Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Prešov: a Greek Catholic landmark
The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist stands on Hlavná street in the historic centre of Prešov, in north-eastern Slovakia. It is the metropolitan church of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church, with a Baroque exterior, a white-and-gold iconostasis and the tombs of two blessed bishops. It is an easy, rewarding stop in a town many visitors pass through.
A hospital chapel from the 14th century grew into the seat of an archbishop: today the Baroque church in Prešov shelters a copy of the Shroud of Turin and a martyr bishop.
The history of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
The story begins in the 14th century, when a chapel stood in Prešov to serve the neighbouring hospital. It was soon rebuilt as a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a single-nave building at the edge of the town. In the following centuries it passed to the Minorite friars, who extended their monastery beside it. Around the middle of the 18th century, from 1753, the church was rebuilt in the Baroque style under the local master builder Gašpar Urlespacher. The nave was lengthened, a new sanctuary was added on the west side and the old one was turned into a choir. Sculptures of St Stephen and St Ladislaus came from the Košice sculptor Jozef Hartmann. Only the net vault over the choir survives from the original medieval church.
In 1787 Emperor Joseph II dissolved contemplative orders such as the Minorites, and the church and monastery buildings passed to the town. Damaged by fire, they were then used as military stores. The building's second life began with the Greek Catholic Church. In 1790 Prešov became the seat of the vicars of the bishop of Mukachevo, and after Emperor Francis I created a Greek Catholic eparchy in Prešov, the church became its cathedral following the establishment of the eparchy in 1818. Two side chapels were added to the nave and a third, the parish chapel, in the new entrance, while Bishop Jozef Gaganec adapted the interior to the Eastern rite in 1846–1848. The tower was raised in 1865.
The 20th century brought hard times. In 1950 the Czechoslovak authorities abolished the Greek Catholic Church, imprisoned most of its clergy and tried to force believers to join the Orthodox Church, which took over the cathedral. The Greek Catholics returned to it in 1968, during the Prague Spring. A thorough renovation followed in 1977–1980. Since 1990 the remains of Bishop Pavol Peter Gojdič, a martyr of the faith, have rested in a sarcophagus in one of the chapels, and the crypt holds many dignitaries of the Greek Catholic Church, among them auxiliary bishop Vasiľ Hopko. Both are blessed of the Catholic Church. In 1995 Pope John Paul II prayed here during his pilgrimage to Slovakia.
On 30 January 2008 Pope Benedict XVI raised the Prešov eparchy to a metropolis and the church became the metropolitan cathedral. Among its treasures is a faithful copy of the Shroud of Turin, which the cathedral has held since 2003 as a gift from the Archdiocese of Turin, as well as a relic of the Holy Cross and relics of several saints, including St John the Baptist, the patron of the church.
Curiosities about the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
- The gable of the Baroque façade carries a painted scene of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, the saint to whom the cathedral is dedicated.
- The cathedral holds a faithful copy of the Shroud of Turin, presented in 2003 as a gift from the Archdiocese of Turin.
- Only one part of the medieval church survives: the net vault over the choir, in the former sanctuary.
- The white-and-gold iconostasis dates from the first half of the 19th century and was made by the carver Juraj Román and the Viennese painter Albert Fikos; its icons are the work of local artists Jozef Miklossy and Michal Mankovics.
- The parish chapel shelters an 18th-century sculpture of a Black Madonna, with enamelled crowns made by the goldsmith Ján Szylassy.
- Pope John Paul II prayed in the cathedral in 1995, during his pilgrimage to Slovakia.
Tours near Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
- Look for the five-bay Baroque façade with its decorated portal and the square clock tower, which was raised in 1865.
- Inside, the nave has Rococo frescoes of 1757 showing four scenes from the life of John the Baptist, by an unknown painter from Košice.
- The white-and-gold iconostasis is the centrepiece of the interior, together with an 18th-century pulpit with paintings by Mikuláš Jordán.
- As a place of worship, the cathedral asks visitors for a quiet, respectful visit; check the current opening hours and service times before you go.
- Prešov's historic centre, with its long main street and squares, is right outside.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist is
Photos of Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
Questions
What is the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Prešov?
It is the Greek Catholic metropolitan cathedral of Prešov, seat of the archbishop and mother church of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church. The building is largely Baroque, rebuilt in the 18th century.
Where is the cathedral?
It stands on Hlavná street, in the southern part of Prešov's old town, in north-eastern Slovakia.
Who is buried in the cathedral?
Blessed bishop Pavol Peter Gojdič rests in a sarcophagus in one of the chapels, and the crypt holds Blessed Vasiľ Hopko and other dignitaries of the Greek Catholic Church.
Is there a copy of the Shroud of Turin?
Yes. The cathedral has held a faithful copy since 2003, donated by the Archdiocese of Turin in Italy.
When did the church become a cathedral?
It became a cathedral after the Prešov eparchy was established in 1818, and a metropolitan cathedral when the eparchy was raised to an archeparchy in 2008.
What is worth seeing inside?
The white-and-gold iconostasis, the Rococo ceiling frescoes of 1757, the 18th-century pulpit and the Black Madonna in the parish chapel.
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