St George Cathedral, Lviv

 

                                           This little video gives some idea of  the atmosphere

I cannot pretend to know much about this building and have cobbled together what I can find from the Web. I think it is important to draw attention to this major centre of Christian worship in this part of Europe  at this critical time in 2022. 

This is the third great church to be built on this prominent space above Lviv. It has been a vulnerable space. I pray that it will not be so again this year. The present building was constructed sometime between 1744 and 1764. There are various dates I have found. It was designed by the German Bernard Meretyn (c1700-1759). and completed by S.Fessinger. It is a Greek cross design with a high 4 sided drum over the crossing. The rounded corners of the drum are accompanied by pairs of coupled pilasters. The drum has a low dome with lantern above. There are four little chapels between the arms of the cross. There is no western tower, but there is a most imposing facade atop monumental stairs, with a statue of St George the dragon slayer at the attic level by the German sculptor Johann Georg Pinsel. (see below)

The interior decorations were unfinished before 1790 and there have been several restorations since then. The paintings and frescos were in a major restoration in 1942.

Beside the Cathedral there is a Baroque Metropolitan Palace, Chapter House and Bell Tower. The latter contains a bell from 1341, the oldest in the Ukraine.

                         News item about church bells being rung. From this Cathedral?

The Cathedral acted as the Mother Church of the Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) which is in communion with Rome,  from the 19th century until the UGCC was forced to join the Russian Orthodox Church in 1946. The UGCC was restored in 1989 and the Cathedral is still an important centre although the major centre is now in Kiev.