Monastery of the Holy Trinity (, ) is a monastery built 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 ...

by the Ruthenian Church and Grand Hetman of Lithuania

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 ...

as a thanksgiving to the God for the victory in Battle of Orsha. It now belongs to the Order of Saint Basil the Great and the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

. At the Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity the

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the N ...

s are held only in

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

. The church is dedicated to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

. Beside this church, the monastery compound contains a fortified entrance gate, a university, a hotel complex for visitors, monastic cells including the Konrad's cell. The church is surrounded by adjoining four towers at each corner. This monastery is associated with the

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 ...

personalities like Josaphat Kuntsevych, Archbishop of Polatsk who took vows here and spent first years of his monastic life, as well as a prominent reformer of the Basilian Order, Veliamyn Rutsky.

History

The church

According to a legend, the first wooden church was built in the 14th century by Grand Princess

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 ...

, a spouse of the Grand Prince

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 ...

. The church was built in place where in 1347 the Algirdas noblemen Antony, Johan, and Eustachy died as the first martyrs for Christian faith and the first Christian saints in 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, ...

. The first stone church of Holy Trinity with a belfry was built by

in 1514 as a token of appreciation for a victory of Polish-Lithuanian forces over Muscovite troops near Orsha ( Battle of Orsha). The original church was built in Gothic style. In first half of the 17th century to the church were added three chapels. In 1609 on an edict of the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

the church and monastery was transferred to the Basialian Order.Yurko, I.
About Ukrainian church in Vilnius (Про українську церкву в Вільнюсі)
'. "Pohlyad". 12 December 2015 The first chapel ''Annunciation of the Holy Theotokos'' was built on the funds of Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz and was located to the right from the main entrance. In the chapel's

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

were buried father of the founder, Theodor Skumin-Tyszkiewicz (d.1618), the founder himself, and his wife, Barbara Naruszewicz (d.1627). In the chapel is preserved her marble gravestone, a work of Italian masters. Nowadays in the chapel are constantly held liturgies in

Byzantine rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

. The second chapel that is located to the left of main entrance called ''St.Luke'' was built in 1622 on the funds of Eustachy Korsak-Hołubicki, a big supporter of the Union (

). Beside its founder, in the crypt underneath the chapel rest his sons Ivan and Grigori. To this noble family of Korsaks belongs archimandrite the Basilian monastery of Vilnius Rafajil Mykola Korsak, later – a proto-archimandrite of the Basilian Order, Metropolitan of Kiev for Eastern-rite Catholics. The third chapel is called ''Exaltation of the True and Life-creating Cross of our Lord''. The founder of this chapel with a family crypt was a scribe of Grand Duchy of Lithuania Jan Kolenda in 1628. In the church survived valuable tombstones. Unique landmark of the Renaissance epoch in Lithuania is a tombstone of Vilna

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

Othanasius Braha and his son Antony with a coat of arms, Cyrillic inscription and rich floral ornament dated 1576. Draws attention a tombstone of Jelenski sisters with sentimental inscription which comes from 1758. In 1670 significant funds to renew the church contributed Great Hetman of Lithuania

Michał Kazimierz Pac Michał Kazimierz Pac (; – 4 April 1682) was a nobleman and prominent military leader of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and of one the most influential members of the magnate Pac family. Educated by Jesuits and Mikołaj Krzysztof "the ...

and Great Treasurer Hieronymus Kryszpin-Kirchenstein, particularly towards the altar of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych. The

Basilian monks Basilian monks are Greek Catholic monks who follow the rule of Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea (330–379). The term 'Basilian' is typically used only in the Catholic Church to distinguish Greek Catholic monks from other forms of monastic ...

were banished from the monastery in 1821 and the wing of the men's monastery was converted into a prison. Between 1823 and 1824, Romantic poet

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

and other

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 ...

students, members of the Filaret Association were imprisoned in the monastery for their engagement in secret organizations fighting for 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 ...

independence from the Russian rule.

Vilna icon of Theotokos Hodegetria

The fate of Vilna icon of Theotokos Hodegetria (Theotokos of Vilna) that for two centuries (1715—1915) was located in the church of Holy Trinity is unknown. According to a legend, the icon was written by St.

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

and for long years it was an ancestral relic of Greek emperors in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. It is believed that a niece of the last Byzantine Emperor, Sophia Palaiologina who married the Great Prince of Muscovy Ivan III of Moscow, brought the icon to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. While unconfirmed, there exists another version that the icon was transferred to the Great Prince of Moscow from prince of Halych who received it sometime ago as a present from Byzantine Emperors. Regardless of its past history, the fact states that Ivan III blessed his daughter Helena of Moscow with the icon when he gave her out in marriage for the Great Prince of Lithuania

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 ...

. The icon was brought to the capital of

and received name of Vilna. In 1866 during restoration, it was discovered that the top level is egg based

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

paint indicating very old origin of the icon. In 1915 at times of

World War I 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 ...

during evacuation the icon was taken away from Vilnius and to this day location of Theotokos of Vilnius is unknown.

Archimandrites

* 1481–94 Macarius I of Kiev * 1611 Josyf Veliamyn Rutsky * 1614 Josaphat Kuntsevych * 1625 Rafajil Korsak

Gallery

File:Vilnia, Trajeckaja. Вільня, Траецкая (I. Trutnev, 1870).jpg, The church in 1870 File:Vilnius orthodox trinity church 1896.jpg, The 1896 sketch of the church during the Russian occupation File:Vilnius trinity josaphat.JPG, Depiction of St Josaphat, "And all will be together" File:Vilnius trinity chapel2009.JPG, Interior of a chapel File:HolyTrinityGate2.jpg, Inner gates and belfry File:Tower of the Greek Catholic Church of Holy Trinity in Vilnius, Lithuania.jpg, One of the church's towers File:Three Lithuanian Martyrs plaque in Vilnius.JPG, Commemorative plaque for martyrs inside the church

References

External links

Information
at the Basialian Order of Saint Josaphat website
Information
at website of the

Video tour with Ukrainian commentaries
YouTube channel of osbmeu osbm. published on 21 June 2014. {{Authority control Christian monasteries in Lithuania Ukrainian Catholic monasteries Monasteries of the Order of Saint Basil the Great Ostrogski family Churches in Vilnius

Monasteries used as prisons Vilnius Old Town