St. Josaphat's Cathedral, Edmonton

St. Josaphat's Cathedral, Edmonton

Saint Josaphat Cathedral is a Ukrainian Catholic cathedral in Edmonton, one of the best examples of Byzantine Rite church architecture in Canada. It is the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and has been a cathedral since 1948. Occupying 18 city lots in the McCauley neighbourhood, the cathedral has been recognized for its heritage significance and "is distinguished by it seven domes, columned entry portico, and red brick veneer embellished with darker brick pilasters and inlaid cream coloured crosses.

The parish was established by the Basilian Fathers in 1902, at first without a permanent home. The current building was designed in 1938 by the Reverend Phillip Ruh, an Oblate missionary from Belgium who intensively studied the Byzantine Rite building designs of Ukraine so that the building would be culturally acceptable to the parishioners. His design mixes elements of Ukrainian Baroque with Western European influences, to produce a unique Canadian style dubbed "Prairie Cathedral". This cathedral is considered to be "the most elaborate Ukrainian Church in Alberta" and "one of the finest examples of Ukrainian-Canadian church architecture". Ruh also designed Saint George Cathedral in Saskatoon.

Construction lasted from 1939 to 1947. The building became a cathedral when Edmonton was selected as the seat of a new exarchate headed by a bishop. The first bishop was the Most Reverend Neil N. Savaryn, appointed "Bishop Ordinary for the Apostolic Exarchate of Edmonton serving Alberta and British Columbia".
Sight description based on Wikipedia.

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St. Josaphat's Cathedral on Map

Sight Name: St. Josaphat's Cathedral
Sight Location: Edmonton, Canada (See walking tours in Edmonton)
Sight Type: Religious

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