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 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 ...

. He became Great Secretary of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...

in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1585, Grand Chancellor from 1589 until 1623, Voivode of Vilnius in 1621, Great Lithuanian Hetman in 1623 and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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

at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing. He was of Ruthenian ethnicity. Modern

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian sources interpret his Ruthenian heritage as Belarusian, 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 o ...

( be, Астроўна), near Vitebsk. He was educated in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and worked in the royal chancellery of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory under direction of

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( la, Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Cha ...

. Raised Eastern Orthodox, in his youth he converted to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

and founded a number of Calvinist churches in his former estates. In the 1570s he turned to

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin language, Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the Trinity, doctri ...

. 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 in 1584–1600 and led the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

to Moscow in 1600 that proposed the union to tzar

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 Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

. He became an adviser of Sigismund III and supported his radical plans to take over the Muscovite throne and reclaim

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

by force. He participated in establishing the

Lithuanian Tribunal The Lithuanian Tribunal (; pl, Trybunał Główny Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego) was the highest appellate court for the Lithuanian nobility, nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was established by King Stephen Báthory in 1581 as the ...

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 Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * ...

. As

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

he led the ordinary

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

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