The Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary (, ) is a church and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

complex of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

located in the Polish city of

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

. The church and the courtyard of the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

stand in the centre of Chełm on Chełm Hill (also called Cathedral Hill or Castle Hill). Over its history, the church has been Orthodox, Uniate and Roman Catholic. Surrounding the basilica's grounds is a city park and a cemetery.

Description

The basilica is a former complex of Orthodox Church and Basilian Monastery. It was founded in the first half of the 13th century by Danylo Romanowych and served as an Orthodox Church and then as a Greek Catholic Church. The present church was founded in 1735-56 by the Greek Catholic Chełm bishop Philip Włodkowic and was built according to the plans of Paweł Fontana. It is a late

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church built in the shape of a Latin cross, three-aisled basilica with a huge eight-part dome.

History

A former Greek Catholic Cathedral and currently the Parish church, the Basilica of the Virgin Mary stands on the site of an Orthodox church of the same name, founded by Daniel Romanowicz in about 1260. After a fire in 1640, it was rebuilt by bishop Metody Terlecki who introduced some small changes. As the years went by, the church needed to be enlarged and in 1711 bishop Józef Lewicki began repair works and built a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. Unfortunately, it turned out that the work was done so unreliably that the building was close to collapse. The successor of Lewicki, bishop Felicjan Wołodkowicz considered the building's condition to be so bad that renovation was no longer an option and therefore commissioned its demolition. In 1735 the work began and a completely new, much bigger church was built, which was ready in 1756. That time, in curia sat on bishop Maksymilian Rylo, who finished the investment and founded rich decoration of sanctuary. On 15 September 1765 the church was the place of the coronation of the marvellous painting of the Our Lady of Chełm. The painting was revered throughout the country because of its connection with the victory in the Battle of Berestechko that took place in 1651. The painting was taken by Russian forces in 1915 and is currently kept in

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

.ZAPRASZAMY DO CHEŁMA - serwis prowadzony przez Chełmski Ośrodek Informacji Turystycznej
In 1802 the cathedral was consumed by fire but its walls stayed intact for a long time. Finally, in 1827 bishop Ferdynand Dąbrowa-Ciechanowski, at the expense of the treasury of the Kingdom of Poland, rebuilt the sanctuary. This rebuilt structure survived the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

's forcible conversion of the Chełm Eparchy to Eastern Orthodoxy in May 1875. After the incursion of Austrian troops into Chełm (in 1915), the cathedral was used as an army

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

.Sanktuarium Maryjne na Górze Chełmskiej - Dzieje Kościoła Mariackiego na Górze Chełmskiej: Strona 3
/ref> In May 1919 the Polish authorities donated the church to Catholic clergy. In May 1940 the German occupation authorities gave the cathedral to Ukrainians. In November, the same year, the Orthodox diocese was formed. Soon after the liberation of Poland, 24 August 1944, by the decision of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, Chełm's cathedral was given to the Catholic Church.

Architecture

It is a late

church built in the shape of a Latin cross, and is a three-aisled basilica with a huge eight-part

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The interior decoration is modest—the church was twice changed into a Russian Orthodox Church (1875–1918 and 1940–1944). In front of the basilica there is a detached belfry from 1878 which was rebuilt and heightened during the interwar period. Next to the basilica there is a Basilian Monastery founded in 1640-49 by Bishops Metodiusz Terlecki and Jakub Susza—the principal of the first Chełm secondary school. Nowadays it serves as a living quarter. In the main altar there is a copy of a painting of the Chełm Virgin Mary that went missing during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and a late baroque silver antependium showing the king Jan Kazimierz paying tributes to the Chełm Virgin Mary after winning the battle at Beresteczko in 1651.

Surroundings

There are also many monuments surrounding the Basilica which are connected with the history of Chełm. The most famous are: * Uściługska Gate Brama Uściłuska'(built in the 17th-18th centuries) * the Uniate Bishops Palace Pałac biskupów unickich'(built in 1711) * the Basilian Monastery Klasztor Bazylianów' (1640–1649) * the Building of the Orthodox Virgin Mary Brotherhood in Chełm Budynek Chełmskiego Prawosławnego Bractwa bogurodzicy'(end of 19th century) * the Belfry Dzwonnica' (1878)

Pilgrimage centre

The Festival of the Virgin Mary is celebrated at the basilica on every 7th and 8th of September. Many groups of pilgrims arrive to Chełm to take part in the indulgence offered in relation to the festival.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080208074622/http://www.itchelm.pl/en/zabytki.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20080331235846/http://www.kuria.lublin.pl/parafie/chelm-narodzenia/stara/bazylika.htm

Buildings and structures in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland