St. Peter and St. Paul's Church ( lt, Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Pauliaus bažnyčia, Samogitian: ''Šv. apaštuolū Petra ė Pauliaus bažninčė'') is a Roman Catholic church in Varniai,

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 ...

. Until 1864 the church was the cathedral of Samogitian diocese and the seat of

Bishops of Samogitia Bishops of Samogitia, Samogitian diocese (now a part of Lithuania) from 1417 to 1926. The seat of the diocese was in Varniai/Medininkai until 1864, when it was moved to Kaunas. It was liquidated in 1926 by Pope Pius XI when the archdiocese of Ka ...

History

The first cathedral in Varniai was built in 15th century under the patronage of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas. The church was built in 1691, ten years since it was started to build. Its construction was funded by Samogitian Bishop Kazimierz Pac after the earlier cathedral was destroyed by fire. A fire in 1817 made great losses to the church but it was restored by Samogitian Bishop Józef Arnulf Giedroyć. Until 1864 the church had the title of cathedral and served as the seat of

. However, after the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, the seat of Diocese was moved to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

and Varniai cathedral became an ordinary church. It is believed that around 10 Samogitian bishops are buried in the Cathedral. Today the church belongs to Roman Catholic Diocese of Telšiai and is the center of Varniai parish.

Architecture

The building is of mature Lithuanian baroque architecture: the three-nave basilica with a transept, two chapels, two in front protruding square plan towers with a belfry. This baroque church architecture of the mature style of classicism has become rigid and laconic. Varniai cathedrals interior is rich in artistic monuments: 12 altars, nineteenth century organ. It has 17th-18th centuries' portraits and epitaph plaques of the Samogitian bishops.''Baroque in Lithuania. Guide'' by Tojana Račiūnaitė. Baltos lankos, 2007, p. 115 The main altar was created in 1694 by Maumo Poloni from Königsberg.

Sources

Official page of Varniai parishInformation about the church on the official page of Telšiai Diocese

References

{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Telšiai County Roman Catholic cathedrals in Lithuania Roman Catholic churches completed in 1691 Tourist attractions in Telšiai County Objects listed in Lithuanian Registry of Cultural Property 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Lithuania