Thursday, October 21, 2010

Ukrainian Village in Chicago

After I left Holy Trinity Orthodox Church I walked. Boy did I walk. I was day dreaming and before I knew it I was in Humboldt Park. I turned around and found myself walking in a neighborhood full of outdoor cafes, art galleries, specialty shops and Ukrainian restaurants.

The first church I came up to was St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral. Unfortunately the church was closed.


St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral

So I walked until I came upon St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. This is a beautiful church with green onion domes. I looks like something from Russia. Again the doors were closed. I had been in the church before and looked forward to again praying in such an uplifting structure.


St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral

A block and a half north of the church is a beautiful view. You can actually see two Ukrainian Catholic Cathedrals at one timed. It is a breath taking view to gaze upon two very different churches that were boot fantastic


St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral and Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral

I then walked over to Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. The first church looked like it was from the set of Dr. Zavago. This one looked like it was from Constantinople.

Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
I waited patiently to go in. There was a wedding going on and I did not want to disturb it. On the other hand I did want to see the inside of the church. I had been there before and I knew its deep blue color and fantastic icons made it a very special place.


Inside Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral

Entering an Orthodox church is always a wonderful experience for me. I am reminded that I am leaving the darkness of the world and entering into god. The ceiling always speaks of the rulership of Jesus. The icons remind us of the saints. This is a place of meditation and a place of community prayer.



Inside Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral Part II

Finally the wedding ended and so did my time in Ukrainian Village. I love the two Ukrainian Catholic churches. I loved the museum where I briefly meet old friends. I love how dedicated the Hispanic folks are in worshipping and in transmitting their form of worship. It was a good day and now it was time to go to Chinatown.

1 comment:

Adam DeVille said...

Technically Sts. V&O is not a cathedral--only St. Nicholas has that status. They exist cheek-by-jowl because of, inter alia, calendar fights in the latter part of the 20th century. Sts. V&O is all Ukrainian all the time, and Julian calendar; St. Nicholas uses some English and the Gregorian calendar.