Dominican Church (Church of the Holy Eucharist of the UGCC), Lviv

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In the central part of the legendary city of Lviv is one of the most famous and striking churches in the city - the Church of the Holy Eucharist (formerly the Church of the Corpus Christi and the Dominican Monastery) - a Greek Catholic church in the central part of Lviv, in the UNESCO World Heritage Area; an architectural monument of national importance.

According to ancient documents, the palace of King Leo I stood on the site of the present-day church. His wife Constance was a Catholic, so the king gave her the chapel of Peter and Paul, which was in the palace. Later the chapel passed from Constance to the Dominican Order.

TheDominican Order is one of the oldest Catholic orders. It was founded in Toulouse by the monk Dominic in 1214 to fight heretics. The monks of this order had to give up money and property and live on alms. They studied theology and founded educational institutions. Paris and Bologna, the largest university cities, became the centers of the Dominicans. The Dominican Order expanded its activities in many countries, including Ukraine.

After the transfer of the ancient Russian church to Roman Catholics, a new large nave was added to it, so that the old building of princely times began to serve as an altar part (presbytery). The new Gothic church thus formed became a Dominican church and was named Corpus Christi in 1407, with the altar part retaining the dedication to St. Peter and St. Paul. The funds for the construction were provided mainly by a burgher Mykola Benko and his wife Anna from Zhabokruky. According to other sources, the church was built by the middle of the fourteenth century by the builder Mykola Chekh, possibly using the walls and foundations of the princely palace and chapel. Its layout was drawn in the late sixteenth century by Martin Gruneweg, a Dominican traveler.

In 1604, Jan Swoszowski and his first wife, Malgorzata de Konary (Konarska), "recorded" the village of Birky for the altar of the Dominican church in Lviv. He also founded the chapel of Our Lady, which was dismantled. Because of cracks in the vault, the church was dismantled in the middle of the eighteenth century (1745 or 1748), along with the Baroque chapel founded by J. Swoszowski.

А. Reisinger was one of the first to publish photographs of sarcophagi from the dungeons of the Dominican Church. In 1749, the foundation of the new Dominican Church was laid according to the design of engineer and architect Jan de Witte; funds were allocated by Hetman Józef Potocki (who laid the cornerstone and was the main founder of the construction) and Mykola Vasyl Potocki (who allocated 236,000 zlotys; his mother was buried here). The construction was supervised by Martin Urbanik, and from 1764 by Christopher Muradowicz.

The façade was finished by Sebastian Fesinger, who began work in 1764 on the fireplace statues that were to crown it. He also made a wooden carved polychrome organ (Latin: moles organarius), which later burned down.

By 1764, the construction was basically completed, but after the fires of August 26, 1766 (caused by Matthew Miller's carelessness while drawing the organ) and 1778, work resumed. In 1865, a 4-tiered bell tower was added to the church according to the design of architect Julian Zakharevych. In 1895 the lantern on the dome was rebuilt, and in 1905-1914 the interior was restored, the work was designed by architects Alfred Zacharewicz and Józef Sosnowski, with Dr. Alexander Cholowski also participating as a "conservator." The crypt was also planned to be restored, but the war prevented this. Later, in Soviet times, the church was restored in 1956-1958.

In 1749, Franciszek Russiń appealed to the Pope with a petition, according to which the icon of the Mother of God was solemnly crowned on July 1, 1751, with the participation of Lviv Latin Archbishop Mykola Vyzytskyi, and funds were provided, in particular, by Kyivan Voivode Stanisław Potocki.

Before World War II, it was a church of a Roman Catholic monastery of the Dominican Order. In Soviet times, the church and the monastery cells were used as warehouses, and since 1973 these buildings have housed the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. In the 1990s, the church was transferred to the UGCC, and it was consecrated in honor of the Holy Eucharist.

The Dominican Church in Lviv is a majestic late Baroque architectural monument based on the Western European model. It is built of stone and has an elongated cross with an oval central part and two bell towers on its sides. The church is dominated by a huge elliptical dome. Massive twin columns support galleries and boxes decorated with wooden statues by Lviv sculptors of the second half of the 18th century. Above the galleries are drum columns supporting the dome. Under the dome of the church is a quote in Latin from the First Epistle to Timothy: "Soli Deo honor et gloria" ("To God alone be honor and glory").

You will be impressed by the building with its mystical pathos. Above one window you will see the coat of arms of the Dominican Order - under the crown on the Bible is a dog with a torch in its teeth.

Under the huge dome of the church there are wooden sculptures of the Dominicans, among which you will see the figures of Saints Dominic and Augustine. The magnificent exterior of the church is in harmony with its luxurious interior.

Several chapels adjoin the main nave of the church:

St. Anthony's (first on the right) with an icon of the saint by the Lviv master Garr from 1838
On the other side is the chapel of St. Anthony with an icon of the saint by Lviv master Garr of 1838 and a memorial tablet to Dr. Tadeusz Żulinski (?-1885, by Tomasz Dykas), and on the other side is the chapel of the poet Maria Bartusiowna (?-1885) with a bust by Wisniowiecki and a poem by Lenartowicz; it has a pseudo-Rococo altar with a carving of the Heart of Jesus by Witowicz (1912);
St. Jacek's Chapel with an icon by M. Jablonski, which is the antechamber to the next one;
the Potocki Chapel (also called Our Lady of Jacek, Polish: Panny Matki Jackowiej), built after 1764; according to M. Orlovych, it is one of the first buildings with classicist features in Lviv, and M. W. Potocki provided funds for its construction;
the building of the monastery cells, rebuilt in 1556-1621 and restored after the fires of 1766 and 1778. The building is stone, rectangular in plan, three-story, with two courtyards, a corridor system of planning typical for monastery buildings, and arched ceilings;
the chapel of St. Vincent with the icon of M. Jablonski;
Chapel of St. Dominik with an old icon in a new pseudo-Rococo vitrine with an Empire tombstone of Countess Józefa Borkowska (?-1811) by Torvaldsen;
the chapel of St. Tomasz with an icon by M. Jablonski and a Rococo carving of Christ the Mercy.

Since 1972, the monastery and bell tower have housed the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, and now the museum of the history of religion and the Dzyga creative association, the Kvartira 35 art cafe, and the Pid Klepsydra coffee shop are located here. Only after the declaration of Ukraine's independence did services resume in the cathedral, and today the Dominican Cathedral functions as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Eucharist, which is especially popular among citizens and tourists. Every year in January, the church hosts the all-Ukrainian festival of carols "Great Carols," which was launched in 1999.

The Dominican Church in Lviv has witnessed many events. In 1559, a real battle for a bride took place on the square in front of it. The magnate Lukasz Górka staged a theater of war in front of the church, demanding that Halyszka Ostrozka, who was one of the richest heiresses of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time, be given to him. The girl hid in a monastery, and the persistent groom shelled the church.

As a result of this "matchmaking", trade in Lviv stopped for several weeks. The enraged king ordered the shooting in the city to stop; the water pipe leading to the church was cut, and soon the siege of the church ended. Lukasz Górka managed to capture Halyszka Ostrożka.

The Dominican Church in Lviv is located in the historic center of the city. From Rynok Square, you turn onto Virmenska Street, walk to the very end of it, and turn onto Ivan Fedorov Street. Here, on Museum Square, you will see the huge Dominican Church. Next to the monastery is the Russian quarter of ancient Lviv, dominated by the Russian Assumption Church and the Korniakt Tower. The Royal Arsenal is located directly adjacent to the monastery cells.