Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi: “The cathedral could be the first step of the UGCC in encompassing modern architecture”

The president of the Pontifical Council on Culture Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi during his visit to Ukraine visited the building of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on the left bank of Kyiv. He was impressed by the church and said that “the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ could be the first step of the Greek Catholic Church in encompassing modern architecture.” “I have to note that the creators of the cathedral succeed in uniting two dimensions which are absolutely different from one another. From the one side, it resents the passed-down tradition, the tradition that has its codified presentation. From the other side, it is the attempt of encompassing something new. The architecture of the cathedral is an innovation in tradition,” noted to the archbishop. According to Archbishop Ravasi, it is evident that the Greek Catholic Church wants encompass modern culture. The archbishop also commented on the location of the church. “It’s worth noting that the cathedral is located in a new part of the city. It’s another way in which traditional heritage unites with modernity,” he says. The Vatican guest stressed that building churches in a modern style is a very good course of action. “Western Europe is a lot more inclined to encompass modernity. They build churches by totally other canons – in modern architecture. This is also important because the church, the priest should represent modernity. Certainly, there are risks because it can lead to a failure to observe refinement, style, and even lead to the loss of the sacred.” Even in ancient times a church was not only a place for prayer. It is also a symbol. Therefore, according to the archbishop, it is very meaningful to build a large basilica, a large church to be a large symbol in this secularized world for passers-by to see.

Information Department of the UGCC