HISTORY OF THE LVIV ARCHDIOCESE
King Casimir the Great who affiliated Galicia to Poland, as well as his follower Ludwik Hungerian, and a royal governor Vladislaus II of Opole requested the Apostle Capital to organize Catholic church structures in Rus.
13.02.1375 - Pope Gregory XI announced the bulla "Debitum pasiombs officii”, according to which the church in Halych was determined as the archbishop's or metropolitan’s, while the churches in Przemyśl, Volodymyr Volynsk and Kholm were to be subject to him. Vatican City reserved its right to appoint the most suitable pastors for new dioceses.
The Duke Vladislaus II of Opole, after the successful establishment of three dioceses in Halych, requested the Pope to move the capital of Metropolis from Halych to Lviv fearing the attacks of Tatars and Lithuanians, since Lviv was one of the biggest and most popular cities in the country.
26.04.1946 - the Soviet authority forced Eugeniusz Baziak, Archbishop of the Lviv Archdiocese, to leave Lviv forever.
16.01.1991 - John Paul II reactivated the Lviv Archdiocese. It included Volyn, Ivano- Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne,Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions which historically corresponded to the prewar dioceses - Lviv (excluding Lubaczów territory which belonged to Poland), Lutsk and partially Przemyszl ( Poland ) and Iași ( Romania) dieceses. Volyn and Rivne regions were included into the reactivated Lutsk diocese.
Marian Jaworski was appointed Archbishop of Lviv. He had headed the Lviv Archdiocese in Lubaczów by this time – a small part of the previous Lviv Archdiocese which remained on the territory of Poland after World War II and kept Lviv church traditions. From autumn 1989 Bishop Jaworski visited Ukraine several times where he was met as its archpastor, the successor of Lviv Metropolitans. Pope John Paul II explained this appointment in his letter of 10.01.1991: ‘Since Lviv Catholic Church has been forsaken by this time, we decided not to leave it in this state, but to appoint the Archbishop to do the holy service. Since you, my dear Brother, having been the Apostolic Administrator, know this Archdiocese the best, we consider it the best to entrust it to you. That is why, using all power of our Apostolic authority, we with the today’s decision, announce and appoint you the Archbishop of the mentioned earlier Lviv Church of the Latin rite, with all the rights and obligations belonging to your service’.
Rafał Kiernicki OFM Conv (dean of the Latin Cathedral in Lviv for many years) and Markian Trofimiak (dean in Kremenets in Ternopil region) were appointed auxiliary bishops.
3.03.1991 - during the ingress to Mytropolitan Basilica Archbishop Marian Jaworski ordained two priests (Josep Mykhailivsky and Andriy Buchynsky ) and one deacon ( Andriy Zayachkivsky). It was the first ordination in the Latin Cathedral after World War II.
28.02.1992- I Conference of Roman- Catholic Episcopate of Ukraine took place in Lviv, where Archbishop Marian Jaworski was appointed the Head, and a Chancellor of the Metropolitan Administration, rev. Marian Buczek was appointed a Secretary.
12.12.1996 – the Metropolitan Higher Theological Seminary of the Lviv Archdiocese was activated. It was moved to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in Poland in 1945 and eliminated in 1950.
Square of the Archdiocese:
68 000 sq km
Number of the faithful:
154 000
Number of priests:
95 diocesan priests
45 monastic priests
Number of deaneries: 12
Number of parishes: 271
Patrons of Archdiocese:
The Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy
and
Blessed Jakub Strzemię, Archbishop -Confessor
In 1909, at request of Archbishop Józef Bilczewski, St. Pius X proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland and Blessed Jakub Strzemię to be the patrons of the Lviv Archdiocese. Nowadays the title the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland has been changed to Blessed Virgin Mary Merciful.
The METROPOLIA INCLUDES:
Lviv Archdiocese
Kyiv-Zhytomyr diocese
Kamianets-Podilskyi diocese
Lutsk diocese
Mukacheve diocese
Kharkiv-Zaporizhia diocese
Odessa- Simferopol diocese
BISHOPS:
Archbishop -Metropolitan Mieczysław Mokrzycki (since 21.10.2008)
Auxiliary bishop Leon Mały (since 4.05.2002)
Archbishop Emeritus-Cardinal presbyter Marian Jaworsky (cardinal since 28.01.2001)
REGIONS WHICH BELONG TO THE LVIV ARCHDIOCESE:
Lviv Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ternopil Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast
DEANERIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE :
Chernivtsi deanery
Chortkiv deanery
Halych deanery
Horodok deanery
Ivano-Frankivsk deanery
Lviv deanery
Mostysk deanery
Sambir deanery
Stryi deanery
Ternopil deanery
Zolochiv deanery
Zhovkva deanery
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Metropolitan Basilica - Sanctuary of Our Merciful Lady and Divine Mercy.
Archbishops and Metropolitans of Halych and Lviv
Auxiliary Bishops of Lviv
Sede vacante administrators and capitular’s vicars
Vicars of the Chapter and administrators in Lubaczow