Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill (Lit. ''Sofija Olelkaitė-Radvilienė'', Saint Sophia of Slutsk, Princess Sophia of Slutsk; 1 May 1585 – 19 March 1612) was a

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 ...

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

saint. She was the last descendant of the family Olelkovich-Slutsk (princes of Slutsk and Kopyl) who were descended from Prince

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

. She was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1983. The church of St. Sophia of Slutsk in Minsk is named after her.

Early life

Sophia was born on 1 May 1585. Her mother died the same year, and her father Prince Yury Semenovich died on 6 May 1586. Sophia was raised by distant relatives, first by the governor of Samogitia province Yury Chodkiewicz (of the Chodkiewicz family) who took her to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, and then by the governor of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

province, Hieronymus Chodkiewicz. Saint Sophia, Princess of Slutsk at St. Elizabeth Monastery
accessed 14 July 2010.

Wedding

Because of debts the Chodkiewiczes owed to the Radziwill family, it became expedient to make a match between Sophia and Janusz Radziwill, Prince of Nesvizh and a son of the governor of Vilnius, Prince Krzysztof Radziwill. At this time Sophia was eleven years old. The wedding between Sophia and Janusz was scheduled for 6 February 1600 in Vilnius. Before this happened there was a falling out between the Chodkiewiczes and the Radziwills, almost certainly over the financial arrangements that the wedding was contingent upon. The matter proceeded to a court but the decision was in favor of the Radziwills, possibly because the judge rendering the verdict was Jerzy Radziwill. Belarusian Saints of Radzivills, Righteous Sofia Slutskaya at Historialis
accessed 14 July 2010 Rather than accept the verdict the Chodkiewiczes retreated with Sophia to their castle in Vilnius. Janusz Radziwill’s father Krzysztof collected 6,000 troops in Vilnius and prepared for battle against the Chodkiewiczes with their 2,500 troops. The tense situation was only calmed when four senators sent by the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa arrived and began to resolve the conflict through negotiations. A compromise was hammered out whereby the property claims of the Radziwills against the Chodkiewiczes were nullified and the latter were indemnified for their handling of the assets of Princess Sophia.

Orthodox faith

Janusz Radziwill petitioned

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

for permission to marry Sophia on 20 July 1600. Because Sophia was adamant in her decision to remain

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

and raise any children in the Orthodox faith this led to a written discussion on the subject of interdenominational marriage between the Pope and the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

. The

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 ...

of 1596 realigning the Belarusian Church and the Ukrainian Church from the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

in Rome caused enormous grief for Sophia as she did not wish to convert to

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 ...

, which was being practiced by most of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and Lithuanian nobility (although apparently not by her husband-to-be Janusz, who was

Calvinist 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 Ca ...

). The marriage between Sophia and Janusz took place in one of the cathedrals of Brest-Litovsk (now

) in accordance with the Orthodox rites on 1 October 1600. Due to the strength of Sophia’s passion about her Orthodox beliefs, she was instrumental in the promulgation of measures allowing the inhabitants of her ancestral lands (in present-day

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 R ...

) to choose to stay Orthodox rather than converting to Catholicism. Other measures were enacted forbidding Eastern Catholic priests from replacing Orthodox priests when the latter died. Sophia was generous in her donations to churches, monasteries, and the clergy. In part due to her efforts, Slutsk became a bastion of Orthodoxy and a religious center. Sophia died in childbirth at Myleniec (Omelevo), near the town of

Chervyen Červień or Chervyen ( be, Чэрвень, ; Ігумен – ''Ihumen'' till 1923; russian: Червень ''Cherven''; pl, Czerwień; yi, Humen/Igumen, lt, Červenė), also spelled Cherven, is a Belarusian town in Minsk Region. It is the adm ...

on 19 March 1612 at the age of 26. Originally buried in the castle church of the Holy Trinity in Slutsk, her relics are currently in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. Her feast day is

19 March Events Pre-1600 *1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. *1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends t ...

on the Church calendar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Sophia Olelkovich 1585 births 1612 deaths People from Slutsk People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795)

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill (Lit. ''Sofija Olelkaitė-Radvilienė'', Saint Sophia of Slutsk, Princess Sophia of Slutsk; 1 May 1585 – 19 March 1612) was a Lithuanian Orthodox Christian saint. She was the last descendant of the family Olelkovic ...

Eastern Orthodox saints from Belarus Belarusian saints Deaths in childbirth 17th-century Lithuanian people 16th-century Lithuanian people 17th-century Lithuanian women 16th-century Lithuanian women 17th-century Christian saints