Origins and construction (1584-1630)

The Jesuit Church of Saints Peter and Paul, also known as the Jesuit Church, is one of the most important monuments of Baroque sacred architecture in Lviv. Its history dates back to 1584, when the Jesuits were brought to Lviv by Archbishop Jan Dmitri Solikowski. They were initially housed in one of the tenement houses on the Market Square, owned by Zofia Hanel. She also donated the plot of land for the construction of the chapel. The second founder was Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. This first building was erected in 1594, but from the beginning the chapel was temporary. Efforts were made to obtain additional land to allow the construction of a brick church. After long efforts, in 1610 the Jesuits received an adjacent plot of land from the Lviv chapter. This allowed the investment to begin, and in July of that year the cornerstone was laid. As it turned out, however, this did not completely solve the problems associated with the building site. Indeed, construction work had to be stopped in 1614 for four years due to a lawsuit concerning the ownership of the donated land.

It was possible to start and carry on the construction thanks to the support of many founders, including Elżbieta Sieniawska. The first project was prepared by an architect unknown to us, probably a Jesuit. Later, from 1613, the work was directed by Sebastian Lamchius (1575-1622), until it was interrupted in 1614. After they were resumed in 1620, the Italian Jesuit Giacomo Briano (1589-1649) changed the design of the church, taking inspiration from Rome's Il Gesù church.

Construction was completed between 1629 and 1630, and on 5 November 1630 Archbishop Jan Andrzej Próchnicki consecrated the church by bringing the Blessed Sacrament into it. The finishing and decorative work continued until 1659, and the church housed two important works of art transferred from the former chapel - the miraculous image of Our Lady of Consolation, which is a copy of the image from the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows in Rome. It was made around 1570 at the request of the Jesuit general, St Francis Borgia. In 1636, a richly gilded silver cloth of the image, decorated with precious stones, was made in gratitude for the graces received. The painting has also gone down in history as the one before which the invocation Regina Poloniae was said for the first time, and the first May service was held in 1837. The image was officially recognised as miraculous in 1842. When the Jesuits left Lviv in 1946, they took it with them first to Krakow and then to Wrocław. The second important work to be found in the church was a crucifix probably made by the Lvov sculptor Jan Pfister. It was a foundation of Catherine Wolbert in 1616, originally placed in a wooden altar.

Architecture

The church was built under a fortified wall, with the main altar in the apse on the west side and the façade and entrance on the east side of Szpitalna Street of the Holy Spirit. The walls of the temple were made of hewn stone and brick. It is a monumental building, 41 metres long, 26 metres high and 22.3 metres wide. It seats 3,500 people in the naves and an additional 1,500 in the galleries (galleries). The interior of the church is a basilica with three naves with a monumental nave ending in a trilateral apse with a high altar. The side aisles are narrower and lower, separated from the nave by arcades supported by massive pillars. Above the side aisles, galleries were built, which are connected to the college building and the music choir.

The eastern façade of the church is distinguished by its wealth of decoration. A wide cornice and architrave divide it into two storeys, the lower one is decorated with six monumental pilasters. Between them are three entrances to the church, highlighted by portals. The façade is decorated with four niches with statues of Jesuit saints, square and rectangular fields and decorative side portals and windows.

Development and changes (17th to 18th century)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the church remained under the protection of the Jablonowski family and was the site of many important celebrations, such as the funerals of Hetman Stanislaw Jablonowski in 1703 and Bishop Samuel Ożga in 1756, and the canonisation ceremonies of St Stanislaw Kostka and St Aloysius Gonzaga in 1727. At the beginning of the 18th century, a tall bell tower was built (the builder was a member of the guild of masons of the city of Lviv, Walenty Godny). It was about 100 metres high and was the tallest in Lviv. In 1754 a clock was installed on it. In 1734 a fire destroyed part of the church. Its reconstruction was possible thanks to the support of Bishop Samuel Ożga and Elżbieta Szczuczyny, née Potocka. In 1736, the altar of St Peter and St Paul was gilded, and in 1738 František Eckstein from Brno in Moravia began decorating with frescoes. He had graduated from the Academy of St Luke in Rome. He made a fresco on the vault of the nave with an elaborate iconographic programme featuring St Paul as the apostle of the nations, we see figures grouped on four sides of the globe and four scenes: "St Peter among the cripples", "St Peter's sermon", "Handing over the keys to St Peter". A fresco of the 'Apotheosis of St Ignatius Loyola' surrounded by Jesuit saints was placed above the music choir. Finally, the coats of arms of the founders were placed on the vault. After his death in 1741, the work was continued by his son Sebastian, who executed the paintings in the side aisles with, among other things, the panorama of Lviv symbolically besieged by the Turks and protected by the intercession of the saints. There are also scenes related to the history of the Order.

In the same period, 1736-1737 to be exact, the sculptor Thomas Gutter together with Konrad Kutschreiter made six side altars for the church. The main altar, on the other hand, was made by Sebastian Fessinger. Two more side altars were realised in 1754 and 1759.

The church contains a valuable set of epitaphs and tombstones of the Jablonowski family:
. ➨ epitaph plate of Marianna Kazanowska Jablonowska (d. 1687), wife of Jan Stanislav
➨ Epitaph plaque of Aleksander Jabłonowski (d. 1733)
➨ Tombstone of Rev. Jan Prus Jablonowski, Crown Chamberlain (d. 1647) and Jan Stanislaw Jablonowski (d. 1731), Voivode of Ruthenia
➨ epitaph of Joanna of Potocki Jablonowska (d. 1726).

In subsequent years, it was planned to convert the church tower into an astronomical observatory, but in 1773, after the dissolution of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement XIV, the church and the remaining properties of the Lviv Jesuits were handed over to various institutions. The church was placed first under the jurisdiction of the theological faculty and then the Lviv chapter, primarily for the use of university students.

Renovations and changes (19th-20th century)

The Jesuits returned to Lviv in 1820, regained the church in 1836, but were expelled during the Spring of Nations in 1848, only to return four years later. The church also underwent several repairs and renovations in the 19th century. In 1830, the church tower was demolished by a decision of the Austrian authorities. The most important restoration work took place under the direction of Karl Stopler in 1879 and consisted of the restoration of the frescoes in the nave, followed by another in 1891. Another restoration of the frescoes took place in the 20th century and began in 1928. The work was carried out by Jerzy Janisch with the help of Ing. arch. Tadeusz Wojciechowski and Mr Lisikiewicz. During their execution, the signature of Franciszek Eckstein was discovered on the vault.

During the First World War in 1919, the church was damaged by an artillery shell. And again in 1939 by a German bomb, which damaged the vault in the chancel.

After 1990

Since Lviv became part of the former USSR, no significant renovation or restoration work has been carried out on the church, apart from makeshift repairs to the roof, necessitated by damage caused during the war. Further work was not carried out until 1959. The church was initially used as a warehouse, and in the 1970s it was converted into a book store. According to estimates, some 2,300,000 volumes were stored there, including part of the collection of the Lviv Ossolineum.

In 2010, the church became the property of the Curia of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. From December 2011, services began to be held in the church. The state of preservation of the church was very bad. In 2012, the first stage of conservation work began with a detailed analysis of the state of preservation. One of the most important elements is the complex and lengthy conservation of the painting masterpiece by Franz-Francis and Sebastian, father and son of the Ecksteins. In 2015, the first stage of work began on the conservation of the frescoes in the chancel, with work continuing until 2017, followed by work on the vaulting of the nave, which was completed in 2023. The entire conservation process is subsidised by, among others, the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Marshal's Office of the Malopolska Region, and since 2018 also by the Polonica Institute. The Polish-Ukrainian team of conservators is led by Dr Paweł Boliński of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.

Calendar (compiled after dzieje.pl)

➨ 1584 - Jesuits brought to Lviv;

➨ 1594 - construction of a wooden chapel;
➨ 1610 - start of construction of brick church to a design by an unknown monastic architect, foundation of Jesuit college by Elżbieta Sieniawska

➨1620 - new church construction plan

➨ 1634 - first replacement of roof (from shingled to sheet metal);
➨ 1636-37 - plastering of the church inside and out. Interior decorated with stucco and paintings;
➨ 1640 - consecration of Sts. Peter and Paul;
➨ 1647 - conclusion of the contract for the construction of the main altar;
➨ 1696 - whitewashing of the interior of the church and restoration of the painting on the vault; new windows in the nave and the choir loft on the north side;
➨ 31 August 1734 - fire
➨ 1738-41 - completion of frescoes by Franz and Sebastian Eckstein
➨ 1753 - roof covered with copper sheet;
➨ 1773 - suppression of the Jesuit Order;
➨ 1765 - storm tears off roof of temple;
➨ 1830 - tower at presbytery lowered as it threatened to collapse;
➨ 1836 - temple returned to the monastery;
➨ 1842-1845 - restoration work on the outer walls of the building;
➨ 1855 - restoration of the facade;
➨ 1868-1870 - restoration of side aisles;
➨ 1870 - roof covering replaced again;
➨ 1879 - restoration of frescoes by Karl Stopler;
➨ 9 January 1919 - during fighting with the Ukrainians, an artillery shell pierced the roof and vault. The frescoes were damaged, but the charge fortunately did not explode;
➨ 1926 - the church received new lighting;
➨ 1928 - Jerzy Janisch carried out restoration of the paintings;
➨ 1933-1934 - restoration of the frescoes;
➨ 12 September 1939 - roof burnt off during fighting and chancel vault damaged;
➨ 1940 - the church was converted into a warehouse (since the 1970s for books)
➨ 6 December 2011 - church consecrated as a Greek-Catholic garrison church under the former invocation of Saints Peter and Paul;
➨ 2015 - commencement of conservation work on the paintings on the vault of the chancel and nave