The photo shows the church of the Greek Catholic Community in Russische Gasse (Str. Romana, vul. Ruska). The Greek-Catholic faith, the so called Uniates, split from the Orthodox Church in the late 16th c., kept its orthodox rites but accepted the Pope as head of church. In Galicia and the Bukovina, the followers of the Greek Catholic church were mainly Ruthenians or Ukrainians. While the church was strong in Galicia, it played a minor role in the Bukovina. In 1910 26.000 inhabitants of the Bukovina were Greek Catholics, compared to 547.000 Orthodox. The Church was the first one for the Uniates in Chernivtsi, completed in 1821. During a reconstruction in 1930-1936, towers and a dome were added and the church was consecrated in honor of the Assumption. The Uniate faith was forbidden by the Soviets, the church handed over to the Orthodox Church and closed down in 1961 to be used as a warehouse. In 1990 the building was returned to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and has been completely restored ever since. The Russische Gasse has nothing to do with Russia but was the way Austrian officials referred to the Ruthenians or Ukrainians in the 19th c. The street, built from 1815 on, is one of very few which kept its historic name until today. Helmut Kusdat
