Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (2 February 1526 – 13 or 23 February 1608, also known as ''Kostiantyn Vasyl Ostrozkyi'', uk, Костянтин-Василь Острозький, be, Канстантын Васіль Астрожскi, lt, Konstantinas Vasilijus Ostrogiškis) was a
Ruthenia
Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...
n Orthodox magnate of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, a prince,
starost
The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...
of
Volodymyr, marshal of
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...
and
voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
of the
Kiev Voivodeship
The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. Ostrogski refused to help
False Dmitriy I and supported
Jan Zamoyski.
The date of birth of Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski is disputed. According to some historians he was born around 1524/1525.
He was born probably in
Turów.
In the 1570s he waged a war against another
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 ...
, Stanisław Tarnowski, about disputed possession of estates in the area of
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
, in
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
.
Prince Ostrogski was of
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
faith and he was active in supporting the Orthodox Church (see
Union of Brest
The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place i ...
). He was also a promoter of
Eastern Christian culture in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. Around 1576 he established the
Ostroh Academy, a wellregarded
humanist educational and scholarship institution, with the instruction in
Greek,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
languages. In 1581 the academy produced and published the
Ostroh Bible, the first complete printed edition of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
in
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
.
Ostrogski's huge latifundium, or landed estate in the eastern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, consisted of 100 towns and 1300 villages.
Józef Andrzej Gierowski Józef Andrzej Gierowski (1922-2006) was a Polish historian, professor and rector of the Jagiellonian University.
Career
Soldier of Armia Krajowa during World War II. Krystyn Matwijowski - ''Wspomnienie'' (remembrance). ''Gazeta.pl'' internet ...
- ''Historia Polski 1505-1764'' (History of Poland 1505-1764), p. 193, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (Polish Scientific Publishers PWN), Warszawa 1986, It was Ostrogski who built
Starokostiantyniv Castle
The Starokostiantynivmean ''Old Constantine'' Castle is a Volhynian castle built at the confluence of the Sluch and Ikopot' rivers by Prince Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski in the 1560s.
The castle of Starokostiantyniv withstood many attacks by the ...
.
Ostroh
Ostroh ( uk, Остро́г; pl, Ostróg) is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion (district). Administratively, Ostroh is incorporated ...
boasted an Orthodox academy, a
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
, a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, and a
Unitarian Church.
While Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski was the proponent of the Eastern Orthodox religion, his son
Janusz Ostrogski converted to
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
ism.
He married in January 1553 in
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
.
Canonized in the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine ( uk, Православна церква України, Pravoslavna tserkva Ukrainy; OCU) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church whose canonical territory is Ukraine.
The church was united at the unifi ...
as a
Right-Believing Right-Believing (russian: благоверный, el, εὐσεβής, la, pius), also called under the prefix The most Orthodox, is an Orthodox saint title for monarchs who were canonized for a righteous life. They do not belong to martyrs or pa ...
prince.
See also
*
Ostrogski family
*
Starokostiantyniv Castle
The Starokostiantynivmean ''Old Constantine'' Castle is a Volhynian castle built at the confluence of the Sluch and Ikopot' rivers by Prince Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski in the 1560s.
The castle of Starokostiantyniv withstood many attacks by the ...
References
External links
Ostrozky, Kostiantyn Vasyl / Ostrozky in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993)
by
Nikolay Kostomarov devoted to "Knyaz Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhskiy"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrogski, Konstanty Wasyl
1526 births
1608 deaths
People from Ostroh
Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Poland
Konstanty Wasyl
Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Voivodes of Kiev