The Armenian Cathedral is one of the oldest and most valuable historic churches of Lviv. Its history dates back to the 13th century and it is also a unique example of architecture with oriental features in Central Europe.

Works carried out in 2018.

The Armenian Cathedral in Lviv contains an interesting series of wall paintings by Jan Henryk Rosen. In 2018. POLONIKA Institute financed the aesthetic conservation of one of them, namely the painting The Institution of the Blessed Sacrament (Last Supper), which adorns the apse of the presbytery.

In the painting, the artist placed images of his acquaintances, Armenian priests and Lvov personalities in the persons of the holy apostles. These are Saints Tadeusz (Marian Brzezicki), Andrew (Rev. German Gavronsky), Peter (presumably Rev. Peter Aladzhajian), John (Rev. John Lechowski or Tadeusz Wojciechowski), James the Less (John Rosen), Bartholomew (Rev. Adam Bogdanovich or Rev. Sergius Egulian), Matthew (Rev. Dionizy Kajetanovich) and Judas. The image of Christ is presumed to be behind Fr John [Fr Michael] Czartoryski.

The work included cleaning, retouching and replenishing the paint layers and protecting the surface of the polychrome.

Executor: Heritage Academy Alumni Association

Work carried out in 2019

In 2019. POLONIKA Institute undertook to finance the conservation of the mosaic decorating the dome of the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv. Designed by Jozef Mehoffer in 1907, the mosaic was made by the Italian workshop of Angelo Gianese in 1912-1913. Financial issues hindered the completion of the decoration of further parts of the interior of the church - according to the artist's design. Despite its turbulent history, the mosaic has survived to the present day. However, it has never undergone any restoration work.

The surface area of the mosaic is more than 150 m2 filled with multicoloured tesserae - squares of glass created in Venice. Oral accounts emphasise the dome's exceptional acoustic qualities due to the work's properties. The axis of the composition is a depiction of the Holy Trinity: starting with a top-positioned composition of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, through the face of God the Father, to a full-figured image of Christ supported by two angels. The perpendicular axes of the composition are completed with symbols of the sun and moon.

The restoration work consisted of cleaning the surface of the mosaic from layers of dirt accumulated over more than a century. In addition, the glass tesserae were glued, and in some parts also the plaster, on which they are set, was glued. The surface of the work needed to be disinfected several times due to strong microbiological contamination (fungus). Some of the tesserae were affected by 'glass disease', manifested by the gradual disappearance of the near-surface glossy layer and the transition of the glass into a cloudy, matt coating.

Due to the emergency condition of the dome windows, which was discovered during the conservation work, and the need to ventilate the space under the mosaic, the previously assumed scope of work was extended by increasing the project budget, and new windows were made in the dome of the temple.

Executor: Heritage Academy Alumni Association

Work carried out in 2020.

When in 2018. Institute proceeded to lay the floor in front of the cathedral, the work was halted because basements were found beneath the site of the planned project. This required a change in the design concept and the construction of a new floor (substructure). Consequently, the project was abandoned until the problem of a new substructure for the floor was solved.

In 2020, the facility administrator made a new ceiling over the basement, which allowed the stone floor to be laid and the project to be completed.

Executor: EKAM Michał Ziołowicz

Work carried out in 2021

In 2021, the POLONIKA Institute financed conservation work on the stained-glass window of St. Paul from the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv.

The stained-glass window, designed by Jan Rosen, was made in 1928 in Jan Białkowski's workshop in Warsaw. It was found in a decomposed state in the basement of the cathedral in 2001. It underwent conservation and reconstruction of the missing parts under the direction of the Lviv stained-glass artist Anatoly Czobitka. Protective glazing was not installed during the work at the time, and some technical standards were also violated during installation. The combination of these factors accelerated the deterioration of the stained glass, which twenty years later required renewed conservation. A lot of pinholes had developed between the glass and the lead mesh, through which water leaked. It then ran down the wall and the paintings, which were being conserved at the same time.

The conservation work carried out this year consisted of cleaning the stained glass, sealing and caulking the holes. Also removed were the copper tapes with which the cracked glass was sealed during the first conservation, and which distorted the drawing of the stained glass. In addition, losses in the paint layer were filled in and protective glazing was carried out to prevent excessive heating of the stained glass and stretching of the lead mesh.

Contractor of the works: Maria Barvinok - stained glass conservation, Sławomir Oleszczuk - protective glazing

Conservation work carried out between 2018 and 2021, Conservation Programme, Polonica Institute