Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle — a Baroque church of the Reformed Franciscans on Reformatska Street in Chełm, west of the hill with the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 2009, it has been the sanctuary of Saint Anthony of Padua, so it is often called that in the city. Built in 1737–1750 according to the design of Paolo Fontana, the church has served as an Orthodox church and an Evangelical kirche throughout its history.
Volski Foundation
The founders of the church were Andriy Volskyi and his wife Marianna Radzimińska — the same patrons who later financed the Church of the Sending of the Apostles. The project was commissioned to Paolo Antonio Fontani, an Italian by origin and court architect of the Sanguszko princes, who built extensively in Volhynia and Lublin regions. Three churches in Chełm were built according to his designs, including the cathedral on the Cathedral Hill. The Church of Saint Andrew was consecrated in 1750; next to it stands the Reformed monastery.
Church, kirche, and church again
After the 1863 uprising, the Russian authorities closed many Catholic monasteries, and in 1864 the Reformed monastery in Chełm was liquidated. The church was looted and later converted into the Orthodox Church of Saint Barbara, which operated until 1915. In the 20th century, the building changed hands several times: from 1915–1918 and 1939–1944 Evangelicals prayed here, and during the interwar period it was a Roman Catholic church. In 1944, the church was finally returned to the Reformed. On October 4, 2009, the feast day of Saint Francis, Lublin Archbishop Józef Życiński granted it the title of the sanctuary of Saint Anthony of Padua.
Inside
In the main altar is a copy from the 18th century of the revered image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Leżajsk from the Bernardine sanctuary in Leżajsk; in the side altars are images of Saint Francis and Saint Anthony. Above the main altar in the window is a stained glass of Saint Andrew, the patron of the church, and frescoes have been preserved above the entrance. Despite all the changes in confession, the church has preserved its Baroque appearance, and after the more flamboyant Piarist church on Lubelska Street, it attracts visitors with its quietness.
How to get there
The church stands at 13 Reformatska Street, near Ksiondz Popeluszko Street, a few minutes’ walk from the center of Chełm. Chełm lies on highway No. 12 Lublin – Dorohusk: about 70 km from Lublin, about 25 km from the Dorohusk–Yahodyn border crossing with Volyn. Nearby are the Church of the Sending of the Apostles and the Chełm Chalk Underground on Lubelska Street, and on the hill — the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Palace of the Uniate Bishops, and High Hill with the foundations of the residence of Danylo Halytskyi. The church is open during services. Ukrainian citizens need a foreign passport.
