Armenian Cathedral of Lviv

Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary
Հայկական տաճար
	49°50′36″N 24°01′51″E / 49.84333°N 24.03083°E
Address	Old Town, Lviv
Country	Ukraine
Denomination	Armenian Apostolic Church
Previous denomination	Catholic Church (Armenian Catholic Church)
Architecture
Years built	1363–1370

The Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (Armenian: Հայկական տաճար; Ukrainian: Вірменський собор, romanized: Virmenskyi sobor; Polish: Katedra ormiańska) in Lviv, Ukraine 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 has served as the cathedral of the Armenian Diocese of Ukraine.

History

1363–1945

A small Armenian church was built between 1363 and 1370, founded by an

Caffa. Established as the mother church of an eparchy, it was modelled on the Cathedral of Ani, the ancient Armenian capital. In 1437 the cathedral was surrounded with an arcade gallery; the southern part is preserved, and the northern portion has been rebuilt into a sacristy

.

The building was damaged in a city fire in 1527. A a new stone

Polish, Lwów), when bishop Mikołaj (Nicolas) Torosowicz and his successor, archbishop Vartan Hunanyan

, united the Armenian with the Roman Catholic Church. The cathedral underwent a restoration between 1908 and 1927.

1945–present

Lviv was a city in the Second Polish Republic from 1920 until after the Second World War, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1945, the new Soviet authorities decided to liquidate the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv, and arrested its administrator, Dionizy Kajetanowicz.^{[note 1]} Almost all the Polish Armenians were expelled to modern-day Poland. The cathedral was closed, and its building was used for storing plundered sacred art. Officially, the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv still exists, but it has remained vacant since 1938.^[1]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a handful of

Armenian Catholic families attempted to re-establish the parish. Armenians belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church who came to Lviv during the Soviet times also sought to acquire the cathedral. Shortly before the visit of Pope John Paul II, the local Ukrainian authorities passed the cathedral to the Armenian Apostolic Church under the condition both the Armenian Catholic and Armenian Apostolic communities could use it.^[2]

An Armenian Apostolic eparchy was established in Lviv in 1997.

On 18 May 2003, the cathedral was re-

Polish Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Foundation of Culture and Heritage of Polish Armenians seated in Warsaw

. 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

Mother of God, brought in the 17th century from Yazlovets.^{[citation needed}

]

The oldest preserved part of the cathedral, with Renaissance arcades

The interior

Belltower and bishop's palace

Notes

^ Kajetanowicz and three other priests were murdered in a Soviet gulag in 1954.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2013" (PDF). Annuario Pontificio. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
^ Hrynchyshyn, Taras (8 November 2001). "Interview with Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX". Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

External links

Photo gallery of Armenian Cathedral of Lviv

[1] Kajetanowicz and three other priests were murdered in a Soviet gulag in 1954.^{[citation needed]}

[Rob-2] Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2013" (PDF). Annuario Pontificio. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2013.

[Hry-3] Hrynchyshyn, Taras (8 November 2001). "Interview with Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX". Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[note 1]

[1]

[2]