St. Paraskeva Church, Eastern Orthodox church in Lviv, Ukraine

St. Paraskeva Church is a defensive Orthodox church at the foot of Zamkova Hill in Lviv, built of broken stone with brick vaults added in later rebuilds. It has a single nave ending in a faceted apse half its height, two later side annexes, and a steep gabled roof. A tall four-sided tower with an attic of blind arcades rises over the narthex.

Archaeological digs in 1977–1978 uncovered foundations and wall remnants dating from the late 13th to the first half of the 14th century, when the church stood as a defensive outpost beyond the old city walls. After a fire in 1623 it was rebuilt on those foundations between 1643 and 1645, with funding from Moldavian hospodar Vasile Lupu, whose coat of arms appears on the building. A plaque records completion on 15 August 1644.

The name Paraskeva is Greek for Friday, the day the martyr is honoured, which is why the church is also called Pyatnytska. Three old icons of saints named Paraskeva are kept here: two in the iconostasis and one on the north wall. The five-tier Renaissance iconostasis holds 70 icons, with a sixth tier added in 1870.

The church stands at Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street 77, in the Pidzamche district below Zamkova Hill, with its main entrance on the south side and a side facade running parallel to the street. The bell tower built in 1996–1999 by Volodymyr Shvets stands in the courtyard in front of the facade. It is an active Orthodox church, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services.

The church kept seven bells before World War I, the oldest possibly cast in 1663; Austrian authorities requisitioned them all for military use, and only two remain, one cast in 1947. A memorial tablet with the Moldavian coat of arms and the initials of Vasile Lupu sits on the choir parapet.