Meeting with Metropolitan Andrey

The year 2025 has been declared in Ternopil Oblast the Year of Metropolitan (Primate) of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Andrey Sheptytskyi. This year marks the 160th anniversary of his birth, a significant event to be commemorated in Ukraine. Metropolitan Andrey was a religious and public figure, a metropolitan of the UGCC, a philanthropist, a doctor of law and theology, and one of the most outstanding leaders of the Ukrainian Church and national movement in the first half of the 20th century. He became a symbol of national consciousness.

During the 2024-2025 academic year, I.Ya. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University has already hosted a series of events dedicated to this remarkable figure.

On March 15, 2025, faculty, students, and staff of TNMU, on the Center for Educational Work and Cultural Development initiative, visited the Holy Dormition Univ Lavra. This monastery, dating back to the 14th century, is one of the oldest monastic complexes in Ukraine. The tour participants had the opportunity to explore the historic monastery grounds and church, learning about its rich history, its decline during Soviet times, and the dedicated efforts to restore it in independent Ukraine.

The tour continued with a visit to the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi Museum, which opened its doors in 2020. This museum brings history to life—its walls seem to speak. The unique and devoted pastor, Hieromonk, and Doctor Father Sevastiyan (Stepan Dmytrukh), who is both the church’s rector and the museum director, enthusiastically led an engaging tour. He shared that he had worked on this idea for 30 years, and his dream finally came true. The museum’s mission is to restore the memory of this spiritual giant and great nation-builder of Ukraine, spreading knowledge of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s legacy worldwide. The tour participants could see the Metropolitan’s belongings, including his Gospel.

The journey concluded with a visit to St. George’s Cathedral, the most magnificent temple of the Greek Catholic Church. Participants descended into the crypt to pay homage at the resting places of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, Patriarch Josyf Slipyi, Cardinals Myroslav Ivan Liubachivskyi and Sylvester Sembratovych.

We sincerely thank Father Dr. Sevastiyan for his invaluable time, extraordinary efforts, and informative tours. We also thank the university administration and chaplain, Father Ihor Drapak, for supporting this excursion.

We invite everyone to stay updated with the Center for Educational Work and Cultural Development announcements via corporate email and to join our events and excursions.