Lviv City Council transfers premises of St. George complex to UGCC

St. George's Cathedral complex in Lviv. Photo: ugcc.lviv.ua
On September 4, 2020, deputies of the Lviv City Council decided to approve a land management project on the transfer of land embracing the territory of St. George's Mountain in Lviv to the permanent use of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church "for maintaining the complex of St. George's Cathedral and lower metropolitan gardens." This was reported by the press service of the Lviv Archdiocese of the UGCC.
"This decision is a step in the restoration of the St. George's shrine, including due to the planned arrangement of a park-recreational zone on the territory of the lower Metropolitan Gardens," the UGCC said.
The head of the Lviv Uniates Igor Kyr stressed that the decision of the Lviv City Council "to return to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church the territory of the Arch-Cathedral and the Metropolitan Gardens on Mount St. George" is a "historic milestone".
"The St. George's complex, which is now under the protection of UNESCO, is not only an architectural monument of world importance but a great stronghold of faith. By taking this shrine from the Ukrainian people, the Soviets tried to show the destruction and oppression of our Church. But through the revival of the independence of our Motherland, St. George's Cathedral returns to the disposal of the people to be a source of God's grace," said the Uniate hierarch and thanked Lviv deputies for "courageous restoration of historical justice", which will usher in a new stage of Lviv's development.
St. George's Cathedral in Lviv (at 5 St. George's Square), built on the site of an ancient Orthodox church, is considered the main shrine of Ukrainian Greek Catholics. The tombs of Andrei Sheptytsky and Sylvester Sembratovich are located in the crypt of the cathedral, while in 1992 the remains of Joseph Slipy were reburied here.
As the UOJ reported, earlier the hierarch of the UGCC in Ivano-Frankivsk demanded to give a courthouse to the church.
Read also

Next court hearing in case of Metropolitan Arseniy scheduled for July 18
The next hearing is expected to consider the defense’s motion to replace the judge.
DESS orders Kyiv Metropolia to eliminate “volations” by August 18
The Ukrainian State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has published an order based on alleged “signs of affiliation” between the Metropolia and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
Summer camps for children and youth organized across UOC eparchies
Camps and gatherings are being held in the Rivne, Volyn, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Khmelnytskyi, Mukachevo, Khust, and Kamianets-Podilsky eparchies.
Orbán responds to church arson in Zakarpattia: This will not go unanswered
Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
No signs of abuse found at Bancheny Monastery orphanage – media
Media sources, citing the commission, have published the results of an inspection at the Bancheny Monastery's orphanage.