Armenian cathedral in Lviv is reconsecrated (06/08/03)

Armenian cathedral in Lviv is reconsecrated

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

LVIV - Karekin II, catholicos of all Armenians and head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, reconsecrated the Armenian Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Lviv on May 18. After 50 years in government possession, the historic cathedral was recently returned to the local Armenian community in the largest and most important city in western Ukraine.

Leonid Kravchuk, the president of newly independent Ukraine, Charles Aznavour, a French singer of Armenian descent, and other representatives of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora from around the globe were present at the ceremony. The ceremonial opening of the church began with a procession of about 1,000 people through Lviv's historic city center.

After receiving the keys to the cathedral from Nver Mkhitarian, president of the Society of Armenians in Ukraine, Catholicos Karekin performed the opening ritual, blessed the gates and the church, and celebrated a divine liturgy inside the church.

The catholicos presented Mr. Mkhitarian with the Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator (the founder of the Armenian Church) for his contributions towards the revival of the Church. He also knighted Messrs. Aznavour and Kravchuk.

The Armenian cathedral has a small number of parishioners, but in recent years it has served as a center for the Armenian community in Lviv, which, according to the Rev. Thaddeus Georgian, pastor of the cathedral, now numbers 1,500. According to the latest census of Ukraine, there are about 1,000 people of Armenian descent in the city.

The Armenian Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Lviv was built 640 years ago. From the end of the 17th century to the end of World War II, it was in the possession of Armenian Catholics.

In 1953, with the Armenian Catholic Church forbidden by the Soviet regime, the cathedral was closed and the premises were used as a warehouse to store icons taken from churches throughout the area as well as artifacts from Lviv's National Museum.

In 1991 the Lviv City Council decided to give the cathedral to the local Armenian Apostolic community, but the process of removing the icons and other items was slow.

The community celebrated its first services, in the cathedral chapel, in the spring of 2000. In June 2001 Pope John Paul II visited the church.

In the spring of 2003, the rest of the complex was returned to the community and now the church has been consecrated for the second time in its history.

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