Church of the Jesuits (Lviv)

Church of the Jesuits ( Ukrainian church of the Church of the Jews , the Church of Saints Peter and Paul of the Order of the Jesuits ) is an architectural monument in Lviv ( Ukraine ). Located on the street. Teatralnaya 11. The Jesuit Church is one of the largest religious buildings in Lviv: length 41 meters, width 22.5 meters, height - 26 meters. The church could accommodate up to 5 thousand believers. This is also the first baroque building in Lviv.

The church was built in 1610-1630, finishing works continued until 1660. Construction began by the monk Sebastian Lachmius in 1613-1614, his project was substantially redesigned and completed by the Italian architect Giacomo Briano in 1618-1621. The Italian brought into the building the forms that took shape in the scheme of the facade of the church of Il Gesu in Rome (authors J. Vignola and J. della Porta). This pattern spread to European architecture in the 17th century and became characteristic of the Baroque style. The interior solution was based on a new spatial concept, which symbolized the power of the Roman Catholic Church, which determined, according to the ideologists of the counter-reformation, life and all human affairs.

The church building is three-naved in plan, with an externally weakly expressed faceted apse. The central nave is powerful, 14 by 25 meters. The lateral naves are very narrow and low with respect to the central; above them are built side galleries - emporia . The main facade is dominated by pilasters, niches and a highly developed cornice. Statues are placed in niches of the main facade. At the same time, the southern facade is much more modest and restrained.

During the XVIII century, the interior of the church changed its appearance. On the south side of the apse in 1701 or 1702, a tetrahedral tower was built (architect V. Godny), which had a height of 80 meters and was the highest in the city. In 1740, the vaults of the church were painted by the artists Francis and Sebastian Eckstein from Brno . A clock was installed on the tower in 1754, but already in 1830 the dilapidated bell tower had to be dismantled and only 2 tiers were preserved from it. The oldest and most valuable sculpture that has survived to this day in the interior is a wooden crucifix in the side altar, made at the beginning of the 17th century by I. Fister.

In 1775-1848, in the church building, meetings were held of the "estate parliament" of Galicia, the first regional parliament (however, which did not have a significant influence on politics in the province). In Soviet times, the church was a book depository of the Scientific Library. V. Stefanika. At the end of 2011, the church becomes a garrison (chapel) temple of the UGCC. Restoration work has begun, funded mainly by the Polish side. The plans also include the restoration of the damaged body.