Church of St. Luke


The Church of St. Luke is a famous landmark of Kotor , one of the oldest churches not only of the city, but of all Montenegro . In addition, the building of the church was the only one that did not suffer during the earthquake of 1979, so that to this day the building has remained virtually intact.

There is a temple on the square of Grets, in the historical center of Kotor, within walking distance of other famous sights . It is believed that if you marry in this church, then the marriage will be long and happy, and if you christen the child here, the baby will grow up healthy. And for the sake of these rites here come not only residents of different parts of Montenegro, but also foreigners.

A bit of history

The temple was built in 1195 on the money of Mauro Katsafrangi and on his project. Originally, the temple was Catholic. However, after the war between the Republic of Venice in 1657, under the protectorate of which was Serbia and part of Montenegro, and the Ottoman Empire, many Orthodox refugees appeared in Kotor. Since there was no Orthodox church in the city, the refugees were allowed to conduct rites in the church of St. Luke. It was then that the second altar was erected here, and for a hundred and fifty years, services were carried out both for Catholic and Orthodox rites.

Today the church is Orthodox, but it retains both altars, both Orthodox and Catholic. Operating churches, in which there are 2 altars, there are still few in the world.

Architecture of the temple and its shrines

Externally one-nave temple looks rather modest. It was built in a mixed Romanesque-Byzantine style. From the inside, the church looked much richer than outside, but, unfortunately, to this day the frescoes are almost not preserved; only on the southern wall you can see some fragments of images of the early XVII century, made by Italian and Cretan icon painters.

The floor in the church is made of tombstones - the burial of parishioners in its walls were held throughout the time of the existence of the temple, until 1930. The altar in the temple is painted by the famous painter Dmitry Daskal, the founder of the Rafailovic Painting School.

In the nearby chapel you can see frescoes of the early 18th century, as well as a unique iconostasis with images of Jesus Christ as the earthly king. And the main relics of the church of St. Luke are the icon of St. Barbara, the particles of the relics of Luke the Evangelist himself, as well as the martyrs of Orestes, Mardarius, Avksentii.

How and when can I see the church?

During the tourist season, the church is open for visits every day. In off-season it is only open on religious holidays, as well as for rituals (christening, weddings).

You can walk to the temple from other places of interest in Kotor , for example, from the Church of the Holy Spirit you only need to walk 55 m (cross the road), and from the Cat Museum - 100 m.