The Seminary Church of Saint John of Dukla is one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in Zhytomyr. It stands in the city center, at 4 Kyivska Street, near Soborna Square. The brick church was built in 1838–1842 on the site of a wooden church of the Bernardine monastery; today it is an active Franciscan monastery and an architectural monument of national significance.
Bernardine Monastery
The Bernardine monastery in Zhytomyr was founded in 1761, and at the same time a wooden church was built in honor of Blessed John of Dukla. He was a 15th-century Polish monk who lived in poverty, preached, and became blind towards the end of his life; he died in 1484 in Lviv. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1997. According to legend, during the Koliyivshchyna uprising, one of its leaders, Ivan Honta, hid in the Zhytomyr monastery.
In 1820, a great fire destroyed the wooden church and the monastery buildings. Masses began to be held in the cells, and nearby a new brick church was built, completed in 1842. Inside there was a main altar and side altars dedicated to Our Lady of Częstochowa, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Francis, and Blessed John of Dukla. The interior was decorated by the artist F. Zavadskyi.
Why the church is called “Seminary”
Soon after its consecration, the monastery was closed, and in 1844 the Roman Catholic seminary was transferred from Lutsk to its T-shaped cells. Since then, the church has been called the Seminary Church, and the current Soborna Square was called Seminary Square in the mid-19th century. In 1851–1852, Zygmunt Feliński, later Archbishop of Warsaw and a saint, studied at the seminary; in 2013, a plaque dedicated to him was unveiled on the church wall.
Cinema, Philharmonic, and Return
Before World War II, the church was converted into a cinema: the tower facing the square was demolished, and the entrance was moved to Kyivska Street. After the war, the building housed the regional philharmonic, the House of Folk Art, and the nature department of the local history museum, while the cells were used as a military enlistment office until 2006.
In 1992, the church was returned to the Franciscans, restored, and a new tower was added on the side of Teatralna Street. On October 25, 1997, the church was consecrated. Since a residential building was constructed in Soviet times in front of the old entrance, the altar and entrance were swapped — a rare deviation from the canons.
Architecture
The church is a brick three-nave basilica with a rectangular apse, built in simplified Baroque forms with an order system. There are catacombs under the church, which are shown on city tours.
How to get there
The church is located in the center of Zhytomyr, a few minutes’ walk from Soborna Square and Zamkova Hora. Nearby are the Cathedral Church of Saint Sophia and other landmarks of the old town, described in the article “Zhytomyr — what to see in the city and nearby.” Please behave quietly and do not use flash photography during services.
