Église catholique russe de la Trinité, Russian Catholic church in 16th arrondissement, France
The Russian Trinity Catholic Church is a Russian Catholic chapel located in a basement below a 1960s residential building in Paris. Light enters through a central skylight above the altar area, illuminating this intimate underground worship space.
Russian Catholic emigrants arrived in Paris after the 1917 revolution and began constructing this chapel from 1930 onward. The project extended until 1980, transforming a former artist's studio into a functional house of worship.
The interior displays iconographic art arranged in the Eastern Christian tradition, visible immediately upon entering the basement chapel. This artistic approach differs noticeably from what visitors see in typical Western European churches.
Services are conducted in Church Slavonic language, so visitors unfamiliar with this liturgy can still observe and experience the worship environment. Regular opening hours throughout the week allow time to visit the chapel and view the interior.
The chapel occupies space in what was once an artist's studio, originally belonging to the painter François Gérard. This transformation from studio to sacred space tells an interesting story about the neighborhood's changing character over time.
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