St. Matthew's Church in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church and historic landmark located in

Piotrkowska Street Piotrkowska Street (pronounced: ; ), also popularly known as Pietryna, is the main artery of Łódź, Poland, and one of the longest commercial thoroughfares in Europe, with a length of around 4.2 km. It is one of the major tourist attractio ...

, at a short distance from the city's

Catholic 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 ...

cathedral. The third Lutheran church in Łódź at the time of its construction, it is now the only church in the city that serves the

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland () is a Lutheran denomination and the largest Protestant body in Poland with about 61,000 members and 133 parishes. History The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Co ...

, the country's largest

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

denomination.

History

St. Matthew's was the first Lutheran church in Łódź to be built in the southern part of the city and the third Lutheran place of worship after Holy Trinity Church and St. John's. Its construction was in part inspired by the erection of the nearby Catholic church of St. Stanislaus Kostka that became a cathedral of the newly established Roman Catholic Diocese of Łódź in 1920. (pp. 54-55). The rivalry between the Protestant and Catholic communities in Łódź is considered to have played a major role in expanding the original designs and leading to the construction of a church that was not to be dwarfed by its Catholic counterpart located only about 300 metres north. Due to the impact of the 1905 Łódź insurrection, construction works began only in 1909 although plans had been made earlier. The church was designed by a local architect, Johannes Wende, who later designed the nearly identical church of St. Adalbert in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. Wende's blueprints were also amended by the Berlin architect

Franz Schwechten Franz Heinrich Schwechten (12 August 1841 – 11 August 1924) was one of the most famous German architects of the Wilhelmine era, and contributed to the development of historicist architecture. Life Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a d ...

, which gave the church its final shape. St. Matthew's became a listed building in 1971 and figures as a nonmoveable heritage object in the Polish heritage register (no. A/115 from 20 January 1971). In 2013 a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

from 1923 was discovered in a tin tube hidden under the church floor. In 2014 another time capsule from 1922 was found hidden in the ball under the cross at the top of the spire. Both caches contained newspapers and magazines, as well as banknotes and letters from the period. The church has been witness to a number of

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

services involving various Christian denominations. In 2016 the first ever

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

service at St. Matthew's was presided over by Martin Warner,

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

, as part of the Paradise in the City ecumenical festival held in Łódź to mark the visit of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

at the

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. In 2017 a joint Lutheran-Catholic service was held in the church to mark the 500th anniversary of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. St. Matthew's is often used as a concert venue. Regular organ concerts have been organized in the church since 1996.

Architecture

St. Matthew's church was built in the

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style, a contrast to the nearby

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Roman Catholic cathedral. The church plan is based on the

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, topped with a reinforced concrete dome with a diameter of 26 metres. The upper section of the tower is octagonal, and the spire reaches the height of 80 metres. There are large

rose windows Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

with stained glass delivered by the Breslau glassmaker Adolph Seiler. Characteristic elements of the interior include the marble altar, a massive chandelier, and the organ, built in 1928 by

Rieger Orgelbau Rieger Orgelbau is an Austrian firm of organ builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & Söhne, and from 1879 as Gebrüder Rieger, after his sons took over. At the end of World Wa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Matthew's Church, Łódź Churches in Łódź Lutheran churches in Poland 20th-century Lutheran churches Churches completed in 1928 1909 establishments in Poland 20th-century churches in Poland Romanesque Revival church buildings in Poland

History

Architecture

See also

References