About This Site

The Armenian Cathedral in Lviv is one of the oldest Armenian churches in Ukraine. Built in the 14th century, decorated with Józef Mehoffer's mosaics and Jan Henryk Rosen's frescoes.

The Armenian Cathedral in Lviv is one of the city's oldest churches, founded by the Armenian community. The temple consists of three parts: the oldest (14th century) is the altar part, the middle wide nave was completed in the 17th century after the Lviv Armenians accepted the union with the Vatican, and the main entrance was added at the beginning of the 20th century. The cathedral's interior is a natural beauty, creating the feeling of an extraordinary fairy-tale world of the East. The vault and dome of the altar part are decorated with Murano mosaic, combining colored stones and enamel. The author of the mosaic decoration was the famous Polish artist Józef Mehoffer from Krakow. On the walls and pillars are carved stone crosses - khachkars, the oldest of which date back to the 14th-15th centuries. Near the northern wall is an ancient niche - a baptismal font where babies were baptized. The temple's frescoes were executed in the late 1920s by a young Warsaw artist Jan Henryk Rosen in the late Art Nouveau style. The central altar painting is "The Last Supper", and it is very unusual primarily because all its participants are standing. Rosen focuses on the great sacrament - communion. The peculiarity of the paintings is that the artist depicted famous persons, his contemporaries and acquaintances in each figure. On the temple walls you can see more than two and a half hundred faces.

Historical Significance

The Armenian community lived in Lviv from the 14th century. The first wooden church was built around 1363. A stone church on this site was built in the 1370s and consecrated in 1437. The temple underwent numerous reconstructions. In 1630, a bell tower was added. At the beginning of the 20th century, the church was reconstructed and expanded. In 1908-1928, mosaics and frescoes were added. In 1945, Soviet authorities liquidated the Armenian Catholic Church, sent leading clerics to camps, and most Armenian Catholics left for Poland. The temple was closed and given to the museum fund. Only in 2001 did the Armenian Cathedral open again for the faithful and tourists.

Highlights

• ✓Murano mosaics by Józef Mehoffer
• ✓Frescoes by Jan Henryk Rosen (1920s)
• ✓Khachkars from 14th-15th centuries
• ✓"The Last Supper" - unique altar painting
• ✓Over 250 portraits of historical figures
• ✓Ancient baptismal font
• ✓Armenian courtyard

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