The Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ( hy, Հայկական տաճար, uk, Вірменський собор, pl, Katedra ormiańska) in

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 Ukrain ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

is located in the city's Old Town, north of the market square. Until 1945 it was the cathedral of the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv, since 2000 it serves as a cathedral of the Eparchy of Ukraine of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

History

1363-1945

A small Armenian church was built in the years 1363–1370, founded by an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

merchant from

Caffa uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

, and established as the mother church of an eparchy. It is said to have been modeled after the

Cathedral of Ani The Cathedral of Ani ( hy, Անիի մայր տաճար, ''Anii mayr tačar''; tr, Ani Katedrali) is the largest standing building in Ani, the capital city of medieval Bagratid Armenia, located in present-day eastern Turkey, on the border with ...

in the ancient Armenian capital of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

. In 1437 the cathedral was surrounded with an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

gallery: today only the southern one is preserved and the northern has been rebuilt into a sacristy. After the church was damaged in a city fire in 1527, a new stone belfry was erected in 1571. In 1630 the main nave was extended, and was further rebuilt in 1723. From the 17th century until 1945, the cathedral belonged to the

Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

archdiocese of Lviv (in Polish, Lwów), as union with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

was introduced by bishop Mikołaj (Nicolas) Torosowicz and his successor, archbishop Vartan Hunanyan. The Cathedral owes most of its present-day look to a remodeling carried out in the years 1908-1927 by archbishop Józef (Joseph) Teodorowicz.

1945–present

Lviv (named Lwów in Polish) was in the eastern part of the territory reconstituted as Poland in 1919–20; and after

World War II 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 opposing ...

, that portion of the territory was taken from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, becoming part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1945 the new Soviet authorities decided to annihilate the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv, and arrested its last administrator, the Rev. Dionizy Kajetanowicz (murdered in the Soviet

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

in 1954) and three other priests. Almost all the Polish Armenians were expelled to the west, to modern-day Poland. The cathedral was closed, and its building was used for storing plundered sacral art. Officially, the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv still exists, but it has remained vacant since 1938. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a handful of

families attempted to reestablish the parish. Also the Armenians who came to Lviv during the Soviet times, belonging to the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, sought to acquire the cathedral. Shortly before the visit of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, the local Ukrainian authorities passed the cathedral to the

under the condition both the Armenian Catholic and Armenian Apostolic communities could use it. An Armenian Apostolic eparchy was established in Lviv in 1997. On 18 May 2003 the cathedral was re-consecrated by the

Catholicos of All Armenians The Catholicos of All Armenians (plural Catholicoi) ( hy, Ամենայն Հայոց Կաթողիկոս; see #Other names), is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Arme ...

Karekin II Catholicos Karekin II ( hy, Գարեգին Բ, also spelled Garegin; born 21 August 1951) is the current Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox he ...

and three other Armenian Apostolic bishops. Among the guests were: speaker of the Armenian parliament Armen Khachatryan, former president of Ukraine

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

, president of the

Union of Armenians in Ukraine Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

, French singer of Armenian origin

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

with his son, Armenian actor

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan Armen Borisovich Dzhigarkhanyan (russian: Армен Борисович Джигарханян; hy, Արմեն Բորիսի Ջիգարխանյան, Armen Borisi Jigarkhanyan; ; 3 October 1935 – 14 November 2020) was a Soviet, Armenian, and Rus ...

and Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Hrachya Silvanyan. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was represented by bishop Augustin.

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 ...

was represented by rev. Mikhail Dymyd. In the name of the Ukrainian government the head of the Religions State Agency Victor Bondarenko was present. However, neither Polish Armenians - the former owners of the cathedral, nor

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

clergymen were invited. Since 2009 the cathedral has been in course of a renovation process, fully financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Foundation of Culture and Heritage of Polish Armenians seated in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The works are being conducted jointly by Polish and Ukrainian specialists.

Interior and surroundings

Just north of the Cathedral lies a small convent of Armenian Benedictines, and to the south, adjoining the bell tower, the palace of the Armenian Archbishops, both built in the late 17th century. The present-day interior is largely the work of Jan Henryk Rosen and

Józef Mehoffer Józef Mehoffer (19 March 1869 – 8 July 1946) was a Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time. Life Mehoffer was born in Ropczyce, ...

. The cathedral holds two wonder-working icons of St. Gregory the Illuminator and the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...

, brought in the 17th century from Yazlovets.

External links

Photo gallery of Armenian Cathedral of Lviv

References