Ruins of a Christian church in Volhynia in evening mist

Educational cultural project

Restoring the memory of churches that no longer stand.

This project is dedicated to destroyed Christian churches of Lutsk and is based on the research of P. O. Tronevych, M. V. Khilko and B. T. Saichuk.

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About the Project

Every church was once a community gathered together

Over the past few centuries Lutsk has lost dozens of Orthodox churches, Catholic churches, chapels and synagogues. Some burned down in wars, others were dismantled for building material, and still others became flower beds, warehouses or gymnasiums.

We bring together already researched materials and new family testimonies in order to return these churches to the shared memory of Lutsk: pre-war postcards, insurance plans, parish registers, amateur photographs and oral testimony. Every site has a record in the register and a marker on the map.

The memory of a building lives as long as someone can still point to where it stood.

Interactive map

Interactive map of Lutsk

The map marks churches that no longer survive. Select a marker to open its temple record. Filters help you explore the available materials and confessional tradition.

Plan of the city of Lutsk with the lost Christian churches marked

Select a number to see the name of the church

Available materials

Confession

Select a marker on the map to see the temple record.

Church stories

Four fates from our archive

Four churches, four different traces in the memory of Lutsk.

Artistic reconstruction of the Cathedral Church of St John the Theologian after the research of M. V. Malevska

Cathedral Church of St John the Theologian

The main church of princely Lutsk in the Upper Castle. Archaeologists uncovered its foundations, and the castle inventory of 1607 still records the church. The exact date of construction and the time of its dismantling are not documented — we are still researching them.

Source: P. O. Tronevych, M. V. Khilko, B. T. Saichuk, «Втрачені християнські храми Луцька», pp. 8–12.

Artistic reconstruction based on materials from the book.

Church of St Nicholas

A town church known from the 16th century — a church of the urban community rather than of a prince or a monastery. Where exactly it stood and when it disappeared we are still clarifying from the records.

Source: «Втрачені християнські храми Луцька», pp. 18–20.

Artistic reconstruction based on the acts and iconographic materials in the book.

Church of the Transfiguration of the Krasnosilskyi (Chernytskyi) Saviour Monastery

The Saviour Monastery at Krasne Selo is known from the 16th century. It owned the 14th-century Lutsk Gospel, one of the most valuable manuscripts of Volhynia; where exactly it was copied is unknown. Today the manuscript is kept in Moscow.

Source: «Втрачені християнські храми Луцька», p. 37.

Artistic reconstruction based on materials from the book.

Church and Convent of St Bridget

The Bridgettine convent was founded in 1624, with a school for girls from noble families. The church, consecrated in 1792, was dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. In the 19th century the convent was turned into a prison; part of the buildings survives in rebuilt form.

Source: «Втрачені християнські храми Луцька», p. 47.

digitised materials from the book

lost churches in the register

The archive is open to family testimonies

markers on the historical map