Cathedral of Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Uzhgorod, Ukraine - Cathedrals on Waymarking.com

The Druget widow Anna Jakushych completed it in 1646. But in 1773 Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuit Order and Austrian Empress Maria Teresa turned the cathedral over to the Mukachave Greek Catholic Church eparchy two years later. Francis Tek constructed the iconostasis seen today in 1799.

At the beginning of the 19th century two wooden belfries were added to the cathedral. A storm ruined one of them in 1812 and the other was dismantled to maintain symmetry. New belfries were built in the Eastern style in 1814 that stood until major reconstruction commenced in the 1870s.

Bishop Vasyl Popovych made several internal improvements in the mid-19th century. In 1846 he had the chapel renewed and ordered a new altar built by George Reves. Then in 1858 he ordered new art works, rebuilt the iconostasis in the baroque style, and decorated the crypt. The large ceiling mural, “Raising of the Honest God’s Cross”, was painted by Ferdinand Vydra.

But it was Bishop Ivan Pastelli (1867-1877) that commenced the major external reconstruction that gave the cathedral the look it has today. Luka Farbi completed the work in the style of old classicism with features of neo-baroque from 1875-1878. He added the portico supported by four Corinthian columns that guard the entrance to the cathedral. The red-marble staircase leading to the portico was built and two plaques at the entrance were installed with inscriptions in Church-Slavonic: “The cross is the beauty of the church bringing strength to believers and death to the unclean” and “The cross is the guardian of the universe, the state, the king and the glory of the angels.” The one-ton “Ivan” bell was placed in the left tower and a three-ton unnamed bell was placed in the right tower. The two tower clocks, built by the Transcarpathian master Avgustyn Jankovsky in Vienna, were also installed at this time.

Later Bishops continued the tradition of placing their own handprints in refurbishing the cathedral. Bishop Juli Firtsak rebuilt the roof and renewed the chapel. Bishop Petro Hebej renewed the chapel again in 1927. Bishop Olexander Stoika hired the painter Josyp Bokshay to paint murals in the chapel on the walls and ceilings in 1939. He painted the immense “Invention of the Holy Cross” made in the arches of the central nave. Ivan Pavlyshynets carved the throne at this time.

In 1944 Theodore Romzha was appointed bishop of the Mukachave eparchy. He began his ministry facing an occupying Soviet army. Soviet General Ivan Petrov ordered the bishop to renounce his allegiance to the Pope in Rome. Romzha refused and organized a celebration of the Feast of the Assumption where 80,000 faithful participated. The Soviets needed to get rid of this influential bishop. On the night of October 27, 1947, when Romzha was returning from visiting a parishioner, a Soviet army truck rammed his horse-drawn carriage dumping the bishop on the side of the road. The civilian-dressed soldiers than leapt out of the truck and began beating Bishop Romzha. Soon after the brutal attack began, another vehicle approached and the assailants fled. The bishop was rushed to the Uzhgorod hospital where he began a quick recovery. Then on the night of October 31 the nuns who were nursing him were dismissed and the government authorities appointed a new nurse. This new nurse poisoned him with an injection of curare and the bishop was found dead by morning. Research after the fall of the Soviet Union revealed that Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev had personally ordered the poisoning.

On February 16, 1949, the church was confiscated by the Soviet authorities and given to the Russian Orthodox Church. The church began a period of decline and it was not until the 1980s that the government allowed repairs to be made. In 1991 Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union and the church was returned to the Greek-Catholics.

In the basement of the cathedral is a crypt with over 70 burials representing the pantheon of hierarchs of the Greek-Catholic Church. The most notable are the relics of Bishop Theodore Romzha two years after Pope John Paul II beatified him during a visit of the cathedral in 2001.

Source Materials:

Uzhgorod Guide-Book, Dva Kolori Press, Uzhgorod, 2001.
Western Ukraine: Part II, Taras Palkov, 2011
"Theodore Romzha", Wikipedia, 2012.

Address: 6 Kapitulna Street Religious affiliation: Greek Catholic Date founded or constructed: 1640 Web site: Not listed

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