The Dormition or Assumption Church (, ''Uspenska tserkva''; historically known as the " Wallachian Church") is a Ukrainian Orthodox church in the city of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. At present it belongs to the Lviv Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Description

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv (commonly known as the Dormition church, or historically as the Wallachian Church) is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Lviv, located in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, in Renaissance style. The current building is built in place of a ruined church in the period 1591–1629 by Paulo Romanus, Wojciech Kapinos and Amvrosiy Prykhylny; the bell tower was erected in the years 1571–1578 by . The Orthodox Church complex is located at vulytsia Ruska and consists of a church building, a bell tower (Korniakt Tower) and a chapel (chapel of the Three Saints). The second church was erected on the initiative of the Lviv Brotherhood, and the founder of the bell tower and the chapel was Constantine Corniaktos, a Greek merchant. Korniakta Tower is considered one of the most precious monuments of Ukrainian architecture of the sixteenth century

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

architectural style. It was constructed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries with funds provided by the Greek merchant Constantine Corniaktos and other members of the Lviv Dormition Brotherhood, a local '' bratstvo'' which also operated an Orthodox school and press. The work was supported by many others, such as Hetman

Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny (; ; born – 20 April 1622) was a political and civic leader and member of the Ruthenian nobility, who served as Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks, Hetman of Zaporozhian Cossacks from 1616 to 1622. During his tenur ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

n hospodars Ieremia Movilă and Simion Movilă, and even the Russian Tsar Feodor I. Simion Movilă's son, Peter Mogila, became the Metropolitan of Kiev, Halych and All-Rus' from 1633 until his death, and later was canonized as a saint in the Orthodox churches of Romania, Ukraine, and Poland. A memorial plaque to Peter Mogila is affixed to an outer wall of the church. The church's architecture bears the mark of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. This especially applies to the profusely decorated façade of the adjacent Chapel of the Three Hierarchs, built between 1574 and 1591 to Piotr Krasowski's designs. Nearby is one of Lviv's most conspicuous landmarks, the Korniakt Tower, which was carried to its present height of after a fire in 1695. This ornate bell-tower was originally commissioned by Corniaktos from architect Piotr Barbon in the 1570s.

Previous buildings

First church

The church existed at that location before the 1340 conquest of the Great Duchy of Galicia and Volhynia by the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. It was then called the Church of Three Saints.

Second church

In the years 1547–1571, a church was built during 1547–1549 with money donated by Moldavian

hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...

Alexandru Lăpușneanu and princess consort Ruxandra Lăpușneanu, which left a permanent mark in its name: Church of Wallachia. Little is known about the appearance of the church at that time. It had a buttressed facade, three turrets with cupolas, and mural paintings in the interior. Peter from Lugano, known as the Italian, led the construction. In 1568 master builder Felix began construction of the tower and work will continue under Peter Krassowski. In 1570, some of the towers collapsed, and in the next year a fire burned down the whole church. The Orthodox church was closed down by the Lviv Archbishop Jan Dymitr Solikowski.

References

External links

Dormition Church
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

Dormition Church
at the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe {{coord, display=title, 49.8420, N, 24.0344, E , format=dms , type:landmark_region:UA Churches in Lviv Churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Church buildings with domes Churches completed in 1629