Virgin Mary Birth Cathedral

In Ternopil’ on 14, Sagaidachnogo Street you might notice Virgin Birth Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady, also known as Dominican Cathedral. An Icon of the Sorrowful Mother with a died son on her knees against twilight Jerusalem used to be situated in this majestic sanctuary. In 1940-1941 years the icon was taken to Russia. The cathedral has always been famous due to its frescoes, sculptural elements and unusual paintings of interior, however, during the World War II it suffered considerable damage, and only some of them survived. Today many visitors come to this sanctuary to pray and enjoy its restored frescoes.

Virgin Birth Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady was designed by Augustus Moshyns’kyi and built of cut stone in the second half of the 18th century. The construction of the cathedral started in 1749, and 1779 was the year of its sanctification. At that time there were several sanctuaries in the cathedral: St Vincent from Ferrara, Our Lady of Rosary, St Albert and St Thomas Aquinas, Crucified Jesus Christ, St Dominic, Jacek and Neslav, St Mary Magdalene and St Teklya. Frescoes that depicted the history of the Dominican Order impressed very much. Both, frescoes of lateral naves painted by Józef Hoynytskyi and interior decorations of famous Polish artist Stanislaw Stroyinskyi were incredibly beautiful and refined.

In the early 20th century the cathedral was restored under the project of architect Vladislav Sadlovs’kyi and talented artist Carol Polityns’kyi renovated old frescoes and painted new ones. A turret clock was installed on the tower, and the statue of St Vikentiy, a patron of the church, was erected on the square near the church. In April 1944, during the battle for Ternopil, Virgin Birth Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady suffered considerable damage, as it was bombed, plundered, burned, therefore fire destroyed paintings, the dome church and its tower. Also a storehouse and an art gallery were placed within the walls of the sanctuary. At the end of the last century the sanctuary passed to the hands of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and then Virgin Birth Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady was founded there. New paintings in the church were performed by Yuri Zhuravskyi, an artist, and the community made it light and cosy.

On the territory of the complex you can see old buildings, known as Dominican buildings. To the left of the main entrance of the cathedral you’ll note the Monument to Patriarch Joseph Slipyi, and to the right – a Granite Cross in honour of the 10th anniversary of the Ternopil Diocese of UGCC.