“I would like to note first of all,” said organization President Mr. Seketa, “we are an essentially public organization. Our revival is not artificial, because from the sixteenth century on the whole Lviv’s history is closely tied with merchants. The congregation was established on the base of one of the oldest guild workshops in the city. You cannot underestimate the contribution merchants have made to the city’s development. Suffice it to state that all Lviv’s churches except two were financed by representatives of this profession. Now we have forgotten that for centuries the city has lived with commerce, and its merchants were in no way inferior to their Venetian or Florentine colleagues. By reviving the Merchants’ Congregation, we are trying to form a positive image of the Ukrainian entrepreneur and return attention to the businessman’s word of honor. We do not care about political views of our members; for us professionalism and honesty are the main things. Today eleven legal entities comprise the congregation and another nine are in line to join.







