Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

Coordinates: 54°40′27.56″N 25°17′22.18″E / 54.6743222°N 25.2894944°E / 54.6743222; 25.2894944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn
Blessed Virgin Mary
Dimensions200 cm × 163 cm (79 in × 64 in)
ConditionOn display
LocationChapel of the Gate of Dawn, Vilnius
Coordinates54°40′27.56″N 25°17′22.18″E / 54.6743222°N 25.2894944°E / 54.6743222; 25.2894944

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (

Vilnius, Lithuania
. The painting was historically displayed above the Vilnius city gate; city gates of the time often contained religious artifacts intended to ward off attacks and bless passing travelers.

The painting is in the

Eastern Orthodox tradition, the painting was covered in an expensive and elaborate silver and gold riza
, leaving only the face and hands visible.

On 5 July 1927, the image was canonically crowned by Pope Pius XI. The chapel was later visited by Pope John Paul II in 1993. It is a major site of pilgrimage in Vilnius and attracts many visitors, especially from Poland.[1]

History

The Gate of Dawn in Vilnius; the painting can be seen through the glass window

The legend tells that in 1702, when Vilnius was captured by the Swedish army during the Great Northern War, Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn came to her people's rescue. At dawn, the heavy iron city gates fell, crushing and killing four Swedish soldiers. After this, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army successfully counter-attacked near the gate.

It is believed that the painting was commissioned by the government of Vilnius.

Vilnius city wall – a defensive structure with no religious importance at the time. The painting of Christ decorated the exterior of the gate, while that of the Virgin was in the same place as it is now – a small niche, protected by shutters from rain and snow.[2] Narrow and steep stairs led to a small balcony where the faithful could light candles and pray.[3] In 1650, Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz published Miscellanea, listing all miraculous paintings of Mary, but did not mention Our Lady of the Gate of the Dawn.[2]

In the mid-17th century the

general sejm.[5]

Interior of the chapel of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (1847)

In May 1715, the wooden chapel burnt down, but the painting was saved and placed in the Church of St Teresa. In 1720, the current brick chapel was dedicated in the presence of four bishops, a number of senators, and a large crowd of the faithful.[2] In 1761, the monk Hilarion published Relacja o cudownym Obrazie Naijświętszej Marji Panny etc, the primary source for the painting's early history and also the first collection of various miracles attributed to it. In 1773 Pope Clement XIV granted an indulgence to the faithful, designating the chapel as a place of public worship, and established a charitable society.[5] At the turn of the 19th century, Tsarist authorities demolished the city wall and all the city's gates, except the Gate of Dawn and its chapel. In 1829, the chapel underwent restoration and acquired elements of late Neoclassicism. Since the entrance to the chapel was from inside the Carmelite monastery, women could not go inside. Because of this, one female devotee sponsored the construction of a two-storey gallery on the side of the street in 1830.[2]

In 1927, major restoration works were completed under bishop

Primate of Poland August Hlond, 28 other bishops, and other dignitaries.[5]

Painting

Chapel of the Gate of Dawn

Origin and inspiration

The origin of the painting is not known. According to historian

Roman Catholic.[3] This theory was popularized in various articles, brochures, studies and is sometimes quoted today.[6] Others claimed that the painting was commissioned by King of Poland Sigismund II Augustus and depicted his wife Barbara Radziwiłł.[4]

With a silver riza covering the entire painting, except for the face and hands, it was very hard for art historians to determine in what period the painting was created.

Marten de Vos through an engraving of Thomas de Leu.[5][7] In 1993, on the occasion of pope's visit, the painting was restored and one of its planks was dated based on its tree-rings. The scientists concluded that the oak grew in 1434–1620.[8]

Description

The original painting is 163 by 200 centimetres (64 in × 79 in) and was painted by an unknown artist on eight oak planks 2-centimetre (0.79 in) thick. As usual for Northern Europe, a very thin layer of chalk priming was applied to the planks before painting in tempera.[7] Later Our Lady was repainted in oil paint. Some restoration work was completed in the mid-19th century. Major restoration works were completed in 1927.

The painting depicts complex personality and devotion to Mary. Her head is gently leaning to her right, her eyes are half closed, her hands are crossed in devotion; this reminds that she is a virgin, humble servant of the Lord, merciful mother and patron of the people.[4] At the same time, her head is surrounded by an aureola with golden rays and her body is usually covered in elaborate gold and silver rizas and crowns; these are the symbols of her divine and majestic role as the Queen of Heaven.[4] The painting also reminds of Tota pulchra es (You are all beautiful), an old Catholic prayer.[9]

Riza

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

The tradition to decorate paintings with a riza or revetment of precious metals may have been borrowed from Eastern Orthodoxy. The riza of Our Lady is composed of three

carnations,[11] and at least six other species.[10]

The flowers were references to

Canonical Coronation took place and the painting received the title of Mother of Mercy. The gold crowns were lost, possibly during World War II.[10]

On certain occasions, the image has been displayed without its riza for a limited time.[13]

Sculptures of Mary's parents –

St Anne – stand on both sides of the painting between the altar columns.[9]

Veneration

Miracles and votive offerings

Detail of votive offerings

In 1761, the monk Hilarion published a book enumerating 17 miracles attributed to the painting and the Virgin Mary. The first miracle he recorded occurred in 1671, the same year the first chapel was built. A two-year-old child fell from the second floor onto a stone pavement and was badly injured. The parents then prayed to Our Lady and the next day the child was healthy once again.

Great and Holy Saturday, the heavy iron gates fell and crushed four Swedish soldiers – two died instantly and two later from their injuries.[2] The next day, Easter Sunday, the Lithuanian Army successfully counter-attacked near the gate. The commander, grateful for the victory, bestowed a large silver votive offering upon the chapel.[3] The painting is also credited with other miracles: subduing a city fire in 1706, punishing a Russian soldier for an attempt to steal her silver riza in 1708,[14] and numerous miraculous healings. Other stories of various miracles were kept by the Carmelite monks, but those books have not survived.[2]

Votive offerings became a tradition. They are usually small silver objects (hearts, crucifixes, figures of praying people, images of cured eyes, legs, arms).[15] Several times (1799, 1808, 1810) some of these objects were taken down and melted into liturgical objects. In 1844 there was a total of 785 offerings.[15] Twelve years later, in 1856, the number had almost doubled to 1,438. From 1884 to 1927 a journal of new offerings was kept. During that time 2,539 new gifts were registered.[15] Currently, there are about 8,000 silver votive objects in the chapel.[11] The large crescent moon located right beneath Our Lady is also a votive offering. Its origins are unknown but it bears an inscription in Polish and a date of 1849.[10] The crescent goes well with the silver riza, adding additional parallels with the Woman of the Apocalypse, described in the Book of Revelation as "a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars".[16][17]

Divine Mercy

St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk
Lithuanian Chapel (Italian: Cappella Lituana) in the St. Peter's Basilica

The icon of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn has become associated with the messages of

Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, she writes of a mystical experience involving the icon in the Gate of Dawn chapel. On 15 November 1935, Saint Faustina was at the Gate of Dawn chapel participating in the last day of the novena before the feast day of the icon, 16 November. She writes of seeing the icon taking on "a living appearance" and speaking to her, telling her "accept all that God asked of me like a little child, without questioning; otherwise it would not be pleasing to God."[19]

Shrines in other locations

Today this holy image is venerated by

Archdiocese of New York.[20]
The sanctuary had featured an icon of Our Lady, painted by the artist Tadas Sviderskis in the 1980s.

In Poland the biggest church devoted to Our Lady is the

Church of Saint-Séverin
in Paris.

There is a Vilnius' Gate of Dawn Mother of Mercy Chapel (Italian: Cappella Lituana) in the St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.[21] It was consecrated by the Pope Paul VI in 1970 and it is a place where Pope John Paul II had his first prayer after being elected as the Pope in 1978. Only Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Ireland have such chapels in the St. Peter's Basilica.[22]

Liturgical Commemoration

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn is commemorated on November 16 in the

O.S.) in the Orthodox Church
.

Gallery

  • An altar featuring the icon in Rokitno
    An altar featuring the icon in Rokitno
  • Icon at Church of Saint Stanislaus in Kosina
    Icon at Church of Saint Stanislaus in Kosina
  • Lace decoration of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn
    Lace decoration of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn
  • Wayside cross at Bukowsko, Poland
    Wayside cross at Bukowsko, Poland
  • Belarusian icon
    Belarusian icon

See also

References

  1. ISSN 0132-3156. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2011-07-22.
  2. ^
    OCLC 233423595
    .
  3. ^
    OCLC 19353894. Archived from the original
    on 2013-10-22.
  4. ^ a b c d Janonienė, Rūta (2005-11-15). "Aušros Vartų Dievo Motinos paveikslas" (in Lithuanian). Bernardinai.lt. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Wanat, Benignus J. (2002-07-20). "Kult Matki Miłosierdzia w Karmelu i w Kościele polskim". Szkaplerz Maryi znakiem Bożego Miłosierdzia (in Polish). Krakowska Prowincja Karmelitów Bosych. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
  6. ISBN 978-1-74104-476-8
    .
  7. ^ a b "Painting and its origins". Parish of St Teresa, Vilnius. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  8. ISBN 978-609-447-176-6
    .
  9. ^ a b "Iconography". Parish of St Teresa, Vilnius. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Gold and Silver Casing". Parish of St Teresa, Vilnius. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  11. ^
    ISBN 9986-830-48-6
    .
  12. ^ Vitkauskienė, Rūta (2001-11-09). "Apie Aušros Vartų praeitį". XXI amžius (in Lithuanian). 84 (993).
  13. ^ "AIšskirtinis reginys sostinėje – galite pamatyti Aušros Vartų Marijos paveikslą be apkaustų" (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  14. ^ a b "Description of miracles". Parish of St Teresa, Vilnius. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  15. ^ a b c "Votive offerings". Parish of St Teresa, Vilnius. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  16. ISBN 0-89870-845-1
    .
  17. ^ "Anonymous, Cordoba (circle of Antonio del Castillo)" (PDF). Colección BBVA. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  18. ^ Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul §89; https://liturgicalyear.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/divine-mercy-in-my-soul.pdf
  19. ^ Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul §529; https://liturgicalyear.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/divine-mercy-in-my-soul.pdf
  20. ^ Zwilling, Joseph (2007-02-27). "Statement on Our Lady of Vilnius". Archdiocese of New York. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  21. ^ "Lithuanian Chapel of Our Lady Mater Misericordiae". saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 2014-02-14.
  22. ^ "Lietuvių koplyčia Vatikane: vieta, į kurią po išrinkimo popiežiumi iš karto atėjo pasimelsti Šv. Jonas Paulius II". itlietuviai.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 6 October 2019.

External links

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