Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Lutsk

The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral and its Jesuit college are national landmarks in Lutsk.

The church and college were built for the Society of Jesus of Lutsk in the 17th century.

The cathedral is the main church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk, the college part of the National university of Food Technologies.

The Society of Jesus mission in Lutsk was established in the first decade of the 17th century.

King Zygmunt III Waza of Poland, bishops Marcin Szyszkowski and Paweł Wołucki founded the church which was designed by architects M. Gintz and Giacomo Briano.

The curriculum covered moral theology, philosophy, mathematics, physics, ethics, fencing, languages, dance and theatre.

In the 1620s and 1630s, there were conflicts between Jesuits and members of the Lutsk Eastern Orthodox church.

A decree signed by Pope Clement XIV in July 1773 suppressed the Order leading to the closure of the college too.

Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral was the only active Catholic church in Lutsk.

The interior of church is decorated with paintings, epitaphs, commemorative plaques, old furniture, sculptures, reliefs, monograms, and etchings.

The few paintings in sacristy show the Catholic churches of Lutsk: Dominican, Trinitarian, Bernardine and Carmelitan.

The college building is used for the Volyn technikum which is part of the National University of food technologies.

Cathedral