The eparchy was established as the Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Halych at some time during the mid 12th century as a suffragan of the Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'. The episcopal seat was located in Halych. In 1303, the eparchy was elevated to metropolitan status as the Metropolis of Halych. It held this status during several periods of the 14th century. After 1401, the title of the vacated province was moved to the Metropolitan of Kyiv.[1]
After the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Church began to restore canonical regularity.[1] On 19 August 1990 Archbishop Volodymyr (Sternyuk) served the first Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the returned to the church St. George's Cathedral, Lviv. On 30 March 1991, the Major Archbishop of Lviv, Cardinal Myroslav Lyubachivskyi, returned from Rome to his major archiepiscopal see in Lviv.
In 1992 the church synod adopted decision to create more eparchies out the archeparchy of Lviv and on 12 July 1993 it was approved by the Pope. There were established eparchy of Zboriv, eparchy of Sambir and Drohobych, and eparchy of Ternopil. In 2000 there were created eparchy of Stryi and eparchy of Sokal. In 2004 new Major Archbishop of Lviv Lubomyr Husar moved his see to Kiev, becoming Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, leaving the archeparchy of Lviv to Archbishop Ihor Vozniak.
Current status
On 6 December 2004, it was downgraded in status from a "Major Archeparchy" to an "Archeparchy". On 21 November 2011 the church structure was again changed; it became a metropolitan see or ecclesiastical province with three suffragan eparchies:
As of 2023[update] the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv is Ihor Vozniak. He was an auxiliary bishop of the "Major Archeparchy of Lviv" during 2001–2004. In December 2004, he became an auxiliary bishop of the newly erected Ukrainian Catholic Major Archeparchy of Kyiv-Halych. In 2005, the Synod elected him as the first archbishop of the new Archeparchy of Lviv.
^ abcdeStruk, Danylo Husar (15 December 1993). Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Volume III: L-Pf. University of Toronto Press. pp. 1, 232. ISBN978-1-4426-5125-8.