Jonas I Losovičius (; born in

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 ...

, died in February-August 1481 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

clergyman. Losovičius since 1463 served as the

Bishop of Lutsk The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk was first established in the 13th century as the diocese of Luceoria (Latin) or Łuck (Polish). After the victory of Napoleon, the diocese was joined with the Diocese of Zhytomyr, forming the diocese of Lutzk- ...

and later since 1468 as the seventh

Bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:" ...

until his death.

Biography

Losovičius parents were Vilnian townspeople of

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

class. Losovičius was Lithuanian. According 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 ...

professor Piotr Wijuk Kojałowicz, Losovičius was Lithuanian by nationality (). He used his own coat of arms Rozmiar. Losovičius possibly studied at Collegium Maius of Kraków. Before January 1463 Losovičius served as

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

. On 12 January 1463 or 24 January 1463 Losovičius was appointed as the

and served in this position until 4 May 1468. In 1465, the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

devastated the city of

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 ...

. Consequently, Losovičius in 1465 moved the residence of the Bishop of Lutsk to

Janów Podlaski Janów Podlaski () is a town in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Janów Podlaski. It lies approximately north of Bi ...

, which belonged to 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, ...

since the early 14th century and its first church was funded by the Lithuanian Grand Duke

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

in 1428. Moreover, the same year in 1465 Losovičius obtained the Kulm rights to Janów Podlaski and renamed it after his name to ''Janów Biskupi''. This relocation of the main residence of the bishops of Lutsk to Janów remained for more than three centuries until 1796. On 4 May 1468 Losovičius was appointed as the

Bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:" ...

, the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to Kojałowicz, Losovičius built the Bishops Chapel at

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, also known as Vilnius Cathedral is the main Catholic cathedral in Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. Dedicated to the Christian saints ...

. Moreover, Losovičius expanded the church network in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

many newly founded parishes and newly built churches. Losovičius also participated in political affairs and communicated with Masters of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Losovičius was a supporter of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

and a diligent assistant of

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. Losovičius' seal survived to nowadays.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas Losovicius Bishops of Vilnius 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Lithuania 1481 deaths Year of birth uncertain Bishops of Lutsk