St. George Cathedral

St. George Cathedral is the main sanctuary of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. In July 1700 the act of consolidation of Lviv archdiocese with Rome was proclaimed here. The first church on St. George Mountain (Svyatoyurs'ka Hora) existed even in times of the
old Ukrainian Gaiician-Volyn' state. Many times the church was destroyed by invaders, but it has always been reconstructed. In the XVIII century it appeared in present grandeur and beauty.

The most precious relics of the church is the Wonder-working Icon of the Virgin Mary (XVII c.). It was brought in Lviv from Terebovlia in 1674 by bishop Joseph (Shumlians'kyi).

Lviv masters of cutter and brush became the creators of sophisticated embellishment of the interior in the style of rococo. Its restoration took place in 1996 on the eve of the 400th anniversary since Beresteia's Union was signed.

With a great effort of metropolitan Atanasy Sheptyts'ky on the ruins of the ancient church a new one was erected a pearl of European art. (1774 - 1761, architect — B. Meretyn, sculptor — I.Pinsel). In its architecture the Western influences and traditions of Ukrainian church building merged.

In the tombs which are in the church are buried the distinguished figures of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. They are: cardinal Sylvester Sembra-tovych, metropolitan Andrei Sheptyts'kyi, patriarchy Joseph Slipyi, metropolitan Volodymyr Sterniuk, Myroslav-Ivan Cardinal Liubachivs'kyi.