Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Vilnius

Coordinates: 54°41′39″N 25°18′23″E / 54.69417°N 25.30639°E / 54.69417; 25.30639
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

St. Peter and St. Paul's Church
Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčia
Year consecrated
1701
StatusActive
Location
LocationVilnius, Lithuania
Geographic coordinates54°41′39″N 25°18′23″E / 54.69417°N 25.30639°E / 54.69417; 25.30639
Architecture
Architect(s)Jan Zaor
Giovanni Battista Frediani
StyleBaroque
Funded byMichał Kazimierz Pac
Groundbreaking1668
Completed1701
Specifications
Direction of façadeSouthwest
Capacity980[1]
Height (max)16.4 metres (54 ft)[2]
Dome(s)One
Dome height (inner)39 metres (128 ft)[2]
Spire(s)Two
Spire height24 metres (79 ft)[2]
MaterialsClay bricks
Aerial view

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (

Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.[3] The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque. It was funded by Michał Kazimierz Pac, commemorating a victory over the Muscovites and their expulsion from Vilnius after six years of occupation.[4]

History

The foundation of the first church in this location is unknown, although, while digging the foundations for the present-day church, workers found a sculpture of an unknown knight.

votive offerings.[7]

This painting of the church's founder, Michał Kazimierz Pac, hangs in the apse.

During the

Giovanni Maria Galli for interior decoration. The works were interrupted by the founder's death in 1682. According to his last wishes, Pac was buried beneath the doorstep of the main entrance with the Latin inscription Hic Jacet Pecator (here lies a sinner) on his tombstone. At the end of the 18th century, lightning hit the church, knocked down a sculpture which fell and fractured the tombstone; the incident inspired many rumors about Pac and his sins.[11] The tombstone is now displayed on the right wall of the main entrance.[11]

The church was finished by Pac's brother, Bishop of Samogitia

Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[14] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989. Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[12]

Architecture

Exterior

Floor plan: 1. Right round room (small chapel) 2. Left round room (former baptistery) 3. Knights' chapel 4. Queens' chapel 5. St. Ursula chapel 6. St. Augustine chapel 7. Altar of the Five Holy Wounds 8. Altar of Mary the Mother of Mercy 9. Jesus of Antakalnis 10. The main altar

The church is located on a small hill near the

Neris River and the former main road to Nemenčinė.[5] It is part of a monastery complex that occupies approximately 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres).[15] The churchyard is surrounded by a thick 4–5 m (13–16 ft) high brick wall that has four small octagonal chapels.[16] The churchyard used to have a small cemetery, but it was demolished in the 19th century.[5] The church is a 17th-century basilica with a traditional cross floor plan and a dome with a lantern allowing extra light into its white interior. However, the dome is lowered and is visible only from a distance.[17] The exterior was copied from the parish church of Tarłów, built in 1645–55 and most likely designed by the same architect Jan Zaor.[17] The facade is of heavy proportions.[10] It is divided by a prominent balcony, freestanding columns (used for the first time in Lithuanian ecclesiastical architecture),[12] windows, and cornices.[2] The central facade is framed by two bell towers that are circular at the bottom and octagonal at the top.[2] Two brass bells, 60 and 37 cm (24 and 15 in) in height, survive from 1668.[18]

The double broken

Saint Augustine (patron saint of Canons Regular of the Lateran) and Stanisław Kazimierczyk (Polish member of Canons Regular)[5] were created in 1674. They measure 2.05 metres (6 ft 9 in) in height.[13] There were many more sculptures on the front and back of the church, but they did not survive.[19] The facade was also decorated with a 172 cm × 237 cm (68 in × 93 in) painting depicting Virgin of Mercy protecting people from the plague of 1710 in Vilnius.[13] Imagery of Mary holding broken arrows of god's wrath was borrowed from the painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy that hangs inside the church.[7] Created in 1761, it was restored at least five times and lost its original features.[13] After the last restoration in 2000, it was moved inside the church.[7]

Interior

Decor and central nave

Central nave looking south-west towards the entrance

St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[20] Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[21] The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists. No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[20] Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[22] The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[23] from specific saints to allegories of virtues. There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[24] The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[23]

The main entrance is flanked by two large sculptures of

grim reaper with a cloak and a large scythe) standing on crowns and other symbols of power.[3] Saint Christopher is a protector, but death is still awaits everyone equally and Christians should prepare for it.[6] The vestibule also has a scene of Last Judgment with various monsters and demons. The left side of the vestibule has a small room used as baptistery, while the right has a room for wakes.[25] The latter has a scene of Pilate's court that thematically starts the Stations of the Cross. The colorful stations hang in the central nave and lead to the Altar of the Five Wounds of Christ.[25]

The central nave is decorated with evenly spaced sculptures of the twelve apostles.

Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo.[26] However, they are not depicted in order but rearranged so that they would better reflect the themes of the chapels.[27]

Chapels and side altars

Central nave looking north-east towards the altar

The church has one central

Holy Trinity as undivided unity.[12]

The transept has altars of two brotherhoods that were active in the church: Merciful Mother of God and Five Wounds of Christ.[12] These brotherhoods existed before the current church was built and, therefore, the imagery is inherited from the previous church.[6] The western (left) transept displays the painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and two large Turkish war drums (timpano, 140 cm (55 in) in circumference)[31] that were seized from the Ottomans in the Battle of Khotyn of 11 November 1673 and granted to the church by its founder Michał Kazimierz Pac.[32] The transept ceiling has stucco reliefs from the life of Mary (with Visitation at the center) and crucifixion of Jesus.[33] The Rococo pulpit was installed in 1801–1804. Carved of wood in a shape of a boat, it is supported by two tritons from the bottom. It is decorated with gilded details, including reliefs of eagle, bull, lion, and angel which symbolize the Four Evangelists.[13]

Main altar

Main altar with Jesus of Antakalnis on the left

A noticeable feature is the missing main altar, which is known only from a description found in the inventory from 1766.

twelve tribes of Israel or the chosen people. The lower lever had a painting of Saint Paul surrounded by sculptures depicting twelve pagan nations representing the world or the converted people.[29] This altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766 and only fragments survive to the present day.[12] With the loss of the altar, imagery of Saint Paul diminished significantly within the church.[29] The altar as such was not replaced. Instead, Kazimierz Jelski sculpted four prophets (Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Elijah) while Franciszek Smuglewicz painted the large central painting depicting the emotional final parting of Saint Peter and Paul.[34]

Four other paintings hang in the choir: another painting by Smuglewicz depicting

Saint Jacob, John the Baptist, and resurrected Christ.[25]

The ceiling of the apse is decorated with three stucco reliefs depicting the

Holy Spirit represented as a dove. The ceiling of the choir has a relief of the dinner at Emmaus.[29] Next to it, there is a Latin inscription that reads domus dei aedificata est supra firmam petram (your house is built on firm rock) which echoes with the inscription on the base of the dome.[36]

The left corner between the transept and the choir has a sculpture of Jesus known as Jesus of Antakalnis. The sculpture is life-sized (185 cm (73 in)), made of hardwood, dressed in clothes of white silk and purple velvet, and has a wig of natural black hair.

Trinitarian Church built by Sapieha until the church was converted into an Eastern Orthodox church in 1864.[37] At that time it was moved to its present-day location at St. Peter and St. Paul's. The opposite corner has a stucco sculpture of Saint Francis of Assisi made in the first half of the 20th century.[34]

Dome and ceilings

Ceiling

The dome's

Saint Ambrose, and Pope Gregory I.[29] Still above them there are scores of angels. The composition culminates with God the Father in the center of the dome as if to say that God sees everything.[3] This composition seems inverted since the Evangelists are below the Doctors, but that could be a purposeful statement to emphasize importance of the Church after the Council of Trent.[29] A boat-shaped chandelier made of brass and glass beads hangs from the middle of the dome and reminds that Saint Peter was a fisherman. Made by craftsmen from Liepāja and installed in 1905, it had eight seven-branch candle holders.[13]

The ceiling is decorated with five

escape from prison, and vision of a sheet with animals. The other two frescoes depict Quo vadis? and Peter's confrontation with Simon Magus.[30][39] These frescoes are of a rather simple composition,[40] poorly executed, and lack background detail,[41] but the figures are expressive, making complex, dynamic, almost theatrical movements.[30] The authorship of the frescoes is unknown. Vladas Drėma attributed them to Martino Altomonte, while Mieczysław Skrudlik suggested Michelangelo Palloni.[42] Mindaugas Paknys, using surviving written records, disproved both hypotheses and attributed the frescoes to Johann Gotthard Berchhoff.[43][44] Two other frescoes by a different author decorate the sacristies. They depict Jesus saving Saint Peter from drowning and a vision of Stanisław Kazimierczyk.[30]

Gallery

  • Close up of main portal with Pac's coat of arms in the middle
    Close up of main portal with Pac's coat of arms in the middle
  • Danse Macabre, a reminder of the universality of death
    Danse Macabre, a reminder of the universality of death
  • St. Christopher carrying newborn Jesus.
    St. Christopher carrying newborn Jesus
    .
  • View of the dome with the boat-shaped chandelier
    View of the dome with the boat-shaped chandelier
  • Plague of 1710 in Vilnius
    Plague of 1710 in Vilnius
  • Pope John Paul II painting depicting him in Vilnius
    Pope John Paul II painting depicting him in Vilnius
  • Painting of Antakalnis panorama by Kanutas Ruseckas in 1848
    Painting of
    Kanutas Ruseckas
    in 1848
  • Stamp of Lithuania; 1993; commemorative issue "church architecture - I"; St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, stamp with view and footprint.
    Stamp of Lithuania; 1993; commemorative issue "church architecture - I"; St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, stamp with view and footprint.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Čaplinskas (2010), p. 365
  2. ^ a b c d e Bielinis (1988), p. 78
  3. ^ a b c d e f Paknys (2011–2013)
  4. ^ "Vilniaus Šv. Apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčia". govilnius.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paknys (1998)
  6. ^ a b c d e Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 30
  7. ^ a b c d "Kultūros vakaras: Maras Vilniuje. Vieno paveikslo istorijos pėdsakais" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos dailės muziejus. 17 October 2001. Archived from the original on 19 April 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  8. ^ a b Kviklys (1985), p. 317
  9. ^ a b Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 28
  10. ^ a b c Čerbulėnas (1994), p. 103
  11. ^ a b Čaplinskas (2010), p. 188
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Vitkauskienė (2005)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Bielinis (1988), p. 80
  14. ^ Kviklys (1985), p. 326
  15. ^ Bielinis (1988), p. 77
  16. ^ Kviklys (1985), p. 316
  17. ^ a b Čerbulėnas (1994), p. 104
  18. ^ Bielinis (1988), pp. 86–87
  19. ^ Bielinis (1988), p. 84
  20. ^ a b Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 27
  21. ^ "Užburiantis baroko perlas Vilniuje – Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčia". Bernardinai.lt. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  22. ^ Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 34
  23. ^ a b c Samuolienė (2001), p. 35
  24. ^ Bielinis (1988), pp. 82–83
  25. ^ a b c Samuolienė (2001), p. 38
  26. ^ a b c d Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 33
  27. ^ a b c Samuolienė (2001), p. 39
  28. ^ a b Bielinis (1988), p. 83
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 32
  30. ^ a b c d e f Bielinis (1988), p. 81
  31. ^ Bielinis (1988), p. 86
  32. ^ Kviklys (1985), p. 325
  33. ^ Samuolienė (2001), pp. 38–39
  34. ^ a b c d Bielinis (1988), p. 85
  35. ^ Bielinis (1988), pp. 81–82
  36. ^ a b c Vaišvilaitė (2001), p. 31
  37. ^ a b c d Račiūnaitė (2011–2013)
  38. ^ Paknys (2001), p. 43
  39. ^ Paknys (2001), pp. 44–45
  40. ^ Čerbulėnas (1994), p. 105
  41. ^ Paknys (2001), p. 49
  42. ^ Paknys (2001), pp. 43–44
  43. ^ Paknys (2001), pp. 43–51
  44. ^ Paliušytė (2005), p. 73

Sources

External links

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