Rising above Lviv from St. George’s Hill, St. George’s Cathedral is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city and one of the most important spiritual and historical centers of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. For generations, images of the cathedral have found a place in Ukrainian homes and communities throughout the world.
Christian worship on St. George’s Hill has a history reaching back centuries. The present cathedral was begun in 1744 on the initiative of Metropolitan Atanasiy Sheptytsky. It was designed by Bernard Meretyn, one of the leading architects working in Lviv in the eighteenth century.
The present Baroque cathedral was built principally between 1744 and 1762, although work on the broader architectural complex and its decoration continued afterward.
The cathedral is the centerpiece of an impressive late Baroque architectural ensemble with Rococo elements. The complex includes the cathedral, the Metropolitan’s residence, chapter buildings, gates, a bell tower, and gardens.
One of its most celebrated features is the monumental sculpture of St. George the Dragon Slayer crowning the façade. Created by the renowned eighteenth-century sculptor Johann Georg Pinsel, it depicts St. George on horseback triumphing over the dragon.
The cathedral’s architecture reflects the cultural environment in which the Greek Catholic Church lived in eighteenth-century Galicia. Its Baroque and Rococo character bears the influence of Western European artistic traditions, while the cathedral became a central sacred space of the Eastern Catholic Church.
Over the following centuries, St. George’s became closely associated with the hierarchs who guided the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church through periods of cultural development, persecution, underground existence, and revival.
Among them was Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who led the Church from 1901 until his death in 1944. His remains rest in the cathedral crypt.
His successor, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, was arrested by Soviet authorities in 1945 and spent eighteen years in Soviet prisons, camps, and exile. Following his release in 1963, he continued to lead and advocate for his persecuted Church from Rome. He died there in 1984. In accordance with his wishes, his remains were transferred to Lviv in 1992 and placed in the crypt of St. George’s Cathedral beside Metropolitan Andrey.
The crypt also holds the remains of Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, who served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia before becoming head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk, who provided crucial leadership to the persecuted Church in Ukraine during its underground existence under Soviet rule.
For Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, St. George’s Cathedral also holds a deeply personal significance. He was ordained to the priesthood there on November 26, 1998, and received his episcopal ordination in the same cathedral on August 26, 2012.
Following the Soviet suppression of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 1946, St. George’s Cathedral was taken from the UGCC. As the Church emerged from the underground at the end of the Soviet period, the cathedral was returned to Greek Catholics on August 19, 1990.
Today, St. George’s Cathedral remains a living place of prayer and pilgrimage. The faithful come to pray in the cathedral and its crypt, surrounded by the memory of generations who preserved and handed on their faith.
The image of St. George defeating the dragon has particular resonance today. It represents the struggle between good and evil and the Christian hope that evil and aggression will not have the final word.
More than an architectural landmark, St. George’s Cathedral is a symbol of the history, faith, suffering, perseverance, and hope of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Key:
1744 — Construction of the present St. George’s Cathedral begins on the initiative of Metropolitan Atanasiy Sheptytsky.
1762 — The principal construction of the present Baroque cathedral is completed; work on the broader complex and its decoration continues afterward.
1901–1944 — Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky leads the Church, with St. George’s Cathedral at the center of his ministry in Lviv.
1946 — Following the Soviet suppression of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Lviv pseudo-sobor, the Church is forced underground and loses St. George’s Cathedral.
August 19, 1990 — St. George’s Cathedral is returned to Greek Catholics as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church emerges from the underground.
1992 — The remains of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj are transferred from Rome to the crypt of St. George’s Cathedral.
November 26, 1998 — Borys Gudziak is ordained to the priesthood in St. George’s Cathedral.
1998 — The ensemble of St. George’s Cathedral is included as part of Lviv’s UNESCO World Heritage property.
August 26, 2012 — Borys Gudziak receives his episcopal ordination in St. George’s Cathedral.
Key Terms:
St. George’s Cathedral – The historic archcathedral on St. George’s Hill in Lviv and one of the principal spiritual and historical centers of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Metropolitan Atanasiy Sheptytsky – Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych, and All Rus’ who initiated construction of the present St. George’s Cathedral in 1744.
Bernard Meretyn – The principal architect of the present St. George’s Cathedral and an important representative of late Baroque architecture in eighteenth-century Lviv.
Johann Georg Pinsel – A renowned eighteenth-century sculptor whose works at St. George’s Cathedral include the monumental sculpture of St. George the Dragon Slayer crowning its façade.
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky – Metropolitan of Halych and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 to 1944 and one of the most influential leaders in the modern history of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He is buried in the cathedral crypt.
Patriarch Josyf Slipyj – Successor to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Arrested in 1945, he endured eighteen years of Soviet imprisonment and exile. His remains were transferred from Rome to St. George’s Cathedral in 1992.
Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky – Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1984 to 2000. Before becoming coadjutor to Josyf Slipyj, he served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia.
Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk – A Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch who provided leadership to the persecuted Church in Ukraine during its underground existence and served as locum tenens of the metropolitan see until 1991.
