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Origin and history

Saint-Vladimir-le-Grand Cathedral, located at 51 rue des Saints-Pères in Paris, occupies the site of a 13th century church, replaced in 1613 by a hospital chapel founded by Marie de Medici for the Brothers of Charity. This building, integrated into a hospital, became in the 19th century the seat of the National Academy of Medicine after sheltering a clinical school during the French Revolution.

In 1935, part of the hospital was destroyed to expand the faculty of medicine, but the chapel was preserved. In 1937, a mission for Ukrainian Catholics was established, leading in 1942 to the allocation of the place to the Ukrainian community. Consecrated in 1943 under the name of St. Vladimir the Great, it honours the Prince of the Russ of Kiev, converted to Christianity in 988. The chapel was elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1961 with the creation of an exarchate for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics.

The facades of the cathedral have been classified as historical monuments since 1926. Today, she mixes Byzantine rites in Slavon and Masses in French (since 2018 and 2022), adapting to a community of 1,000 to 2,000 faithful, many of whom are Ukrainian immigrants. The current rector (2024) was Archpriest Andriy Morkvas, succeeding Father Ihor Rantsya.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI raised the exarchate to the rank of eparchy, making Saint-Vladimir-le-Grand the spiritual center of Byzantine Ukrainians in France. The cathedral, next to the square Taras-Chevchenko, thus embodies a medical, revolutionary and multicultural heritage, marked by its historical architecture and ecumenical vocation.

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