Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Vilnius

Coordinates: 54°40′30.82″N 25°17′18.58″E / 54.6752278°N 25.2884944°E / 54.6752278; 25.2884944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Basilian Gate as seen from the city's central street

Monastery of the Holy Trinity (

Ruthenian Church and Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstanty Ostrogski as a thanksgiving to the God for the victory in Battle of Orsha.[1] It now belongs to the Order of Saint Basil the Great and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
.

The church is dedicated to the

Holy Trinity
. Beside this church, the monastery compound contains a fortified entrance gate, a university, a hotel complex for visitors, monastic cells including the Konrad's cell. The church is surrounded by adjoining four towers at each corner.

This monastery is associated with the

Veliamyn Rutsky
.

History

The church

Front façade of the Greek Catholic Church of Holy Trinity in Vilnius
Front façade frescoes of the Greek Catholic Church of Holy Trinity in Vilnius

According to a legend, the first wooden church was built in the 14th century by Grand Princess Uliana of Tver, a spouse of the Grand Prince Algirdas. The church was built in place where in 1347 the Algirdas noblemen Antony, Johan, and Eustachy died as the first martyrs for Christian faith and the first Christian saints in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The first stone church of Holy Trinity with a belfry was built by

King of Poland Sigismund III Vasa the church and monastery was transferred to the Basialian Order.[2]

The first chapel Annunciation of the Holy Theotokos was built on the funds of

Byzantine rite
.

The second chapel that is located to the left of main entrance called St.Luke was built in 1622 on the funds of Eustachy Korsak-Hołubicki, a big supporter of the Union (Union of Brest). Beside its founder, in the crypt underneath the chapel rest his sons Ivan and Grigori. To this noble family of Korsaks belongs archimandrite the Basilian monastery of Vilnius Rafajil Mykola Korsak, later – a proto-archimandrite of the Basilian Order, Metropolitan of Kiev for Eastern-rite Catholics.

The third chapel is called Exaltation of the True and Life-creating Cross of our Lord. The founder of this chapel with a family crypt was a scribe of Grand Duchy of Lithuania Jan Kolenda in 1628.

In the church survived valuable tombstones. Unique landmark of the Renaissance epoch in Lithuania is a tombstone of Vilna Burgomaster Othanasius Braha and his son Antony with a coat of arms, Cyrillic inscription and rich floral ornament dated 1576. Draws attention a tombstone of Jelenski sisters with sentimental inscription which comes from 1758.

In 1670 significant funds to renew the church contributed

Great Hetman of Lithuania Michał Kazimierz Pac and Great Treasurer Hieronymus Kryszpin-Kirchenstein, particularly towards the altar of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych
.

The Basilian monks were banished from the monastery in 1821 and the wing of the men's monastery was converted into a prison.[3] Between 1823 and 1824, Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz and other Vilnius University students, members of the Filaret Association were imprisoned in the monastery for their engagement in secret organizations fighting for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth independence from the Russian rule.[3]

Vilna icon of Theotokos Hodegetria

Main altar of the church

The fate of Vilna icon of Theotokos Hodegetria (Theotokos of Vilna) that for two centuries (1715—1915) was located in the church of Holy Trinity is unknown. According to a legend, the icon was written by St.

Great Prince of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellon. The icon was brought to the capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and received name of Vilna. In 1866 during restoration, it was discovered that the top level is egg based tempera paint indicating very old origin of the icon. In 1915 at times of World War I
during evacuation the icon was taken away from Vilnius and to this day location of Theotokos of Vilnius is unknown.

Archimandrites

Gallery

  • The church in 1870
    The church in 1870
  • The 1896 sketch of the church during the Russian occupation
    The 1896 sketch of the church during the Russian occupation
  • Depiction of St Josaphat, "And all will be together"
    Depiction of St Josaphat, "And all will be together"
  • Interior of a chapel
    Interior of a chapel
  • Inner gates and belfry
    Inner gates and belfry
  • One of the church's towers
    One of the church's towers
  • Commemorative plaque for martyrs inside the church
    Commemorative plaque for martyrs inside the church

See also

References

  1. DELFI
    (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. ^ Yurko, I. About Ukrainian church in Vilnius (Про українську церкву в Вільнюсі). "Pohlyad". 12 December 2015
  3. ^ a b "Vilniaus buvęs bazilijonų vienuolynas ir Švč. Trejybės bažnyčia". vienuolynai.mch.mii.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 24 April 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greek Catholic Church of Holy Trinity in Vilnius.

54°40′30.82″N 25°17′18.58″E / 54.6752278°N 25.2884944°E / 54.6752278; 25.2884944

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