The Cathedral of the Holy Family, previously ''Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile'', ( uk, Українська Католицька Катедра "Пресвятої Родини") is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () 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 ...

of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London. It is the seat of the nation's Ukrainian Catholic eparchial bishop, and overlaps in jurisdiction with the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster The Catholic Diocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne (in Surrey), an ...

, among others. It was named after the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...

during their

flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the ...

. It is located at Duke Street (off

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. It is open for worship daily.

History

The building it occupies was designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known ...

in 1891 for the

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

King's Weigh House congregation. The church is of red brick with buff terracotta dressings. It has an oval nave and a tower in the south-west corner, built in a Romanesque style. The Congregational church sold it to the Ukrainian Catholics in 1967, to be the new headquarters of the local apostolic exarchate created in 1957 by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. Internal adjustments were then made to adapt the building to Catholic liturgy. It includes an east window with glass by

Robert Anning Bell Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer. Early life Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied ...

and a

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but s ...

by J. F. Bentley from

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

. Waterhouse's building was listed as Grade II* in 1970. The cathedral was closed temporarily in 2007 when part of the ceiling collapsed, but has since been refurbished. The

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

created by a Ukrainian monk, Juvenalij Mokrytsky, was not affected by the ceiling's collapse. On 18 January 2013 the exarchate was elevated to the rank of an eparchy (full bishopric) by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

. The cathedral became a rallying point for the British Ukrainian community during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

. The cathedral hosted addresses by political as well as religious figures, including the office of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ukraine, both invited by Bishop

Kenneth Nowakowski Kenneth Anthony Adam Nowakowski ( ua, Кен Новаківський, born May 16, 1958, North Battleford, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on th ...

Citations

External links

https://www.ucc-gb.com/cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfair, Holy Family

Alfred Waterhouse buildings Churches completed in 1891 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Ukrainian diaspora in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Mayfair Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster Eastern Catholic church buildings in London Romanesque Revival church buildings in England Eastern Catholicism in the United Kingdom Eastern Catholic cathedrals in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed cathedrals Ukrainian Catholic churches in the United Kingdom

History

See also

Citations

External links