

on 25 June 1896. He died in Lviv on 4 August 1898.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sembratovych, Sylvester 1836 births 1898 deaths Ukrainian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII People from Jasło County Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius alumni Metropolitans of Galicia (1808-2005) Leaders of the Ruthenian Uniate Church