The Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius (; ) is the episcopal see of the

Russian Orthodox Diocese of Lithuania The Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania (; ), also known as the Lithuanian Orthodox Church (; ), is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church whose territory comprises the country of Lithuania, established in 1839 after the Synod of Polotsk when the ...

. Between 1415 and 1795, it was the mother church of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church and the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church (; ; ; ) was a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church of the Catholic Church in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was created in 1595/1596 by those clergy of the Ea ...

(following the 1596

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

) within the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

and then the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

History

14–18th centuries

The cathedral was built during the reign of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Algirdas Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...

for his Orthodox second wife

Uliana of Tver Uliana Aleksandrovna ( – 17 March 1391) was a grand duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Algirdas. She was the daughter of Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Galicia, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia. Life After her father and eldes ...

in 1346. It was constructed by

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

an architects with the blessing of

Saint Alexius Saint Alexius of Rome or Alexius of Edessa (, ''Alexios''), also Alexis, was a fourth-century Greek monk who lived in anonymity and is known for his dedication to Christ. Two versions of his life exist, one in Syriac and the other in Greek. Sy ...

Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan a ...

, in 1348. The Cathedral of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

is one of the most ancient churches of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, built before the

christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania () occurred in 1387, initiated by the Lithuanian royals Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Catholic Christianity by Li ...

when the

was the last

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

state in Europe. It became an important spiritual centre for the growing Christian population of the Duchy. The Lithuanian Grand Duchess

Helena of Moscow Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (; ; ; 19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was Grand Duchess of Lithuania and List of Polish consorts, Queen of Poland as the consort of Alexander Jagiellon. She was a daughter of Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, and she ...

, wife of the Lithuanian Grand Duke

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...

and daughter of the Muscovian Grand Duke

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II be ...

, was buried at the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius. After the conversion of Lithuania to

Roman Catholicism 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 ...

, the Orthodox cathedral was protected by princes

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski ( – 10 August 1530) was a Ruthenian prince and magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He later had the title of grand hetman of Lithuania from 11 September 1497 until his death in 1530. Career Ostrogski began ...

and

Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (; ; ; 2 February 1526 – 13 or 23 February 1608) was a Ruthenian Orthodox magnate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a prince, starost of Volodymyr, marshal of Volhynia and voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship. O ...

, who restored it after the collapse of the dome in 1506. After their deaths, the cathedral was taken over by the Uniate Catholic church in 1609 and was rebuilt in a style typical of the region. In 1748, the cathedral was abandoned after a major fire and the building was used for various other purposes. It was reconstructed in the Baroque style in 1785. The cathedral was once again destroyed by the Russian army during the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

19–20th centuries

In 1808, a local prelate sold the neglected building to the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

, which had the building thoroughly modernised in 1822 in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

Karol Podczaszyński Karol Podczaszyński (; 7 November 1790 – 19 April 1860) was a Polish- Lithuanian leading Vilnius architect, a representative of the neoclassical architecture and a professor of the Vilnius University, as well as one of the pioneers of indus ...

. After that, the building hosted an

anatomical theatre An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a larg ...

, library and other university facilities for half a century. The old cathedral was confiscated and transferred to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

on the initiative of count

Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov () (, Saint Petersburg – ) was a Russian statesman who advocated transferring the attention of Russian foreign policy from Europe to the Far East. He is probably best remembered for having initiated the ...

and his brother during the

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

campaign. The Russian architect Nikolai Chagin was responsible for its reconstruction from 1865 until 1868 in a style imitating medieval

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

. St. Tikhon (Belavin), then Archbishop of Vilnius, presided over the cathedral and Orthodox Christians of Lithuania between 1913 and the occupation of Lithuania by the German troops in 1915. Most of the Russian Orthodox clergy left with the retreating Russian army. The cathedral of the Theotokos was damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but was restored in 1948, although its renovations were not completed until 1957. Today the cathedral belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church and was once again renovated in 1998. Its services are attended mostly by ethnic

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

residents of Vilnius.

Gallery

File:Dievo Motinos Ėmimo į Dangų katedra Vilnius (1877).jpg, Cathedral of the Theotokos, 1877. File:Vilnia, Pračyścienskaja. Вільня, Прачысьценская (J. Kamarauskas, 1899).jpg, Cathedral of the Theotokos by

Juozas Kamarauskas Juozas Kamarauskas (1874 April 29, Skauradai village, Ukmergė County (Now Širvintos District Municipality) – 1946 October 9, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian architect, painter and engineer. Biography Born in the village of Skouradai, in the fami ...

with

Vytis The coat of arms of Lithuania features an armoured knight on horseback, wielding a sword and carrying a shield with a Jagiellonian cross. This emblem is known as ''Vytis'' (). Since the early 15th century, it has served as the official coat o ...

and

Columns of Gediminas The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas (, ; , 'Columns') are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical Coat of arms, coats of arms. They were used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, initially as a rulers' personal insigni ...

1899. File:Chor Pračyśćenskaha saboru (Wilnia) with Ryhor Šyrma.jpg,

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

of the Cathedral of the Theotokos, 1926. Sitting of the right edge — Ryhor Šyrma,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

. File:Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos 1, Vilnius, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Interior File:Russian Orthodox Church of The Holy Mother of God Vilnius (5990381200).jpg File:Vilnius HMG Orthodox church.jpg, Cathedral of the Theotokos and

Gediminas' Tower Gediminas' Tower () is the remaining part of the Upper Castle on top of the Gediminas Hill in Vilnius, Lithuania. It has a viewing platform that offers scenic views of Vilnius Old Town and Vilnius Central Business District. History The firs ...

Notes

References