Lew Sapieha ( lt, Leonas Sapiega; be, Леў Сапега or Lieŭ Sapieha; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1585,

Grand Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law co ...

from 1589 until 1623, Voivode of Vilnius in 1621,

Great Lithuanian Hetman Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in 1623 and governor of

Slonim Slonim ( be, Сло́нім, russian: Сло́ним, lt, Slanimas, lv, Sloņima, pl, Słonim, yi, סלאָנים, ''Slonim'') is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus, capital of the Slonimski rajon. It is located at the junction of the Ščar ...

, Brest and Mogilev. Sapieha is considered as a great political figure of the Commonwealth. A rich and powerful

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, he was known for his wisdom as a statesman, lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing. He was of Ruthenian ethnicity. Modern Belarusian sources interpret his Ruthenian heritage as

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

, however many facts presented by the modern Belarusian sources about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are often distorted and unanimously not recognized by

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n and Polish historians.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Astroŭna Astroŭna ( be, Астроўна, russian: Островно, pl, Ostrowno) is a village in Belarus. It is located in the Beshankovichy District of Vitebsk Region, 15 km west of Vitebsk. Astroŭna is a birthplace of Lew Sapieha, statesman ...

( be, Астроўна), near Vitebsk. He was educated in Leipzig and worked in the royal chancellery of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory under direction of Jan Zamoyski. Raised Eastern Orthodox, in his youth he converted to Calvinism and founded a number of Calvinist churches in his former estates. In the 1570s he turned to Unitarianism. Disillusioned by the squabbles within the Protestant camp, in 1586 he converted with his first wife to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

of which he became a zealous defender. After the Union of Brest he enforced conformity on the unwilling Eastern Orthodox.

Career and politics

He supported a political union with

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

in 1584–1600 and led the diplomatic mission to Moscow in 1600 that proposed the union to

tzar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

, who declined the proposal. He also participated in wars with Muscovy under rule of Stephen Báthory and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund III Vasa. He became an adviser of Sigismund III and supported his radical plans to take over the Muscovite throne and reclaim Smolensk by force. He participated in establishing the Lithuanian Tribunal in 1578. As Chancellor he was the main editor and publisher of the last version of the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He laid grounds for the establishment of the Law Faculty in the University of Vilnius, which was created in 1641. He was co-initiator and a participant in the military expedition to Moscow in 1618 by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław IV. As Sejm Marshal he led the ordinary Sejm in Warsaw from 4 October to 25 November 1582. He was a benefactor of many catholic churches in the Grand Duchy. He established the long-term power and wealth of the Sapieha family. Sapieha died on 1633 and was interred in the cellars of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Vilnius, which he himself commissioned.Howard Jarvis, Neil Taylor (2006) ''Vilnius with Kaunas'', Bradt Travel Guides, pp. 112–113 His tomb remains there to the present day and is still the largest piece of art of its kind in the territory of Lithuania.

Gallery

File:Lew Sapieha (1557-1633).jpg, Portrait depicting Sapieha by an unknown painter File:Church of St. Michael in Vilnius02(js).jpg, St. Michael's Church in Vilnius (1594), commissioned by Sapieha as a personal mausoleum File:ChurchStMichaelVilnius7.jpg, Tomb of Lew Sapieha inside the church File:Tombstone for Leonas Sapiega01(js).jpg, Lew Sapieha is buried with his two wives File:Leonas-Sapiega-letter-1626.jpg, A letter signed by Sapieha from 1626 File:1995. Stamp of Belarus 0116.jpg, Belarusian stamp from 1995 File:Stamps of Lithuania, 2007-09.jpg, Lithuanian stamp from 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Lew 1557 births 1633 deaths People from Beshankovichy District Lew Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Former Polish Orthodox Christians Former Calvinist and Reformed Christians Converts to Protestantism from Eastern Orthodoxy Converts to Calvinism Converts to Unitarianism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish people of the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) Great Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Grand Chancellors of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Deputy Chancellors of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Voivode of Vilnius