The Holy Trinity Church (; ) is a church in the city of
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
,
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...
(
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
) of western Ukraine. The church is situated on Trinity Square near the entrance to the historic Old Town neighborhood of Kamianets-Podilskyi.
Written documents date the Holy Trinity Church back to 1582, although archaeologists have found evidence that the church might even date back to the 14th century. After the Turkish seizure of Kamianets in 1672, the Holy Trinity Church, along with other Orthodox churches in the area, was converted into a
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
. It remained a mosque until 1699 when it was transferred over to the
Uniates
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
when the entire region of
Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
returned to
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
control. The church was one of the oldest in the city and the surrounding region, until its destruction by the
Soviets
The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" ().
Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...
in 1935.
After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the square upon which it sits was renamed from Kuibyshev Square to Trinity Square. In 2006, restoration work commenced, being completed in 2008. On July 10, 2010, the church was consecrated by
Vasyl Semeniuk
Vasyl Semeniuk (born 2 August 1949, Dora (village), Dora, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast) is the Metropolitan Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Ternopil–Zboriv, an archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.Ternopil – Zboriv of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...
.
Architecturally, the Holy Trinity Church resembles two other 16th-century Kamianets-Podilskyi churches, the Church of Ss. Peter and Paul, and the Ioanno-Predtechynska Church. It is an oval-shaped construction, with an altar at the east, and a choir room at the south; the church's western portion features a bell tower.