Feb/24

Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Fastiv

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Architecture, Religion, Travel

Fastiv is a town with a population of about 45 thousand people, located in the western part of Kyiv Oblast, about 75 km from Kyiv.

In 1903-1911, in Fastiv, instead of a wooden Catholic church that had been rebuilt several times, a stone Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, much larger in size, was erected in the Romanesque-Gothic style, designed by the architect Wladyslaw Dabrowski. Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Fastiv on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

This church has an interesting feature – the western facade of the building is asymmetrical. Asymmetry manifests itself in everything: decorative elements, window shapes, etc. Its two towers, identical in plan, are completely different in appearance. The southern one is almost twice as high as the northern one.

Soviet authorities closed the church in 1934. After the Second World War, the building was used by the Orthodox church for some time. In June 1990, the church was consecrated again. In 1991, large-scale repair and restoration work began according to the project of the Kyiv architect Yuri Dmitrievich. The work was carried out by construction companies from Poland. On September 18, 2004, the renovation of the church was completed.

In honor of the revival of the church, the Vatican Secretariat at that time sent this telegram: “His Holiness John Paul II is in spiritual unity with the pastors and faithful of the Fastiv community, gathered next to their bishop at the celebration of the consecration of the revived shrine. The Holy Father wants this church to become a special place for believers to meet God and grow in faith, hope and love.”

Today, the Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Fastiv is a significant spiritual and charitable center of the town. This is an outstanding historical, cultural and architectural monument, one of the main sights of Fastiv. Thanks to its original neo-Gothic forms, this building is often the location of various events, filming, etc.