Vilnius Church. Vilna diocese. Fraternities, other church and public organizations

ROC, established in Feb. 1839 with the name Lithuanian, included the territories of the Vilna and Grodno provinces of the Russian Empire. From 6 Apr. 1840 Lithuanian and Vilna, from 13 April. 1945 Vilna and Lithuanian. Modern territory - within the borders of the Republic of Lithuania. The cathedral city - Vilnius (until 1795 - Vilna, then - Vilna, from 1920 again Vilna, from 1939 - Vilnius). Cathedral - in honor of the Assumption of St. Mother of God (Prechistensky). The ruling bishop is Archbishop. Vilensky and Lithuanian Innokenty (Vasiliev; at the department since December 24, 2010). The diocese is divided into 4 deanery districts: Vilnius (the cities of Vilnius and Druskininkai, the districts of Vilnius, Trakai, Šalchininkai), Kaunas (the cities of Kaunas and Siauliai, Palanga, districts of Klaipeda, Akmensky, Mazheiksky, Tauragsky, Telshyaysky) and Visaginsky (the cities of Visaginas and Panevezys, the districts of Anykschyaysky, Birzhaysky, Zarasaisky, Moletsky, Panyavezhsky, Pasvalsky, Rokishksky, Utensky, Shvenchensky). By 1 Jan. In 2004, there were 50 parishes and 2 monasteries (male and female) in V. e. The clergy of the diocese consisted of 43 priests and 10 deacons.

Establishment of a diocese

After the conclusion of the Union of Brest in 1596, the majority of Orthodox who lived in Lit. lands and being Polish. subjects, were converted to Uniatism. As a result of the 3rd partition of Poland (1795) litas. the lands, including Vilna, became part of the Russian state, Vilna and Slonim provinces were created on them, united in 1797 into one. Decrees 9 Sept. 1801 Jan 1 and 28 Aug. In 1802, both of these provinces were restored with the names Lithuanian Vilna and Lithuanian Grodno, later renamed Vilna and Grodno. In 1793, a small Orthodox the community of Lithuania entered the Minsk, Izyaslav and Bratslav diocese, which was formed in the territories annexed to Russia by the 2nd partition of Poland (1793); from 16 Oct. 1799 Minsk archbishop. Job (Potemkin) became known as Minsk and Lithuanian. In 1833, the Orthodox Church was recreated. Polotsk and Vitebsk diocese, which included the territory of the Vilna province.

To the beginning 30s 19th century the majority of the population of the Vilna province. were Greek Catholics. According to the Polotsk archbishop. Smaragda (Kryzhanovsky), inhabitants of Orthodoxy. religion in the province, there were approx. 1 thousand. In Vilna there was not a single orthodoxy. parish church, only the Holy Spirit monastery church operated, in 1838 the cemetery church attached to it was consecrated. in the name of Rev. Euphrosyne of Polotsk.

Feb 12 In 1839, a council of bishops of the Uniate Polotsk and Vitebsk dioceses took place in Polotsk, which decided to reunite with the Orthodox. Church (see Polotsk Cathedral), in the same year was formed Orthodox. Lithuanian diocese, headed by the archbishop. Joseph (Semashko; from 1852 Metropolitan), accepted into communion with the Orthodox. Church together with the flock. In 1840 the building of the Catholic. church of st. Casimir was converted to Orthodoxy. church dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. May 9, 1845 the chair of the Lithuanian bishop, in 1839-1845. located in Zhirovitsky in honor of the Assumption of St. Virgin mon-re, was moved to Vilna, the cathedral became c. St. Nicholas. In 1840, the Brest vik-stvo was created Lithuanian diocese to manage parishes on the territory of the Grodno province. In 1843, the territory of the newly formed Kovno Province became part of the Lithuanian diocese. and the Vicariate of Kovno was established.

Lithuanian diocese in the 2nd half. XIX - beginning. 20th century

Before the beginning 60s 19th century the diocese practically did not receive funds from the Russian treasury for the construction of churches, local resources did not allow it to be carried out in the required volume. The situation changed radically after the suppression of the Polish. uprisings of 1863-1864, when many churches and Catholic mon-ri "for assistance to the rebels" by the head of the region M. N. Muravyov were placed at the disposal of the Orthodox. dioceses or closed. In the 60s. the Russian treasury allocated 500 thousand rubles. for the construction of 57 churches in the Lithuanian diocese, in addition, donations came to the region from all over Russia. In 1865-1869. the ancient temples of Vilna, built in the 14th century, were restored: the Assumption Metropolitan Cathedral (Prechistensky), c. vmts. Paraskeva Pyatnitsy, c. St. Nicholas, to which a chapel was attached in honor of arch. Michael, in 1851 in the Holy Spirit mon-re, in a previously existing cave, a c. in the name of the Vilna martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius, where they placed the relics of these saints, newly acquired in 1814. By the end. 60s 19th century more than 450 orthodox churches operated on the territory of the diocese. temples.

With the archbishop Macarius (Bulgakov; 1868-1879), who replaced Metropolitan. Joseph, 293 parish churches were built and converted into Orthodox parishes in the diocese. Archbishop Macarius introduced the election of deans, under him diocesan, deanery and school congresses were regularly held. In 1898 the Lithuanian cathedra was occupied by the archbishop. Yuvenaly (Polovtsev), who gave great importance organization of the monastic life. At his request to the Synod, Berezvechsky was revived in 1901 in honor of the Nativity of St. Mother of God women. Mon-ry, the number of inhabitants of the Vilna Holy Spirit Mon-ry increased significantly, the sacred archimandrites of which were the Vilna bishops. In 1909, under the Vilna Orthodox Holy Spirit Brotherhood, a church building committee was established, which took care of organizing fundraising for church building in the diocese. In 1899, in connection with the establishment of the Grodno department (see the Grodno and Volkovysk diocese), the territory of the Grodno province. was expelled from the Lithuanian diocese, the Vicar of Brest ceased to exist.

During the administration of the Lithuanian diocese, Archbishop St. Tikhon (Belavin; Dec. 1913 - June 1917; later Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) opened a church at the headquarters of the military corps in Vilna; in the name of app. Andrew the First-Called in Androny district of Disna, temples were built in Disna and in places. Ugrian-Boginskoe (Bogino). Representatives of the imp. families in different years repeatedly visited Vilna, participated in divine services in local churches, 24-25 Sept. In 1914, on the way to the front, Vilna was visited by the honorary chairman of the Vilna Brotherhood, imp. St. Nicholas II Alexandrovich.

Spiritual educational institutions

Vilna. Plan of a part of the city showing the Orthodox churches, monasteries and chapels that existed and are now located in it. Lithography. 1874 (GIM)

Vilna. Plan of a part of the city showing the Orthodox churches, monasteries and chapels that existed and are now located in it. Lithography. 1874 (GIM)

In 1839, the Uniate seminary in the Assumption Monastery in Zhirovitsky was transformed into an Orthodox one; 1845 transferred to the Vilna Holy Trinity Husband. monk, the rector of whom was the rector of the seminary. In 1839-1915. 170-195 people studied there every year. At first, teaching was conducted in Polish. language after the appearance in the DC Rus. Russian teachers. the language began to dominate the educational process, although some theological disciplines were taught in Latin for a long time in order to prepare seminarians for disputes with Catholics. clergy. In the 40s. 19th century an ethnographic committee worked at the DS, under the supervision of which descriptions of the customs of the inhabitants of the Western Territory were compiled, published by the Russian Geographic Society. The library of the DC in 1885 consisted of 12,500 volumes, among them were rare editions of the 15th-17th centuries.

8 Sept. In 1861, a diocesan 3-class wives opened in Vilna. school, to-rum imp. Maria Alexandrovna bequeathed the capital. In 1867-1872. in the diocese there were 5 DUs: Berezvechsky, Vilensky, Zhirovitsky, Kobrin and Suprasl, which were under the jurisdiction of the seminary board. In 1872, 3 schools were closed, the schools in Zhirovitsy and Vilna remained active, in 1895 307 students studied in them. Oct 25 In 1894, the Vilna St. Andrew's Guardianship was established to provide benefits to poor students of the School of Education.

After the publication in 1884 of the "Rules on parochial schools" in the Lithuanian diocese, this new type for it began to be created. educational institutions(Earlier in the diocese, folk schools predominated). In 1886, an exemplary parochial school was opened at the DS. In 1885, at the suggestion of the archbishop. Alexander (Dobrynin), the council of the Vilna brotherhood assumed the duties of the diocesan school council, its branches were organized in all counties of the Vilna, Grodno and Kovno provinces. In 1888, the council established teachers' two-year schools in Vilna and Grodno Province. for the training of teachers of parochial schools (two graduations took place - in 1890 and 1892). In 1895, there were 148 parochial schools with 6205 students, 693 folk elementary schools with 43385 students and 1288 literacy schools with 24445 students in the territory of the diocese. There were schools at the Vilna Holy Spirit, Borunsky (associated with the Holy Spirit), Pozhaysky, Surdegsky, Berezvechsky, Antalieptsky monasteries.

Missionary, educational, publishing activities

Since the Orthodox in the Western Territory lived predominantly in a non-Orthodox environment, missionary work was one of the main activities of the church and Russian. public structures in the Lithuanian diocese. Since 1880, non-liturgical religious and moral interviews began to be held in some churches; since 1892, weekly religious and moral readings were held at the DC. Interviews with Jews were held on Saturdays in the house that belonged to the Vilna Brotherhood. In the diocese there was a position of an anti-schismatic missionary to work with the Old Believers. Since 1898, a missionary train has been running around the Vilna region - “the church car of the Polissya roads”. With the archbishop ssmch. Agafangel (Preobrazhensky; 1910-1913) began the work of the diocesan missionary committee, which in 1911 was headed by Bishop. Eleutherius (Bogoyavlensky), wiki. Kovno. Missionary courses were also organized, in which the main subject was "anti-Catholic controversy". With the archbishop Agafangel on Spirits Day, solemn religious processions from all Vilna churches and mon-rays to the Nikolaevsky Cathedral, then to the Holy Spirit Mon-ryu were annually made.

Since 1863, a train went out in the diocese. "Lithuanian Diocesan Gazette", since 1907 - "Bulletin of the Vilna Holy Spirit Brotherhood". Jan 20 In 1895, a printing house of the Holy Spirit Brotherhood was opened in Vilna; by 1909, more than 100 titles of books had been printed in it.

By 1895, there were 38 deanery and 86 parish libraries in the diocese. From 1 Jan. 1880 parish chronicles were kept at all churches. In Aug. 1886 Archbishop Alexy (Lavrov-Platonov) approved the program of the historical and statistical description of the parishes of the diocese, in accordance with which in 1888 a multi-volume document was compiled in the consistory.

Fraternities, other church and public organizations

The Vilna Holy Spirit Brotherhood was the oldest and largest church and public organization in Lithuania (it operated in the late 16th - late 18th centuries, revived in 1865, ceased to exist in 1915). The brotherhood was active in educational, publishing, charitable activities, maintained a shelter for 12 children, as well as a house in which 40 families lived on preferential terms. A shelter for 30 orphaned girls from families of clerics existed under the Vilna Mary Magdalene wives. mon-re. Of the other brotherhoods, the best known is the Kovno St. Nicholas Petropavlovsk (1864-1915, renewed in 1926, existed until 1940). Most of the parishes of the diocese had guardianships, in 1895 there were 479 of them.

Lithuanian diocese in 1917-1945

In June 1917, after the election of St. Tikhon (Belavin) to the Moscow cathedra, Bishop of Kovno was appointed head of the Lithuanian diocese. Eleutherius (Bogoyavlensky). In 1918, Lithuania proclaimed independence, the former state was included in the new state. Kovno province. and a small part of the former Vilna province. Orthodox The Lithuanian community remained in canonical subordination to the Russian Church. On June 28, 1921, Patriarch Tikhon and Rev. The synod was appointed by Bishop Eleutherius Archbishop of Lithuania and Vilna.

In 1920, most of the former. Vilna province, including Vilna, went to Poland, in 1922 the Vilna and Lida diocese of the Warsaw autocephalous metropolis was established on this territory. In February-March 1923, an unauthorized branch of the Polish Orthodox Church took place. Churches from the Moscow Patriarch and its transition to the jurisdiction of the K-Polish Patriarchate. Archbishop Eleutherius, who was then in Vilna, protested against these non-canonical actions. In the autumn of 1922, by decision church court The Metropolitan of Warsaw, Vladyka, was dismissed from the Vilna see, then he was arrested by the civil authorities and sent to prison in the Catholic Church. monastery near Krakow. Archbishop was appointed to the Vilna cathedra of the Polish Autocephalous Church. Theodosius (Feodosiev). The Vilna and Lida diocese of the Polish Church existed until the beginning of the Second World War.

After 3 months conclusions of the archbishop Eleutherius was expelled from Poland, went to Berlin. In Apr. In 1923, he received an offer to head that part of the Vilna diocese, the territory of which was within the boundaries of the Republic of Lithuania. After the arrival of Vladyka in Kaunas (Kovno) - the temporary capital of Lithuania - at a meeting of representatives of the Orthodox. parishes, a diocesan council of 3 priests and 2 laity was elected. The Council was annually re-elected, its composition was approved by the Department of Religions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania. Relations between the Orthodox The diocese and the authorities were regulated by the "Temporary Rules for the Relations of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church with the Lithuanian Government".

In 1926, Minister of the Interior V. Pozhela encouraged the archbishop. Eleutherius to take steps to acquire the autocephaly of the Lithuanian diocese. The bishop refused, referring to the fact that he administers a part of the Lithuanian diocese and the question of its fate can only be decided after the return of the Vilna region to Lithuania. Since the annexation of the territories occupied by Poland was the main political task of the Lithuanian state, the government's plans for autocephaly were postponed for a while. In the autumn of 1928, at the invitation of the Deputy Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky) archbishop. Eleutherius arrived in Moscow. At a meeting of St. Synod, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan, at the same time receiving the right to "autonomously and independently resolve all issues relating to the church and administrative interests of the Lithuanian diocese." In 1930, Metropolitan Eleutherius was appointed to the post of temporary manager of Western Europe. parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, 30 April. approved in office.

The diocese within Lithuania was divided into 3 deaneries: Kaunas, Panevėžys and Siauliai. By the 20s. 20th century number of Orthodox temples in the region has sharply decreased: dozens of temples were destroyed or used under household needs, Catholic Churches, churches and mon-ri taken from Catholics in the 2nd half. XIX century, were returned. In 1920, 10 orthodox churches were registered in the Lithuanian Department of Religions. parishes. After the return of the archbishop Eleutherius in Lithuania, the number of parishes grew and by the middle. 30s reached 31. In 1923, Archbishop. Eleutherius ordained 5 priests, until 1930 - 5 more, but there were not enough clergy. In 1923-1939. gas was emitted in Kaunas. "Voice of the Lithuanian Orthodox Diocese", which published articles in defense of Orthodoxy. Since 1937, in response to the establishment of a mission of the Uniate Church in Kaunas, the newspaper published a special supplement about the union and its goals.

In 1926, the Kaunas St. Nicholas Brotherhood resumed its activities (existed until 1940), the number of its members in the 30s. was 80-90 people. The Brotherhood held lectures on religion. and moral and ethical issues, issued benefits to needy students of the Kaunas Rus. gymnasium, provided assistance to poor parishes, gave out funds to Russian. scout detachment to put in order the graves of the Russian. warriors.

Oct. 1939, after the defeat of Poland by Germany and the conclusion of the Soviet-German. agreements, Vilna and a small part of the Vilna region were annexed to Lithuania, 14 churches operated on this territory and 12 thousand Orthodox lived. Most of the Vilna region (former Disna, Vileika, Lida, Oshmyansky poviats) went to the Byelorussian SSR. Oct. 1939 Metropolitan Eleutherius arrived in Vilnius, which again became a cathedral center, the bishop abolished the Vilna consistory of the Polish Church.

Jan 10 1940 Archbishop Theodosius, ex. head of the Vilna diocese of the Warsaw Metropolis, sent a letter to Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky), in which he repented for the sin of schism, refused to govern the Lithuanian diocese and asked to accept him and his flock under the jurisdiction of the Russian Church. Archbishop Theodosius was retired, lived in the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius. However, in the spring of the same year, Theodosius informed the Lithuanian Council of Ministers that his letter to Moscow was a mistake, that he was leaving Metr. Eleutherius and creates a temporary diocesan council. On May 22, 1940, he sent a letter to the K-Polish Patriarch, in which he wrote that he still considers himself the head of the Vilna diocese and asks to be accepted into the jurisdiction of the K-field. In the next letter addressed to the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Lithuania, Theodosius noted that his conversion to the K-pol is "the first step towards independence from the Moscow Patriarch Sergius, not only of the Vilna region, but of the entire historical Lithuanian Orthodox Church." Theodosius was supported by the Minister of the Interior of Lithuania, K.Skuchas, who was directly in charge of matters of religion. relations. Further actions to declare the autocephaly of the Lithuanian Church became impossible after Soviet troops entered Lithuania in June 1940.

In Aug. 1940 Lithuania became part of the USSR. Metropolitan Eleutherius ruled the Lithuanian and Vilna diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church until his death on December 31. 1940. Then the plenipotentiary representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Baltic States became the Archbishop of Dmitrov. Sergius (Voskresensky), 24 Feb. 1941 appointed Metropolitan of Lithuania and Vilna, Exarch of Latvia and Estonia. During it. During the occupation of Lithuania during the Second World War, the exarch of the Baltic States did not cut off contact with Moscow. In 1942, Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) ordained Archim. Daniil (Yuzvyuk), ex. Secretary of the Metropolitan Eleutheria. After the assassination of Mr. Sergius 29 Apr. In 1944, Archbishop Daniil (Yuzvyuk) assumed the position of temporary administrator of the Diocese of Lithuania and Vilna and deputy exarch of the Baltic States, who served in these duties until the entry of the Soviet Army into Lithuania in the summer of 1944.

Spiritual educational institutions

In 1915, the Lithuanian Seminary was evacuated from Vilna to Ryazan, where the academic year 1916/17 was held, classes resumed in 1921 in Vilna. In 1923, the Lithuanian DS came under the jurisdiction of the Polish Autocephalous Church. In con. 1939 DS returned to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church with the name "Vilnius". At the Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) in Vilnius, on the basis of the DS, there were pastoral and theological courses for the training of clergy, which were led by Archpriest. Vasily Vinogradov; 27 people graduated from the courses, the graduation took place on April 27. 1944 In 1944 the seminary was closed, in 1946 it was reopened, in Aug. In 1947, under pressure from the authorities, it was closed again, the students were transferred to the seminary in Zhirovitsy.

Orthodox In the 1920s, the clergy of independent Lithuania repeatedly appealed to the government with a request to open a Orthodox church in Kaunas. spiritual school. In con. 1929 The Ministry of Education allocated 30,000 litas for the organization of two-year theological courses. Classes were conducted by the archbishop. Eleutherius, lecturer at the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris and head of the choir of the Kaunas Cathedral of the Annunciation. There was 1 issue at the courses, 8 people graduated from them. In 1936 there were 2-week diocesan courses for psalm-readers.

V. e. in 1945-1989

In the first years after the end of the Second World War, the position of the Orthodox communities in the Lithuanian SSR was relatively prosperous. At a time when most of the churches and all Catholics were closed in the republic. mon-ri, orthodox churches and mon-ri (Holy Spirit and Mary Magdalene in Vilnius) continued to operate. In Lit. The language was translated into Orthodox. liturgical texts. The most important event in the life of V. e. was the return to Vilnius on July 26, 1946 of the relics of the Vilna martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius, taken to Moscow in the summer of 1915. In 1946-1948. orthodox parishes passed the state. registration, rights legal entities received 44 communities. In 1946, the clergy of the diocese consisted of 76 clergy. Until 1949, more than 20 churches were repaired with funds coming from the Patriarchate, including the bombed-out monastery church of the Holy Spirit. The Patriarchate also allocated funds for the salaries of clergy and pensions for orphans from families of clerics, in particular, in 1955, 21 of the 41 parishes of the diocese received various kinds of assistance from Moscow.

General state policy of attack on the Orthodox. The Church began to have a special impact on the Orthodox. communities of Lithuania in the beginning. 50s In 1953, the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR ordered not to release the right. communities building materials from the state. funds. In the 50s. lit. The government repeatedly petitioned Moscow to close the Holy Spirit Monastery. The diocesan clergy were not replenished - the clergy who came from Belarus and Ukraine faced insurmountable obstacles to registering in Lithuania. By 1961, the number of clerics in the diocese had decreased by more than 2 times compared to the post-war period and amounted to 36 clergy (including 6 deacons). In 1965, 15 out of 44 parishes did not have their own priests. In the summer of 1962, a decree was issued prohibiting the diocese from receiving material assistance from the Patriarchate. In 1946-1965. in the diocese closed ca. 30 temples were removed from the registration of the Mary Magdalene Monastery. Under an unspoken ban was the performance of the sacraments of Baptism and Marriage, the fulfillment of other church requirements. In the 70s. in V. e., there were approx. 30 clergy, the number of parishioners was just over 12 thousand people. Natural migration processes - the resettlement of villagers to cities - led to the fact that in most rural churches there were no parishioners left. In the 70-80s. church life was relatively active only in large cities: Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai, as well as in the border regions with the Kaliningrad region. the settlements of Kybartai and Telshiai, to the temples of which believers came from the neighboring region of the RSFSR, where at that time there was not a single orthodoxy. churches. In 1988 there were 41 churches in the diocese.

V. e. in 1989-2003

On March 11, 1990, the independent state of Lithuania was restored. According to the new Constitution of Lithuania, Orthodoxy was included in the number of 9 traditions. for the region of confessions, to which the government of the republic annually allocates funds distributed in proportion to the number of believers; average annual assistance to the Orthodox Churches from the budget of Lithuania is approx. 60 thousand dollars Under the law on the return of property, the diocese returned part of the property, which it owned before 1940, in particular 5 residential multi-storey buildings in Vilnius, several. church buildings in the provinces, residential buildings belonging to individual parishes. The Orthodox received the Alexander Nevsky and Catherine's churches in Vilnius, the Euphrosyne cemetery, on which St. Tikhon's chapel was restored; allocated funds for the restoration of c. vmts. Paraskeva Fridays.

In con. 90s in the diocese consecrated several. new churches: in the name of the martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia in the secondary school of Klaipeda, in the name of St. Tikhon in the regional center of Shalchininkai, John the Baptist in Visaginas. In 2002, in Palanga, according to the project of the Penza architect. D. Borunov, a temple was erected in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, according to the project of the same architect, the Pokrovsko-Nikolskaya church is being built in Klaipeda, the Nikolsky chapel was consecrated in December. 2002 In Visaginas, a two-storey church was built in honor of the Entry into the Church of St. Mother of God, in 2001 the Panteleimon chapel of this temple was consecrated.

The most important event in the life of the Orthodox. Lithuania was visited by His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II on July 25-27, 1997, timed to coincide with the celebration of the 650th anniversary of the death of the Vilna martyrs and the 400th anniversary of the Holy Spirit Monastery. Lithuanian President A. Brazauskas presented Patriarch Alexy II with the highest award of the Republic of Lithuania - the Order of the Litas. led. book. Gediminas 1st degree. During the visit, Patriarch Alexy II visited boarding school No. 3 in Vilnius and donated a donation for its improvement. From the balcony of the chapel, in which there is the Vilna Ostrobramsk Icon of the Mother of God, revered by both Orthodox and Catholics, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the people of Lithuania.

Educational, publishing activities

There are 10 parish Sunday schools in the diocese, the largest one is at the Annunciation Cathedral in Kaunas, it is attended by more than 200 people. different ages. In 2001, a diocesan commission was created to oversee the work of Sunday schools. In 2001, 12 students from Lithuania graduated from the Correspondence Department of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Theological Institute.

In 1997, a permanent diocesan commission for the attestation of teachers of the subject "Fundamentals of Religion", studied in Litas, began its work. general education schools(at the choice of students) since 1992. For orthodox. catechists, the diocese annually holds republican seminars. In present time in schools with Russian. 55 orthodox work as the language of instruction. catechist teachers.

In the beginning. 90s The diocese published 3 editions of the Orthodox Church. Sat. "Vine", "Essays on the history of Russian holiness" by John Kologriv, prayer books, separate works of Russian. religious philosophers.

Church-public organizations

In 1995, the diocesan Orthodox Brotherhood of Lithuania was established (the chairman of the council is the rector of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kaunas, Archpriest Anatoly Stalbovsky), which included most of the parishes of the diocese. Largely thanks to the initiative of the fraternity council, hundreds of young men and women became participants in the summer Orthodox Church. camps organized annually on the shores of the Baltic Sea and in places. Horror near Kaunas. In addition, young people make pilgrimages to St. places in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. On the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Easter, festivals of youth creative groups are held. Orthodox about St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk organizes summer Orthodox. camps, the youth choir of the community participates in divine services. Orthodox Society Education “Zhivoy Kolos” takes care of orphans and children from dysfunctional families within the framework of the “Godparents and Godchildren” program that has been operating for 12 years. "Live Ear" hosts a program on the Lithuanian National Radio, in which religious and moral issues, historical and modern ones are consecrated. aspects of the life of Russians in Lithuania.

The most revered shrine of the diocese are the relics of the martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius, resting in the cathedral church of the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius. In the refectory of the Vilnius Mary Magdalene wives. the monastery keeps a casket with particles of the relics of St. equal to ap. Mary Magdalene, brought to Vilna from the Pochaev Lavra in 1937. In the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed. Mother of God in Kaunas is the Surdega Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, which appeared in 1530 over a source in places. Surdegi, 38 km from Panevezys; this spring is still a place of pilgrimage for believers.

Monasteries

By 1 Jan. In 2004, 2 monasteries operated in the diocese: the Vilnius Holy Spirit (male, founded at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries) and the Vilnius in the name of St. equal to ap. Mary Magdalene (female, founded 1864).

In the XIX - early. 20th century on the territory of the diocese existed: Vilna in the name of the Holy Trinity (male, founded in the 2nd half of the 14th century, transferred to the Uniates at the beginning of the 17th century, restored as Orthodox in 1845, abolished in 1915), Surdega in honor of the Descent Holy Spirit on the Apostles (male, founded in 1550, abolished in 1915), Pozhaisky in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God (male, converted in 1839 to Orthodox from Catholic, abolished in 1915), Berezvechsky in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed. Mother of God (in 1839 converted to Orthodox from the Uniate, abolished in 1872, revived in 1901 as a female, abolished in 1923), Antalieptsky in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed. Mother of God (female, founded in 1893, abolished in 1948).

Bishops

Metropolitan Joseph (Semashko; March 6, 1839 - November 23, 1868, from March 25, 1839 archbishop, from March 30, 1852 Metropolitan); archbishop Macarius (Bulgakov; December 10, 1868 - April 8, 1879); archbishop Alexander (Dobrynin; May 22, 1879 - April 28, 1885); archbishop Alexy (Lavrov-Platonov; May 11, 1885 - November 9, 1890, from March 20, 1886 archbishop); archbishop Donat (Babinsky-Sokolov; December 13, 1890 - April 30, 1894); archbishop Jerome (Instance; April 30, 1894 - February 27, 1898, from May 6, 1895 archbishop); archbishop Yuvenaly (Polovtsev; March 7, 1898 - April 12, 1904); archbishop Nikandr (Molchanov; April 23, 1904 - June 5, 1910); archbishop Agafangel (Preobrazhensky; August 13, 1910 - December 22, 1913); archbishop Tikhon (Belavin; Dec. 1913 - June 23, 1917); Met. Eleutherius (Bogoyavlensky; August 13, 1917 - December 31, 1940, from August 13, 1917 temporary administrator, from June 28, 1921 ruling bishop in the rank of archbishop, from October 1928 metropolitan); Met. Sergius (Voskresensky; March 1941 - April 28, 1944); archbishop Daniil (Yuzvyuk; temporary manager April 29, 1944 - June 1944); archbishop Kornily (Popov; April 13, 1945 - November 18, 1948); archbishop Photius (Topiro; Nov. 18, 1948 - Dec. 27, 1951); archbishop Filaret (Lebedev; temporary manager 1952-1955); archbishop Alexy (Dekhterev; November 22, 1955 - April 19, 1959, from July 25, 1957 archbishop); archbishop Roman (Tang; May 21, 1959 - July 18, 1963); archbishop Anthony (Varzhansky; August 25, 1963 - May 28, 1971); ep. Ermogen (Orekhov; June 18, 1971 - August 25, 1972); ep. Anatoly (Kuznetsov; September 3, 1972 - September 3, 1974); ep. German (Timofeev; Sept. 3, 1974 - April 10, 1978); archbishop Viktorin (Belyaev; April 19, 1978 - April 10, 1989, archbishop from September 9, 1982); ep. Anthony (Cheremisov; April 22, 1989 - January 25, 1990); Met. Chrysostomos (Martishkin; Jan. 26, 1990 - Dec. 24, 2010, from Feb. 25, 2000 Metropolitan); Innokenty (Vasilyev; from December 24, 2010).

Arch.: Litov. CGA. F. 377. Op. 4. D. 695, 697, 617; F. 377. Op. 4. D. 25, 87, 93; F. R-238, Op. 1. D. 37, 40, 59; F. R-238. Op. 3. D. 41, 50; Savitsky L., prot. Church chronicle. life of the Lithuanian diocese. Vilnius, 1963. Rkp.

Lit.: Izvekov N . D . East essay on the status of the Orthodox Churches in the Lithuanian diocese during 1839-1889. M., 1899; Dobryansky F. N . Old and new Vilna. Vilna, 1903; In memory of the Rev. Juvenaly, Archbishop Lithuanian and Vilna. Vilna, 1904; Milovidov A . AND . Church-building business in the North-West. edge at gr. M. N. Muravyov. Vilna, 1913; Bochkov D . On the centralization of the church. ist.-archaeol. institutions. Minsk, 1915; Sapoka D. A. Lietuvos history. Kaunas, 1936; Athanasius (Martos), archbishop. Belarus in history, state. and church. life. Minsk, 1990; Laukaityte R. Lietuvos staciatikiu baznycia 1918-1940, mm.: Kova del cerkviu // Lituanistika. Vilnius, 2001. Nr. 2.

G. P. Shlevis

Monuments of church art in Vilnius

Architecture

Features of church construction in Vilnius are due to the history of the Middle Ages. Lithuanian state-va, which is characterized by multinationality and multi-confessionalism. There is a clear interaction between different artistic cultures: Byzantium, neighboring Slavs. peoples (Belarusian, Polish, Russian), the closest connection with the West played an important role. Europe, especially after the adoption of Catholicism as a state. religion. Confessions that existed for centuries (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Uniateism) received priority in different historical periods, the shrines of Vilnius (temples, monuments, icons) repeatedly passed from one confession to another. The city suffered from devastating fires, after which it had to be rebuilt rebuild many, including church buildings. All these factors caused repeated changes in the appearance of both Orthodox and Catholic. churches in Vilnius.

According to legend, the first wooden Christ. buildings were built in the 13th century. on the site of ancient pagan shrines. Vel. book. lit. Olgerd, his first wife Maria Yaroslavna, knzh. Vitebsk, and the second - Juliana Alexandrovna, knzh. Tverskaya, founded the first orthodox in Vilna. temples, more churches were built after the establishment of a separate Orthodox Church. metropolia (1415). After the official adoption of Christianity (1387) in the country were built mainly Catholic. temples: Vladislav-Yagailo, having converted to Catholicism, founded in 1387 a cathedral in the name of St. Stanislav, established the bishopric and granted Vilna Magdeburg rights. Under Casimir IV Jagiellonchik in 1469, a ban was issued to build and renovate the Orthodox Church. Russian temples. Ancient churches or their images, with rare exceptions, have not been preserved (in the 19th century, only fragments of the walls remained from the oldest churches in Vilnius, the Assumption (Prechistenskaya) and Pyatnitskaya churches). After the conclusion of the state Lublin (1569) and religion. The Union of Brest (1596) Catholicism and Uniatism began to be forcibly imposed, in 1609 the Orthodox. churches and mon-ri (except for the Holy Spirit) were transferred to the Uniates. In the 17th century the vast majority of the population of Vilna were Catholics and Greek Catholics. XVII-XVIII centuries - the period of Italian. influence in architecture, when invited Italian. architects and artists actively participated in the construction and decoration of churches, it was then that the modern. the shape of the city.

The Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius is one of the main centers of Orthodoxy in Lithuania and Belarus. The first church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (XIV century) was wooden, in 1638 a baroque stone church was erected in its place, rebuilt after a fire (1749). The cathedral lost its original appearance, but retained its former plan in the form of a cross and its spatial solution (3-apse, 3-nave building with a transept and 2 towers). In 1873, the cathedral was crowned with a massive dome, the bell tower, built in 1638, was renewed. The wooden baroque iconostasis was designed by the architect. I. K. Glaubica in 1753-1756 All R. 19th century 12 images for the iconostasis were painted by the academician of painting I. P. Trutnev. Mn. monastic buildings dating back to the 16th century. (cell buildings, administrative buildings), later rebuilt several times; the gate was erected in 1845.

The Holy Trinity Monastery stands on the site of the martyrdom of the Vilna saints, whom he led. book. Olgerd gave Christ. community, built with the assistance of led. kng. Juliania in 1347-1350 a wooden church in the name of the Holy Trinity, where the relics of the martyrs were transferred. In 1514, the Polish. box Sigismund I allowed the book. K. I. Ostrozhsky to build 2 stone churches in Vilna, including the Holy Trinity Church. In the 17th century already on the territory of the monastery captured by the Uniates (1609), chapels were added to the church building - from the south. sides in the name of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (1622), from the north-ap. Luke (1628) and the family tomb of Jan Tyszkiewicz. After devastating fires (1706, 1748, 1749), the church was rebuilt by the Uniates according to the project of the architect. Glaubitz in the late Baroque style. This is a 3-apse, 3-nave, rectangular hall-type temple. In general, the architectural ensemble of the Holy Trinity Monastery took shape in the 17th-18th centuries, but construction work continued until the 1920s. 19th century Entrance gate (1749, architect Glaubitz) from the side of the street. Aushros-Vartu is an example of the Litas. late baroque: sinuous horizontal cornices, walls, complex rhythms of pilasters and arches create a dynamic silhouette. In 1839-1915. the monastery belonged to the Orthodox.

Assumption (Prechistensky) Cathedral, one of the oldest, was built in the 1st floor. 14th century Kyiv architects on the model of the St. Sophia Church in Kyiv. In 1348 Bishop of Vladimir. Alexy (bud. Metropolitan of All Rus'), at the invitation of Grand. book. Olgerda consecrated this temple. According to the remains of the foundation and later descriptions, it can be judged that the plan of the church was close to a square, the building had a dome, the bell tower stood separately, and a garden was laid out on the sides of the cathedral. The height of the ancient temple is unknown, in the southeast. corner of modern of the building, a tower with an internal passage under the roof has been preserved; fragments of the former architectural decoration are visible on its outer side. Of the 3 corner towers, only the bases remained, on which the last. erected new towers, similar to those preserved. The thrones of the temple were dedicated Mother of God holidays: Christmas, Entrance to the Temple, Annunciation and Assumption (the main throne) and gave the name of the church - Prechistenskaya. With the election in 1415 of the metropolitan for the West. Russ led. book. Vytautas proclaimed the cathedral a metropolitan cathedral. Feb 15 1495, a meeting of the daughter of Rus. led. book. John III, led. kng. Elena Ioannovna, bud. wife led. book. Lithuanian Alexander Jagiellon. Prayers were performed by schmch. archim. Macarius, in the same year elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Kyiv. In 1513, Elena Ioannovna was buried here, over the tomb was installed the miraculous Vilna "Hodegetria" icon of the Mother of God, brought by her as a dowry, later located in the Holy Trinity Mon-re.

In 1609 the church passed to the Uniates. During the wars of the XVII century. was destroyed and fell into disrepair, in the XIX century. it was rebuilt, at one time there was an anatomical theater in it. In 1865, under the arms. prof. A.I. Rezanova and acad. N. M. Chagin, the restoration of the Prechistensky Cathedral, consecrated on October 22, began. 1868; Nov 12 In 1868, the chapel was consecrated in the name of St. Alexia; in 1871, a chapel was arranged and consecrated in the name of schmch. Macarius of Kyiv.

Ts. in the name of the military center. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa was built in 1345 at the behest of the first wife led. book. Olgerd Maria Yaroslavna, knzh. Vitebsk, which was buried here. The church in 1557 burned down during a big fire, after 3 years it was restored with the permission of the Polish. box Sigismund II Augustus and consecrated in honor of the Theophany of the Lord, but continued to be called Pyatnitskaya. In 1611, after another fire, it was transferred to the Holy Trinity Monastery, which at that time was under the rule of the Uniates. In 1655-1661, when the city temporarily came under the rule of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Pyatnitskaya church. was restored and transferred to the Orthodox. In 1698 her interior view was arranged on the model of ancient Russian. temples. In it repeatedly prayed imp. Peter I, when he was in Vilna, baptized the arab Ibrahim, the ancestor of A. S. Pushkin, here. After 1796, when the roof collapsed, the temple was in ruins until 1864. By order of the governor-general of the region, gr. M. N. Muravyov, the restoration of the church building was carried out according to the project of the architect. A. Marcinovsky under the hands. Chagin, in 1865 the church was consecrated.

Among the oldest Christians shrines of Vilnius belongs to c. St. Nicholas (Peresenenskaya). The first mention of this church dates back to 1511, in 1514, with the permission of Cor. Sigismund I rebuilt in stone book. K. I. Ostrozhsky along with the Holy Trinity. In 1609-1827. among other churches of the city belonged to the Uniates. The original appearance of the church was close to the Gothic temples, but the presence of 3 apses testifies to its original construction in the Orthodox style. architecture; rebuilt after a fire in 1748 according to the project of the architect. Glaubitz and in 1865 in Russian-Byzantine. style designed by Rezanov. In 1866, a solemn consecration of the renewed church took place (Litovskie EB. 1866, No. 21, p. 92), in 1869 a chapel was consecrated in honor of the Archangel Michael, also built according to the project of Rezanov. This massive building of the type of a quadrangle on an octagon, with a round dome, adjoins closely to the south. the facade of the church, to which a multi-tiered bell tower is also attached under a high tent, the lower tiers of which are quadruplets, the upper ones are octagonal. The facades are decorated with ornamental belts made of colored bricks; windows and portals are trimmed with platbands. Stained-glass windows are used in the interior decoration. The mosaic "Archangel Michael" in the chapel was made in the workshops of imp. OH. The church houses the relics of St. Nicholas brought from Bari.

Church in the name of Equal Apostle. Constantine and St. Mikhail Malein. 1913 Photography. 2003

All R. 19th century ROC were transferred to many. Catholic and Uniate churches and monasteries, in which the necessary restructuring was carried out in accordance with the Orthodox. canons. In 1840, the former. Church of the Jesuit Order in the name of St. Casimir was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas and became the cathedral of Vilna (until 1925), its facades were given the features of the Orthodox Church. temple (designed by Rezanov, see: Lithuanian EV. 1867. No. 19. P. 793). In 1864, by the highest command, Catholic churches were closed. mon-ri. Monastery of the Trinitarians with the Church of Jesus Christ (erected in 1696 by Hetman Jan Kazimir Sapieha), consecrated in honor of arch. Michael, acted until 1929; the monastery of the order of business cards (visitants) was transformed in 1865 into Orthodoxy. monastery of st. Mary Magdalene. Its main temple (formerly the Church of the Heart of Jesus) represented in terms of the Greek. cross, according to the type it was a centric domed building in the rococo style, to the west. the facade, which had a decoratively concave contour, had no traditions. for the Catholic temples 2 towers; The temple was built with the support of Cor. August II the Strong, designed by architects J. M. Fontana and Glaubitz, supervised by J. Paul.

In 1890-1910. parish churches were built in new areas of the growing Vilna, schools for children were opened with them. Consecrated: 3 Sept. 1895 c. arch. Michael, built in memory of c. M. N. Muravyova; Oct 25 1898 c. in the name of blgw. book. Alexander Nevsky in memory of the imp. Alexander III; June 1, 1903 Znamenskaya c. All these temples were erected in Russian-Byzantine. style using medieval. architectural traditions.

In commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty and in memory of Prince. Konstantin Ostrozhsky, a memorial church was built in the name of St. equal to ap. imp. Constantine and St. Mikhail Malein according to the project of architect. A. Adamovich with the participation of the diocesan architect. A. A. Shpakovsky at the expense of the famous temple builder I. A. Kolesnikov, (actual state councilor, director of the Nikolskaya manufactory Savva Morozov). In Moscow, memorable gifts were made, intended for the archbishop who consecrated the temple. Lithuanian and Vilna Agafangel (Preobrazhensky), for example. Panagia (1912-1913, collection of the State Repository of Values ​​of the Russian Federation; see: Voldaeva V. Yu. Silver panagia from the collection of the Gokhran of the Russian Federation and new data on the firm of N.V. Nemirov-Kolodkin // PKNO, 1997. M., 1998. pp. 455-458)). The temple was founded on May 14, 1911 and consecrated on May 9, 1913 in the presence of led. book. prmts. Elizabeth Feodorovna. Five-domed, with a bell tower at the church, it was designed in a new neorus style for Vilna. style, decorated in the traditions of ancient Rostov-Suzdal architecture, without pillars inside. Vilna craftsmen carried out construction work and exterior finish building; Moscow - interior decoration temple: iconostasis, icons, crosses, bells, utensils, etc.

Iconography and book miniature

The surviving fragments of frescoes in the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Stanislav testify to the connections of the masters who worked in Vilna with the painting traditions of Serbia and Bulgaria. From the 15th century began to spread painting in Western Europe. Gothic style, paintings for altars and miniatures of handwritten books were created in the monastery workshops of Vilna. The first obverse manuscript - the so-called. The Lavrushev Gospel (beginning of the 14th century, Krakow, Czartoryski Library) - with 18 miniatures was created under the influence of the Byzantines. art. Bulgarian influence. and Novgorod manuscripts can be traced in the Gospel of the XIV century. and the Gospel of Sapieha con. 15th century (both in the Library of the Academy of Sciences of Lithuania).

In the 19th century for sculptural and painting works in the new and newly consecrated churches of Vilna, artists of the academic school were invited. So, the icons of the 5-tier iconostasis of the Prechistensky Cathedral were painted by Trutnev, I. T. Khrutsky - for the Trinity Church, F. A. Bruni - a copy of the painting "Prayer for the Chalice" for wives. monastery of st. Mary Magdalene. The same artists in the 60s. 19th century worked on finishing c. St. Nicholas and the decoration of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas Cathedral, for the local row of the iconostasis, the icons and the image of Hosts were written by prof. K. B. Venig, other icons - K. D. Flavitsky; images of St. Nicholas and St. Alexander Nevsky - acad. N. I. Tikhobrazov; the altarpiece of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as cardboard images of St. Nicholas, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Joseph the Betrothed for the pediment - V.V. Vasiliev (he also painted icons for the Alexander Nevsky Chapel and the image of Martyr George for the St. George Chapel). The icons by F. P. Bryullov and Trutnev, located in niches and along the walls of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, were transferred from St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg with the assistance of Rezanov.

Lit .: Muravyov A . N . Rus. Vilna. SPb., 1864; Vilna // PRSZG. 1874. Issue. 5-6; Kirkor A . TO . Lithuanian woodlands // Picturesque Russia. St. Petersburg; M., 1882. T. 3. Part 1; Dobryansky F. N . Vilna and environs. Vilna, 1883; Sobolevsky I . IN . Prechistensky Cathedral in Vilna. Vilna, 1904; Vinogradov A . A . Guide to the city of Vilna and its environs. Vilna, 1904. Part 1, 2; Milovidov A . AND . The celebration of the bookmark ist. temple-monument in Vilna and the significance of this monument. Vilna, 1911; Savitsky L . Orthodox cemetery in Vilna: To the 100th anniversary of the cemetery c. St. Euphrosyne 1838-1938 Vilna, 1938; Ozerov G . Church of the Sign // Vilnius. 1994. No. 8. P. 177-180; he is. Prechistensky Cathedral // Ibid. 1996. No. 6. S. 151-159.

I. E. Saltykova

Usually, when we talk about Orthodox patriotism, we mean exclusively Russian patriotism. Lithuania, along with Poland, is today one of the main strongholds of Roman Catholicism in the world. The overwhelming majority of the population here calls themselves Catholics. But Orthodox Christians live here too. Is it easy to be an Orthodox patriot in a country of victorious Catholicism?

Not our country

There are no more than 150 thousand Orthodox in Lithuania, that is, about 5% of the total population.

“Despite our small number, the attitude towards us from the Catholic majority and the Lithuanian state is friendly,” says father Vitaly Mockus, priest of the Lithuanian diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, an ethnic Lithuanian and rector of the only Lithuanian-speaking Orthodox parish in the country.

The Lithuanian state does not interfere in life Orthodox Church, returns to it the property taken by the Soviet government, and the Church, in response, does not interfere in politics, distancing itself from both Russian and Lithuanian political parties. This “neutral” position was chosen by Metropolitan Chrysostomos (Martishkin), who since the early nineties has been the head of the Lithuanian diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, or the “Orthodox Church in Lithuania” – as the diocese is officially registered with the republican authorities.

At the same time, parishioners are not at all obliged to observe neutrality as strictly as the central church authority.

“We are all great patriots in our community, but we are Orthodox patriots,” Father Vitaly says about his parish, referring, of course, to Lithuanian patriotism. “We just need to distinguish between the political and the Orthodox component in patriotism,” he is convinced. - Here is the Russian emperor Nicholas II in relation to Lithuania - the head of the occupying state, which oppressed Lithuanian culture. But this is politics. But Nicholas II as a passion-bearer is already Orthodoxy, and we can pray to him and kiss his icon, which does not mean that we will stop negatively evaluating his political activity from the point of view of Lithuanian history.

It is not surprising that for a Lithuanian patriot, a Russian patriot often turns out to be an “occupier”: our countries fought a lot with each other. In the 17th century, the Commonwealth, a union state of Lithuanians and Poles, almost captured Muscovy, and at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Russia swallowed up both Lithuania and Poland. Russians had similar problems with Russians in the 12th century: the noble prince Andrei Bogolyubsky stormed Novgorod and would have conquered and plundered the city if the Most Holy Theotokos herself had not saved the capital of northern Rus' from his squad, as the “Legend of the Battle of Novgorodians with Suzdal people". The vectors of state patriotism are rarely co-directed.

For the centuries-old history of Lithuania, we know very few names of Orthodox Lithuanians, but among them are four saints: the Vilna martyrs, who suffered for their faith in the XIV century under Prince Algirdas (Olgerd), and the ruler of the Nalshchansky inheritance, Daumontas (Dovmont), who later became the Pskov prince, glorified by the Russian Church as faithful. Orthodoxy for Lithuania is considered a traditional confession (along with Catholicism and Judaism) - it appeared on Lithuanian soil in the 14th century, when the Orthodox lands of Western Rus' became part of medieval Lithuania. In the multinational Slavic-Lithuanian Grand Duchy, before the Union of Lublin with Poland, the majority of the population professed Orthodoxy. But the “titular” nation today perceives Orthodoxy as a confession of the Russian-Belarusian “minority”. — — There is a stereotype in Lithuania that Lithuanians are Catholics because they pray in Lithuanian, and Russians are Orthodox because they pray in Russian. I used to think so myself. The Pyatnitskaya community is called upon to break this “national” stereotype,” Father Vitaliy Mockus admits.

Difficulties in translation

The idea to serve in the national language arose at the beginning of the 2000s, when a certain parishioner, after a festive divine service in the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery, handed Father Vitaly an envelope: “Perhaps you will be interested.” The envelope contained a copy of the Lithuanian translation of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. This was the first experience of translating worship into Lithuanian in the thousand-year history of the existence of Orthodoxy in Lithuania. Vladyka Chrysostomos liked the project of the Lithuanian liturgy proposed by Father Vitaly, but the liturgy of the synodal period had to be translated anew - the pre-revolutionary version of the text turned out to be unsuitable from the point of view of language and terminology. Church vocabulary, traditionally Catholic in Lithuanian, does not always reflect realities specific to the Eastern Church, including liturgical ones. (For example, from Lithuanian altorus - it can be adequately translated into Russian as “throne”, and what is usually called an altar in Russian sounds presbiterium in Lithuanian - which reflects stable names in the Catholic tradition.) By 2005, Father Vitaly, checking according to the Greek text, English and some other translations, retranslated the Liturgy of John Chrysostom, the third and sixth hours. Later came the Paschal Vigil, the service of the Trinity. In addition, the rites of baptism, a memorial service, and a prayer service are from the Treasury. Small home prayer book with evening and morning prayers, the rule for communion and thanksgiving prayers. There is no Menaion yet, but a translation of the Sunday Vespers and the Oktoechos is being prepared. In preparation for the service, the priest each time translates the troparia of the saints that fall on Sunday (they serve in the Pyatnitsky church so far only on Sundays).

Part of the “Pyatnitsky” parishioners are children from mixed Lithuanian-Russian marriages, they used to go to ordinary Russian-speaking parishes, but did not understand the services, because, like the majority of Lithuanian youth, they already have a poor command of Russian, and even more so Church Slavonic. However, not only young people have problems with the language: one elderly Russian woman who lost her parents in early childhood and was brought up in Lithuanian orphanage, practically forgot the Russian language, which her parents taught her, but continued to consider herself an Orthodox Christian. All her life she went to a Catholic church, but did not receive communion there, wishing to die in the bosom of the Orthodox Church. The emergence of a Lithuanian-speaking community turned out to be a real miracle for her.

“Despite the fact that she lives a hundred kilometers from Vilnius, which by our standards is almost a third of the country,” Father Vitaly explains, “this parishioner comes to the Pyatnitsky church at least once a month and takes communion with tears in her eyes.

But there are those who in Russian and do not know how to say hello properly. They were brought to the Church by Orthodoxy itself, without regard to family traditions or origins.

“For the first time in the centuries-old history of Lithuania, the Lithuanian liturgy will allow Lithuanians to partake of the Orthodox tradition, fully preserving their national identity, which is impossible without language,” says Father Vitaliy.

Orthodoxy with a Lithuanian accent

The Pyatnitsky community of Father Vitaly Mockus is noticeably younger than most of the Russian-speaking parishes in Vilnius. Most parishioners are students and employees between the ages of 30 and 40.

“And these are all serious people,” rector priest Vitaliy Mockus emphasizes, “they are very responsible for worship: they don’t walk or talk during the service. The influence of the Catholic experience is evident. It is not customary to even cough at Mass; in Lithuania, Catholics leave the church for this. And our Lithuanian-speaking parishioners were born and raised in the Lithuanian cultural environment, so they bring something of their own, Lithuanian in mentality, to church life.

From the famous Holy Spirit Monastery, the stronghold of Russian Orthodoxy in Lithuania, to Pyatnitsky Church is about 15 minutes on foot along the old Vilna streets. Father Vitaly leads us past the red-tiled quarters of the old city to the church. On the street it is difficult to distinguish him from passers-by: Orthodox priests in Lithuania do not wear cassocks in Everyday life, like Catholic ones, more often - sweater-pants, jacket or jacket, if it's cold. The temple itself is both Russian and Byzantine in form, with a flat Greek dome. Only the central nave is fenced off with a low iconostasis: the sacristy and the altar to the right and left of the altar, although they are raised on the salt and communicate with the altar by arches, are not closed from the temple. All for space saving reasons. The interior space, minus the vestibule and the altar part, is tiny.

- Even on the patronal feast, more than 50 people do not gather here, and there are about thirty permanent parishioners. For Lithuania, this is a typical size of a provincial city parish, so there is enough space for everyone who wants it,” says Father Vitaliy.

Perhaps someday a national Lithuanian Orthodox tradition will appear (its germ can be guessed in the features of the Pyatnitskaya community) - just as it once developed, at the crossroads of Russian and Western church cultures, American or English. But it's still too early to talk about it: “That's in five hundred years,” father Vitaly laughs.

Typical Orthodox Lithuanians are those who went to the temple to look at the unusual “Eastern” worship and stayed forever.

“There has long been an opinion among Lithuanian Catholics that the Orthodox pray well,” explains Fr. Vitaly. - Many Catholics come to pray in an Orthodox church after Mass and Communion, this is a common practice here. Catholic priests do not forbid them to do this, and sometimes they themselves come in. The Vilna Catholic Seminary, for example, when its students study the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, come to the service in full force. Some parishioners and Catholic monks even secretly take communion at the Orthodox liturgy, especially since after the Second Vatican Council they are allowed to receive communion from the Orthodox in extreme cases. So we have peace with Catholics. And among them there are those who come not just to the Orthodox, but to the Pyatnitsky church, because they heard about the "Lithuanian Orthodox liturgy" and decided to see what it is. These people want to become Orthodox, but for this they do not need to become Russian. For Lithuania, Orthodoxy is not a foreign faith, and the Orthodox have always been here. We adorn our country, which we love, its history and culture with our faith,” Father Vitaly is convinced.

The Lithuanian diocese was established in when a decision was made at the council of the Uniate bishops of the Polotsk and Vitebsk dioceses to reunite with. The boundaries of the diocese included Vilna and Grodno. The first Bishop of Lithuania was the former Uniate Bishop Joseph (Semashko). The department of the Lithuanian diocese was originally located in the Zhirovitsky Assumption Monastery (Grodno province). The department was moved to. Before the Lithuanian diocese were the deaneries of the Vilna and Kovno provinces:

• Vilna city
• Vilensky district
• Trokskoye
• Shumskoe
• Vilkomirskoe
• Kovno
• Vileika
• Glubokoe
• Volozhin
• Disney
• Druiskoe
• Lida
• Molodechenskoe
• Myadelskoye
• Novo-Aleksanrovskoye
• Shavelskoe
• Oshmyanskoe
• Radoshkovichskoe
• Svyantsanskoye
• Shchuchinskoe

Lithuanian Orthodox Diocese

Vilna diocese

The Vilna diocese of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Poland, headed by the archbishop of Vilna and Lida Theodosius (Feodosiev), was formed by the deaneries of the Vilna and Novogrudok voivodeships:

• vilenskoe
• Vilna-Trokskoe
• Braslav
• Vileika
• Disney
• Molodechenskoe
• Oshmyanskoe
• Postavy
• Volozhin
• Lida
• Stolpetskoe
• Shchuchenskoe

There were 173 parishes in total.

With the inclusion of Lithuania in the composition of the parishes of the Vilna region were reunited with the Lithuanian diocese. The residence of Metropolitan Eleutherius was moved to. At the same time, the Lithuanian diocese lost budget allocations, nationalized lands and buildings. In January, the archbishop, manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate Sergius (Voskresensky), was appointed Metropolitan of Lithuania and Vilna (with also an exarch and).

The Second World War

Since January, the representative of the Council for the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR began work. In March, the temporary administrator of the diocese, Archbishop Vasily (Ratmirov), reorganized the administration of the diocese. In July at the Holy Spirit monastery as an exception, the relics of the great martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius were returned. The Orthodox Theological Seminary, opened in October of the same year, was closed in August at the request of the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR. There were 60 registered churches in the diocese, of which 44 were parish, 14 were affiliated, and 2 prayer houses; 48 priests, 6 deacons and 15 psalmists served; in Vilnius, there were the male monastery of the Holy Spirit and the female Mariinsky monastery with their churches.

The statistics of Orthodox Lithuania are as follows: 50 parishes (2 monasteries), 43 priests and 10 deacons.

There are four deaneries on the territory of Lithuania, Vilna, Kaunas, Klaipeda and Visaginas.

In the Visaginas deanery district there is 12 parishes.

The center of the deanery, this is the city Visaginas, which is only 10 km. from the border of Latvia (152 km. from Vilnius) Until 1992, the city was called Snechkus. The city is inhabited by just over 21,000 people, over the past 10 years the number of Visaginas residents has decreased by as much as 25%. This is the most Russian city in Lithuania with 56% of the Russian population and only 16% Lithuanian. 40% of the Orthodox population lives in the city and 28% Catholic. Interesting fact that Visaginas is the city with the highest percentage of the Muslim population in Lithuania, 0.46%

Today there are two Orthodox churches in Visaginas. The first was built only in 1991 in honor of Nativity of John the Baptist

After Bishop Chrysostomos visited Visaginas in 1990, the first Orthodox community was registered in the village of nuclear scientists Snečkus. To meet the needs of local believers, priests began to come here from Vilnius from time to time, who performed services in the assembly hall of the local technical school and the people were baptized there. But there were believers who felt the need for constant spiritual fellowship and prayer. They gathered in private apartments, read the Psalter, Akathists, sang.

In the spring of 1991, a permanent pastor was sent to the community O. Joseph Zeteishvili, who today is the dean of the Visaginas district.

And then, in one of the residential micro-districts of the village under construction, the administration of the nuclear power plant allocated a room for a prayer house to the Orthodox community.

The first divine service, which took place on July 7, 1991 in the already finished church premises, coincided with the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. People involuntarily thought about the special participation in the spiritual life of their village of the holy Baptist of the Lord. And a year later, with the blessing of Bishop Chrysostom, the church officially received the name of the Prophet John.

On September 15, 2000, by decision of Metropolitan Chrysostom of Vilna and Lithuania, Rector of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was appointed Archpriest Georgy Salomatov. He began his pastoral ministry just in this church.

For a long time, the church had to pay taxes to the state for the rent of the premises and the land on which it is located. It seemed unlikely that the building of the temple would be transferred to the ownership of the Orthodox. But the situation has recently resolved miraculously. For a nominal fee, the parish received the rights to the church building.

In 1996, the second Orthodox church was built in Visaginas in honor of Introductions Holy Mother of God.

The rector of this temple is Father Dean Joseph Zateishvili. This year the father turned 70 and lived in Visaginas for 24 years (the father himself is from Tbilisi).
God works in mysterious ways. Being in Tbilisi in the autumn of 2014, I met his sister in the church, who gave me the book of Father Joseph, and then I did not know at all that the author of the book was the dean of the Visaginas district and served in a few kilometers. from my place of residence. I found out about this on the Internet only today while browsing church sites, I found out in the photo of the author of the book "Martyrdom of Shushanik, Evstati, Abo which I am just reading these days!!!.

The Visaginas deanery includes the city Utena.

The name of the city Utena comes from the name of the river Utenaite. Utena is one of the oldest Lithuanian cities. In 1261 you can find the first written mention of the city. In 1416 the first church was built here. In 1599, Utena received the privilege of trading. In 1655, she survived the invasion of Russian troops, and in 1812 she suffered from the troops of Napoleon. During the uprisings of 1831 and 1863, battles took place in the city's environs. In 1879, three-quarters of the city was destroyed by fire.

As a transport hub, the city developed primarily due to its favorable location. In the 19th century, the highway Kaunas - Daugavpils was laid here.

In 1918, Lithuania becomes an independent state, and at the same time, Utena begins to develop rapidly. In a few years, about 30 kilometers of streets were laid, 400 houses and 3 mills were built, and 34 shops appeared on the market.

In the city of Utena you can get acquainted with local attractions. The oldest surviving building in Utena is the post station, built in 1835 in the classical style. Once upon a time, Russian Tsar Nicholas I and his son Alexander visited or changed mail horses here, the famous French writer Honore de Balzac, Russian artist Ilya Repin.

Utena County is home to the oldest national park in Lithuania, the Aukštaitija National Park, rich in forests, lakes and ethnographic villages. The rivers Utenele, Viesha, Krashuona, Rase flow through the city, peace emanates from the lakes Vizhuonaitis and Dauniskis. There are 186 lakes in the Utena region. Klovinsky reservoir attracts numerous vacationers.

Beautiful nature, fresh air and local attractions - a great opportunity to relax and enjoy a wonderful holiday in the small picturesque town of Utena.

In this town there is also an Orthodox church in honor of the Ascension of Christ. The Orthodox community in the city of Utena was registered in November 1989 and began petitioning the state authorities for the return of the church house. Archpriest Iosif Zateishvili celebrated the first divine service in the prayer room in March 1995. The entire building was handed over to the community in 1997, which was renovated with the help of sponsors. There are 30 permanent parishioners in the parish.

Priest of the Temple Sergiy Kulakovsky .

Priest Sergius is also the rector of the temple in the city Zarasai.

An old town, mentioned since 1506. Over the years it has been calledNovoaleksandrovsk, Ezerosy, Eziorosy, Ezherenai, Ezhereny.

In 1836, the Russian Tsar Nicholas I visited here. He was fascinated by the local nature and the elegance of urban architecture. And for this reason, the king ordered to change the name of the city of Ezerosy to Novo-Aleksandrovsk in honor of the birth of his son Alexander (there is another opinion - in honor of the wife of Alexandra Fedorovna).

In 1919-1929 the city had the official name Ezherenai, from the Lithuanian - "ezeras", which means "lake" in translation. But in 1930, after long disputes, a new name was approved - Zarasai. But, despite this, in the Lithuanian literature of the 1930s, along with the new official name, the former one could be found.

The city of Zarasai is interesting for its unique layout, reminiscent of the rising sun. Five streets-beams converge in the very heart of the city - on Selu Square, which is one of the Zarasai sights. This square was known as the city center as early as the beginning of the 17th century. It acquired its present form in the 19th century. It was designed by Russian architects at a time when Lithuania was part of Russian Empire.

Less than 7,000 people live in the city. It is located between seven lakes (Zarasas, Zarasaitis and others), on the Kaunas-Daugavpils highway, 143 km northeast of Vilnius and 180 km from Kaunas.

Few people know that it was in this Lithuanian city that one of the leaders of the White Russian movement, Lieutenant General Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel .

In 1885, the city was built Orthodox Church in honor of All Saints.
In Zarasai, the lake capital of Lithuania, local authorities decided in 1936 to relocate the Orthodox Church of All Saints from the city center at state expense. The city of Zarasai, together with the city of Siauliai, where the temple was also destroyed and moved, added glory to the persecutors of Christ. In 1941, the church burned down and the city, not spoiled by architecturally significant buildings, forever lost God's house.

In 1947, the chapel at the Orthodox cemetery was registered as a parish church.

City Rokiskis. Founded in 1499. More than 15,000 people live.Located on the border with Latvia, 158 km from Vilnius, 165 km from Kaunas and 63 km from Utena. Railway station on the line Panevezys - Daugavpils. Birthplace of the first post-Soviet president, Algerdas Brazauskis.

In 1939, the Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky was built here.

Initially, a small wooden temple in the town of Rokiskis was built in 1895 at public expense. But a permanent parish at the temple was formed only in 1903. During the First World War, the Germans equipped a hospital in the temple. In 1921, divine services were held from April to May, but then the Ministry of Internal Affairs handed over the church to the Catholics. Catholic Bishop P. Karevičius and Priest M. Jankauskas have been working on this since 1919. The Orthodox Church was reconstructed into the Church of St. Augustine for schoolchildren.

The Diocesan Council asked to return the temple and its property. Since 1933, the priest Grigory Vysotsky performed divine services at his home. In May 1939, a small new church, occupying part of the priest's house, was consecrated in the name of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky (the parish received compensation for the old church). According to the Diocesan Council in 1937, there were 264 permanent parishioners.

In 1946 there were 90 parishioners. The Alexander Nevsky parish was officially registered by the Soviet authorities in 1947. In the church of St. Augustine, a gym was equipped by the authorities, and in 1957 the church building was demolished.

Currently, the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church is the priest Sergiy Kulakovsky.

Panevezys. Founded in 1503. 98.000 inhabitants.

The city is located on both banks of the Nevezis River (a tributary of the Neman), 135 km northwest of Vilnius, 109 km from Kaunas and 240 km from Klaipeda. Total area approx. 50 km².

The city intersects the most important highways of Lithuania and the international highway "Via Baltica", connecting Vilnius with Riga. Railway lines connect with Daugavpils and Siauliai. There are two local airfields.

In the Soviet years, the main enterprises of Panevezys were numerous factories: cable, kinescope, electrical, auto-compressor, metal products, glass, compound feed, sugar. Combines also operated: dairy, meat, alcohol and flax processing and clothing and furniture factories. Now the city is still the main manufacturing center.In Panevezys there is an Orthodox Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

A small wooden church in honor of the Resurrection of the Lord in the town of Panevezys was erected in 1892.

According to the Diocesan Council, in 1937 there were 621 permanent parishioners in the Resurrection Church.

In 1925-1944, Fr. Gerasim Shorets, through whose efforts the Panevezys parish became an important center of church and public life. From March to November, the Surdega Icon of the Mother of God was placed in the Resurrection Church. A charitable society operated at the temple, which maintained an orphanage. Apologetic leaflets were issued, etc.

In 1945 there were about 400 parishioners. IN Soviet times The Resurrection Parish was officially registered in 1947.

Until 1941, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Surdega was kept in this temple, which is now in the Kaunas Cathedral.

Currently, the pastor of the temple is a priest Alexy Smirnov.

City Anyksciai. Founded in 1792. 11.000 inhabitants.

The name of Anykščiai is associated with Lake Rubikiai, which covers an area of ​​1000 hectares and includes 16 islands. The river Anykshta originates from this lake. The legend says that people who looked down from the mountain and admired the beauty of Lake Rubikiai compared it to a palm, and the Anykstu River to a thumb (kaipnykštys). According to another legend, it is known that a long time ago a girl was doing laundry by the lake and, having pricked her finger strongly with a roller, began to shout: “Ai, nykštį! Ai, nykštį!” which means “Ai, thumb! Hey, thumb! And the writer Antanas Venuolis told about Ona Nikshten, who drowned in the river after learning about the death of her beloved husband. That is why the river flowing out of the lake eventually became known as Anyksta, and the town that grew up nearby - Anyksciai.

Some writers and scholars tried to find the first capital of Lithuania, Voruta, near Anyksciai. It is here, not far from the village of Šeimiņiškėliai, that a mound rises, which, perhaps, is the capital of Mindaugas. Here he was crowned, and this place is supposed to be the location of the vanished castle of Voruta. According to archaeologists, the ancient settlement, its excavations and construction date back to the 10th-14th centuries. According to legend, huge cellars with treasures were located under the castle, and the nearby rocky place is the cursed enemies of the defenders of the Voruta castle, frozen forever in the rocks. Now the mound is being investigated by Lithuanian scientists. In 2000, a bridge was built across Varelis, and in 2004, an observation tower appeared near the mound

There are 76 lakes around the city!!!
.

The first wooden church in Anyksciai was built in 1867. In 1873, a new stone church in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky was erected not far from it, which was built with donations and equipped with state funds.

During the First World War, the temple was looted. In 1922, the district administration asked the Department of Religions to transfer the buildings belonging to the parish to the school. But this request was not fully granted. Only 56 hectares of land were taken away and the church house, in which a school class is equipped, the teachers settled.

According to the Diocesan Council in 1937, there were 386 people in the parish. In 1946 - about 450 people.

The parish was officially registered by the Soviet authorities in 1947.

Currently, the rector of the temple is the priest Alexy Smirnov.

In Lithuania, once there were many churches built in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky, the heavenly intercessor of the Orthodox in our region, there are five left. The temple in the city of Anyksciai, the apple capital of Lithuania, is stone, spacious, well-preserved, inspected and well-groomed. Walk to the church along Bilyuno street, from the bus station through the whole city, on the left side, it opens unexpectedly. Bells hang over the entrance, a well was dug nearby, and the fence of the church is now hundred-year-old oaks planted with hedges around.

Another city of the Visaginas deanery, Švenčionis. The first mention is 1486. 5.500 inhabitants.

a city in eastern Lithuania, 84 km northeast of Vilnius.

In 1812, with the approach of Napoleon, Emperor Alexander and the military leaders accompanying him left Vilna and stopped in Sventsyany. At the end of the same year, when retreating from Russia, Napoleon and his army stopped in Sventsyany. The city is mentioned in Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace".

Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity built in the town was at the end of the nineteenth century. This is a very beautiful temple. White-blue walls, many domes, Orthodox crosses. Unfortunately, today the Holy Trinity Church in Švenčionys looks very modest, plaster has fallen off the outer walls in some places, the yard is clean, but without any special decorations. By all appearances, it is clear that there are either much fewer Orthodox in the city than Catholics, or that this is the poorest part of the population.

temple priest, Archpriest Dmitry Shlyakhtenko.

There are also five rural churches in the Visaginas deanery. 4 of them are served by Father Aleksey Smirnov from Panevezys.

Place Raguva. Temple in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin.

A small stone temple in the town of Raguva was erected in 1875 at the expense of state funds.

In 1914 there were 243 regular parishioners. After the First World War, the church farm in Velzhis was confiscated, the land was given to the school, the dairy factory and the local administration, and teachers settled in the church house. The temple was assigned to Panevezys.

According to the Diocesan Council in 1927, there were 85 Orthodox in the vicinity.

The temple was officially registered by the Soviet authorities in 1959. Then the number of parishioners was only 25-35 people. The priest came from Panevezys once a month. In 1963, local authorities proposed to close the parish. The temple was not closed, but services were held irregularly, sometimes once every few years.

Place Gegobrosty. Church of St. Nicholas.

The temple in the name of St. Nicholas in the town of Gegobrosta was built in 1889 for Russian colonists, who were given about 563 hectares of land back in 1861 (the settlement was named Nikolskoye).

According to the Diocesan Council in 1937, there were 885 permanent parishioners, the parish had a rector. In 1945 there were about 200 parishioners. The parish was officially registered by the Soviet authorities in 1947. In 1945-1958, the rector was Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov later, the future elder became famous on the island of Zalus, later the priest came from Rokiskis and Panevezys.

Place Lebeneshki. Nikandrovsky temple.

Orthodox church. Built on behalf of the Vilna lord Archbishop Nikandr (Molchanov). Construction work began in 1909. At the request of local residents, the church was consecrated in the name of the Hieromartyr Nikandr, Bishop of Mir. It was consecrated on October 18, 1909 by Archpriest Pavel Levikov of Vilkomir (Ukmyargsky), with a large presence of peasants from the surrounding villages and in the presence of members of the Panevezys department of the Union of the Russian People.

The wooden temple in the town of Lebenishki was erected in 1909 at the expense of the merchant Ivan Markov, who donated 5,000 rubles for the construction. Then about 50 Russian families lived in Lebenishki, who allocated about two acres of land for the temple. Timber was given by the tsarist authorities.

In 1924, a priest from Gegobrasta served 150 Orthodox. In 1945 there were about 180 regular parishioners.

The parish was officially registered by the Soviet authorities in 1947. Prior to his death in 1954, priest Nikolai Krukovsky was the rector. After that, the priest once a month came from Rokiskis.

Liturgies in St. Nikandrovskaya Church are performed only once a year - on the patronal feast day. There is only one expense item of the temple - the payment for electricity.

Place Inturki. Intercession Church.

The stone church in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God in the town of Inturki was built in 1868 at the expense of the tsarist government (10,000 rubles), allocated by it after the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1863.

According to the Diocesan Council in 1937 there were 613 permanent parishioners. Confessor Father Pyotr Sokolov served in the Intercession Church in 1934-1949, serving a term in the NKVD camps from 1949 to 1956.

In 1946 there were 285 parishioners. The temple was registered by the Soviet authorities in 1947.

Place Uzhpalyai. Nicholas Church.

A sick place.

A spacious stone church in the town of Užpaliai was erected for Russian colonists who were resettled to the places of exiled participants in the 1863 uprising. Governor-General M. N. Muraviev allocated funds for the construction of the temple from the indemnity fund of the exiles.

During the First World War, worship services were interrupted, the church building was not damaged. In 1920 services in St. Nicholas Church resumed. At first, the Užpaliai community was assigned to the Utena parish. From 1934 he served as a permanent rector.

According to the Diocesan Council in 1937, there were 475 permanent parishioners. In 1944, the building was damaged due to hostilities.

In 1945 there were about 200 parishioners. In Soviet times, the temple was officially registered in 1947. But already in the summer of 1948, by the decision of the Utena Executive Committee, the parish was closed, grain was stored in the temple building. But due to the protests of believers and the Commissioner, the Council of Ministers did not sanction this closure. In December, St. Nicholas Church was returned to believers.

Newly appointed pastor to a Lithuanian rural parish Hieromonk David (Grushev) originally from the Ryazan province, he led the struggle of the church community for the temple.
December 22, 1948 The Nikolskaya Church was returned to the community, and the parishioners, under the leadership of Hieromonk David, put the temple in order - after using the church as a granary, glaring traces remained: all the glass in the frames was broken, the choirs were scattered, the grain stored on the floor was mixed with glass. According to the recollections of one of the parishioners, then a teenage girl, she, along with other children, had to clean the floor from multi-layer mold and scrape it down to abrasions on her fingers.
It was a difficult time in Lithuania at that time: firefights broke out in the forests every now and then, at the request of their relatives, the priest had to bury the murdered Orthodox every day.
The "Forest Brothers" took food from people, Soviet agitators registered farmers in collective farms. When the villagers asked Father David whether they should give up their usual farm life in favor of the collective farm, he told people honestly that he knew about collectivization in his homeland in the Ryazan region.

Hieromonk David was arrested in 1949 and died in the NKVD camp in 1950.

From the testimony of "witnesses":
"When I urged Father David to agitate the farmers to join the collective farm, he objected:" Do you want people in Lithuania to starve and go with baggies, like collective farmers in Russia, who swell from hunger?
“On April 15, 1949, in the morning, I approached priest Grushin at the church and asked him not to perform religious rites [funeral services] for junior police lieutenant Petr Orlov, who was killed by bandits. The priest flatly refused to obey, referring to the request of the father of the murdered Orlov to bury him in a church way.
I began to explain to him that we would bury the dead police officers with military honors. To this Grushin replied: "Do you want to bury him without a funeral, like a dog?"....

Vladimir Koltsov-Navrotsky
ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN LITHUANIA
Pilgrim's notes, on travel cards

In Lithuania, there were once many churches built in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky, the heavenly protector of the Orthodox in our region. There are five left, and one of them is in the city of Anyksciai, the apple capital of Lithuania - a stone, spacious, well-preserved, inspected and well-groomed temple, built in 1873. Walk to the church from the bus station through the whole city, on the left side, along Bilyuno street house, 59. It opens unexpectedly. Bells hang over the entrance, a well is dug nearby, and the fence is now hundred-year-old oaks planted with hedges around.
The temple in the city of Kybartai, at 19 Basanavicius Street, became a Catholic church in 1919, but the parishioners did not reconcile themselves and complained to various ministries, the Seimas and the President of the Republic. The rarest case - achieved. The Cabinet of Ministers in 1928 decided to return the church of St. Alexander Nevsky to the Orthodox. In Soviet times, on the railway line Kaliningrad-Moscow, sometimes full buses of grannies from the neighboring Kaliningrad region drove up to this church under the guise of excursions, and while the parents of the kids were building a bright future for communism, they baptized their grandchildren here, reasonably believing that this is a neighboring the republic and the information then “will not go where it should.” The handsome temple, built in 1870, the only one in its architecture in the region, has become a ship of salvation for many Russians and Russians in Lithuania. Now it is a border town and the church has lost a significant part of its parishioners.
The city is also famous for the fact that the famous Russian landscape painter of the late 19th century Isaac Levitan (1860-1900) was born and spent his childhood in Kybarty, later a member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions and Exhibitions World of Art, academician Russian Academy arts.
In the region's cheese-making capital, the city of Rokiskis, in 1921 the government of bourgeois Lithuania transferred the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin to the Catholic Church, but in 1957 the government of Soviet Lithuania decided to demolish that temple. In 1939, with funds allocated by the bourgeois government, as compensation for the old church, the parishioners built a church of St. Alexander Nevsky. Under its roof, 84-year-old Varvara lived her whole life as a guardian. Under the priests, Fr. Gregory, Fr. Fedora, oh Foreword, oh. Anatolia, about. Oleg. The current rector is Priest Sergiy Kulakovsky.
Do fellow countrymen remember that this is the birthplace of Lieutenant General of Aviation of the USSR Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich (1902-1941), the legendary pilot, the third in the USSR awarded the second Gold Star medal.
Stone, very beautiful church of St. Alexander Nevsky, built in 1866, stands on the shore of the lake in the village of Uzhusaliai, Jonava region. From 1921 to 1935, the rector here was the priest Stepan Semenov, a native of this village. Subsequently, an Orthodox priest - a military chaplain of the Lithuanian army of the interwar period, repressed in 1941 (3). During the Second World War, as the headman Irina Nikolaevna Zhigunova said, Liturgies were performed in a full church and two choirs sang. The children's choir of the left kliros was offended that they got less vocal parts. Today, the Kaunas parish has organized a summer camp for children at the church.
Then grown up and become friends guys from all over Lithuania come to their church for festive Liturgies.
In the resort town of Druskininkai, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" has been standing since 1865. This is a wooden, high, five-domed temple, painted in white and blue tones and located in the center of the square on the street. Vasario 16, surrounded by a few traffic flows. Probably the only Orthodox church in the outback of Lithuania, which has electric evening lighting on the walls, which makes it even more unique and fabulous. It was once an “all-Union parish,” as rector Nikolai Kreidich joked, because for a long time, it was the church of Siberians and northerners who did not have the opportunity to visit churches in their homeland and from year to year specially came to vacation at the resort to their father O. Nikolai, who was imprisoned, only for being a priest, in their harsh lands in camps for many years.
Church of St. George the Victorious in the village of Geisishkes, the former village of Yuryev, not very far from Vilnius in the direction of the city of Kernavė, the ancient capital of Lithuania, was built in 1865 by peasants, whose descendants gather for holidays in peace to this day. The village no longer exists, the leadership of the neighboring collective farm of a millionaire in the 60s of the twentieth century reduced it to nothing, and the collective farmers were relocated to the central estate, leaving only the church in the open field. And the last rector, Father Alexander Adomaitis, also lived, the only one in the whole district, with a life like the first settlers, without using the “electrification of the whole country”. With the independence of Lithuania, the collective farm no longer exists, and the church parish, thanks to the not yet very old priest, did not disperse, but survived and is coming from all over the country and neighboring states. There is a red-brick temple in the field, renovated, but where everything has been preserved as of old, only the cross has been slightly tilted over the years.
The village of Geghabrastay, Pasvalsky district, with the church of St. Nicholas, 1889. A wooden temple, away from the main roads, well-groomed and looked after. From a conversation with 84-year-old mother Varvara from Rokiskis, I learned about the pre-war life of the Orthodox community in this region, about how local pilgrims went 80 miles away to the temple feast in Geghabrasti, where, together with Catholic parishioners, from the nearby Pasvaly church, they cleaned the church and decorated her wildflowers. The local Orthodox priest and the Catholic priest were on friendly terms.
From 1943 to 1954 The rector of this temple was Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov (1909-2002), the Zalitsky elder, one of the modern pillars of the Russian eldership, warmly revered by the simple Orthodox, and by Patriarch Alexy II. "Clearly seeing the past, present and future life of his children, their inner disposition." In Lithuania in 1952 he was awarded the right to wear a golden pectoral cross. (19) Now in the summer in these picturesque surroundings there is a summer camp for children of Sunday parish schools and pilgrims from different cities of Lithuania, from Panevezys, under the guidance of a young priest Sergius Rumyantsev, laid the foundation for a good tradition - to perform with Tikhvin icon Mother of God, the heavenly intercessor of our region, a one-day pilgrimage procession on foot. This path is shorter, about 42 kilometers along country roads, and in the evening, having reached and cleaned and decorated the temple, the children also have time to sing around the fire.
Inturke, Moletai region, stone church of the Intercession of the Virgin, 1868, one of the few in Lithuania, adjacent to a wooden Catholic church. In the village of Pokrovka, sometime after the hostilities within the Northwestern Territory of 1863, about 500 Russian families lived, the memory of the village remained in the name of the temple. Elder Elizabeth, who has been living near the church for over 70 years and remembers many pastors - Fr. Nikodim Mironov, Fr. Alexei Sokolov, Fr. Petra Sokolova, imprisoned in 1949 by the NKVD, told how “parishioners from all over Lithuania came to Epiphany, to bathe in the procession, led by Father Fr. Nikon Voroshilov in the hole - "Jordan". Nurturing a small flock... a young priest Alexei Sokolov.
The Lithuanian prince Janusz Radzivil ordered the construction of an Orthodox church in Kedainiai back in 1643 for his wife, who professed Orthodoxy Maria Mogilyanka, “niece of Metropolitan Peter Mohyla”.
In 1861, a plan was implemented to rebuild the stone house of Count Emeric Hutten-Czapsky (1861-1904), on whose coat of arms it was inscribed: “Life for the Fatherland, honor for no one”, into a parish Orthodox church, consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. After the fire of 1893, Archpriest John of Kronstadt (1829-1908) donated 1,700 rubles for the restoration of the temple. and beyond that, oh. John ordered 4 bells from the Gatchina factory for the Kėdainiai church, which even today announce the beginning of divine services. The parishioners are proud that from 1896 to 1901 the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Church was Marshal of the Nobility of Kovno, Chamberlain of the Court of Their Imperial Majesties, Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of the Interior of Russia Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (1862-1911). The 22-year-old priest Anthony Nikolayevich Likhachevsky (1843-1928) came to this temple in 1865 and served there for 63 years, until his death in 1928, at the age of 85 (8). From 1989 to the present, the rector of the parish, Archpriest Nikolai Murashov, spoke in detail about the history of the temple.
An honorary citizen of Kedainiai was a native of these places, Czesaw Miosz (1911-2004) - a Polish poet, translator, essayist, professor of the Department of Slavic Languages ​​and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, the only native of Lithuania who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature ( 1980) .
It is difficult to find the village of Kaunatava, which is not marked on every map, but wandering around the farms is more than compensated by joy - the Church of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" of 1894, is another preserved Orthodox house of God in the outback of Lithuania, though near which cows graze in summer. The wooden temple, looked after, stands in a field surrounded by several trees. Recently Replaced Entrance door and installed an alarm. “The priest comes and arranges a religious procession with flags around...“, a local girl told in Lithuanian about our church.
The only Orthodox church, the construction of which was completed by local Russians in the outback of Lithuania during the Second World War in 1942, is the village of Kolainiai, Kelmes region. For the work on the construction of the temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, during this difficult time, Priest Mikhail But was awarded the Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuanian Exarch of Latvia and Estonia Sergius (Voskresensky) (1897-1944), a gold pectoral cross. A modest, wooden Orthodox church - as a praise to the people who built it with their last means in hard times in the village, once called Khvaloini (11). You can’t find Kolainiai on every map either, the church is located away from the main roads, there are almost no Orthodox residents left in the town, but it was inspected and well-groomed through the efforts of the rector hieromonk Nestor (Schmidt) and several old women.
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In the town of Kruonis, “as the ancient Romans called the Neman”, in the possession of the Oginsky princes, an Orthodox monastery with the Church of St. Trinity has existed since 1628. In the hard times of 1919, the community lost the beautiful stone church of the Holy Trinity. In 1926, the state financially helped in the construction of a modest Orthodox wooden church, allocating wood for this purpose. The new Church of the Intercession of the Virgin was consecrated in 1927. From 1924 to 1961, the long-term rector of the parish, Archpriest Alexei Grabovsky (3). A pre-revolutionary bell was preserved in the temple, reminiscent in Old Slavonic that “this bell was cast for the church in the city of Kruona.” And only by calling the rector, Father Ilya, did he understand that the woman was talking about an Orthodox priest. And I was worried about his health for good reason. I really hoped that the priest would soon recover and tell more about the modern life of this parish, but Father Ilya Ursul died.
In the port city of Klaipeda, the sea gate of the country, there is a church in honor of all Russian saints, a little unusual in architecture, because it is the only Orthodox church in Lithuania, rebuilt from an empty evangelical German church in 1947. And since I had to see the church turned into a warehouse, the fate of this temple is more than prosperous. The parish is numerous and the Liturgy was served by three priests. There were a lot of people, but there were also many people begging for alms on the porch. Go to the church from the railway station, past the bus station and a little to the left, through the park with many decorative sculptures.
Soon the pride of Klaipeda residents and all the Orthodox of Lithuania will be the Pokrov-Nikolsky temple complex under construction, designed by the Penza architect Dmitry Borunov, on Smilteles Street, a new microdistrict. For those who want to help build the temple bank details - in litas, Klaipedos Dievo Motinos globejos ir sv. Mikalojaus parapija - 1415752 UKIO BANKAS Klaipedos filialas, Banko kodas 70108, A/S: LT197010800000700498 . Travel from the railway station by bus route 8, through the whole city, the temple is visible from the right window. In another microdistrict of the city of fishermen, an Orthodox school-temple in honor of St. Faith, Hope, Love and Sofia, very beautiful from the inside. All icons were painted by Father Fr. Vladimir Artomonov and mother, real contemporary church associates. A few steps along an ordinary school corridor and you find yourself in a magnificently arranged Temple - the kingdom of God on earth. One can only lightly envy the students of this school that they are growing up in the shadow of the church.
In the summer capital of Lithuania - Palanga, a beautiful church in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God was built in 2002, at the expense of Alexander Pavlovich Popov, who was awarded the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II degree by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II for temple construction. This is the pride of the whole post-war generation - the first church built in the last 60 years and the first church built in Lithuania of the new millennium. In any weather, at the entrance to the city, the spirit is captured by the brilliance of its golden domes. Erected in modern forms, but with the preservation of old architectural traditions, it has become an adornment of the resort city. The interior of the temple is thought out and executed to the smallest detail - a work of art. This is another temple of the Penza architect Dmitry Borunov, rector hegumen Alexy (Babich).
Not far from Palanga, in the small town of Kretinga, there are German, Prussian, Lithuanian and Russian cemetery. An elegant chapel in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, made of heavy hewn granite boulders and with a blue dome soaring lightly into the sky, was built on an Orthodox necropolis in 1905. In 2003, the restoration of the temple was completed, in which funerals are performed and Divine Liturgy. Near the town hall square, once there was a large stone five-domed church of St. Vladimir, illuminated in 1876 and destroyed in peaceful 1925. From this square, where fixed-route taxis from Palanga stop, go to the chapel along Vytauto or Kestuce street to the end and century-old oaks will indicate the location.
In honor of which saint the rural church of the village of Lebenishkes, Birzhaysky district, was consecrated in 1909, predetermined that the ruling archpastor of the Vilna diocese from 1904 to 1910 was Archbishop Nikadr (Molchanov) (1852-1910). Amazingly beautiful, harmoniously designed, well-preserved wooden church of St. Nikandra, with stands in a field in rye and is visible from afar. Next to the church is the grave of St. Archpriest Nikolai Vladimirovich Krukovsky (1874-1954) of the Nikandrovskaya Church. Behind the fence is a house, through the window of which you can still see the simple atmosphere of the life of a rural priest in the Lithuanian hinterland.
In Marijampole, how to get to the chapel in honor of the Holy Trinity in the old Orthodox cemetery, it is better to ask the elderly women, "" where Lenin's son is buried "". So in this city they call the grave of the son of a revolutionary, Colonel of the Soviet Army Andrei Armand (1903-1944), who died here. His grave is a little to the west of the well-preserved church of 1907, made of red brick. In the city, in 1901, another church was consecrated, the 3rd Elisavetgrad Hussar Regiment in honor of the Holy Trinity with an inscription on the pediment: "In memory of Tsar Peacemaker Alexander III" ... (4)
In the city of Lithuanian oil workers Mazeikiai, a temple on the street. Respublikos d. 50, Assumption of the Virgin, is very difficult to find. It is necessary to ask for help from the drivers of local fixed-route taxis. Since 1919, the Mazeikiai Church of the Holy Spirit ceased to function, and since it later turned into a church, the Orthodox, having received material assistance from the state, in 1933 built this small wooden church on the outskirts. Painted in sky blue with stars on the domes, it has become unique.
The building of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in the town of Merkin on the street. Daryaus ir Gireno, stone, built in 1888, well preserved, belongs to the local museum of local lore. The town is almost from one street away from the Vilnius-Druskininkai highway, but the church on the central square is visible from afar and thanks to its workers who did not rebuild the Temple.
Once there was a club building nearby, but it was blown up together with the audience by those who, after the Second World War, resisted with weapons in their hands, the establishment of a new government. The lopsided cross on the bell tower, as a reminder of that time.
In the estate of Merech-Mikhnovskoe - vil. Miknishkes, the land of their estate, now fenced off by centuries-old trees with several dozen nests and a hundred storks, was given by the Koretsky nobles in 1920 to the Orthodox community. The inspirer and confessor of this unique community was the priest Fr. Pontius Rupyshev (1877-1939). So they still live there in a common economy for cultivating the land, with prayers to the glory of God and according to the commandment ""from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs"". The community gave five priests to the diocese: Konstantin Avdey, Leonid Gaidukevich, Georgy Gaidukevich, John Kovalev and Veniamin Savshchits. In 1940, next to the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow", built in 1915, the community erected a second chapel in honor of St. John of Kronstadt, stone and unusual in shape. It contains the tomb of Fr. Pontius Rupyshev, former flagship priest of the mine division of the Baltic Imperial Fleet, founder and confessor of the “Pontiev parish”. Then the confessor of this Orthodox community for 50 years was its pupil, the priest Konstantin Avdey - a farmer, beekeeper and breeder. It is necessary to go from Vilnius to Turgelai, and there everyone will show where the only place has been preserved, wishing to live in peace in Christ. And the Temple, which they walk around taking off their shoes, in socks. And where you want to return again and again.
In the vicinity of Panevezys, in the monastery of the town of Surdegis, once there was one of the most famous Orthodox shrines in the western region, the miraculous Surdegi Icon of the Mother of God, revealed in 1530. Until the Second World War, the icon was kept in this church for half a year, then it was transferred by procession to the Kaunas Cathedral. Walk to the temple from the bus station - to the left, in the direction of the Church of the Holy Trinity, towering 200 meters away, until 1919 built in 1849 as an Orthodox church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. From it, across the square, among the trees, you can see the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in 1892 - a wooden, well-groomed church, painted in white and blue tones and located in an Orthodox cemetery in the old part of the city. Soviet soldiers are buried here. The parish priest Fr. Alexey Smirnov.
City of Raseiniai, st. Vytauto Didgioio (Vytautas the Great) 10. Holy Trinity Church, 1870. Stone, surrounded on three sides by a park, the porch adjoins the pavement of the street. After the revolution, Fr. Simion Grigoryevich Onufrienko, a native of peasants, before being appointed to the post of priest, worked at a school and in 1910 was awarded a silver medal for his work in public education. In 1932, he was awarded a pectoral cross (8) by Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania Eleutherius (1869-1940). At the end of the 90s of the last century, the external repair of the church was carried out: the walls were whitewashed, the roof and domes were renewed. Fr. Nikolay Murashov.
On the Vilnius-Panevėžys highway, five signs remind you of the road to Raguva. And even with off-road, it is worth coming to this beautiful, stone, compact church of the Nativity of the Virgin, illuminated in 1875, one of the main attractions of the town from “one street”. Several parishioners look after it with love, and on holidays the Divine Liturgy is celebrated here. It is a little strange that in a thick folio on 1128 pages, an extensive monograph “Raguva”, published in 2001 under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania, and which contains articles by 68 authors on all topics, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is given only one page, with a small picture. (26)
In the village of Rudamina, a church in the name of St. Nicholas, 1874, located in the Orthodox cemetery. The temple is wooden, cozy and well-groomed. Several times, in different years, passing by, I always saw him freshly painted. Sadly, once on a weekday, an elderly couple met, caring for a grave with an Orthodox cross, a few meters from the church. When asked about the name of the temple, the woman spread her hands helplessly: “I don’t know,” and only the man, thinking, corrected her, “Nikolskaya.” During the Second World War, during the occupation of the region by the Germans, unknown people set fire to the stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord built in 1876 in the village. And this temple, like a mute reproach to everyone, is slowly turning into ruins, and the “holy fathers” said that a guardian angel stands over every church throne and will stand like that until the Second Coming, even if the temple is desecrated or destroyed. ”(13).
A small rural town in the Trakai region, Semeliškės, one street long, but having two churches: a wooden Catholic St. Laurynas and Orthodox stone in honor of St. Nicholas 1895. The buildings are not far away, but they do not dominate and are not inferior to each other in beauty. A rare case, some time before the Second World War, the rector of this church was the Russian Lieutenant General Gandurin Ivan Konstantinovich (1866-1942), who was awarded the St. George Cross in 1904. After the defeat of the White armies, he went into exile and took the dignity. During the Second World War, he joined the Russian liberation movement and in 1942 was the chief priest of the Russian Security Corps (5).
City Shvenchenys, st. Strunaycho, d. 1. Church of the Holy Trinity 1898. The rector of this beautiful stone church in the Byzantine style for a long time was Fr. Alexander Danilushkin (1895-1988), arrested in 1937 in the USSR by the Soviet NKVD, and in 1943 by the Germans. He is one “of three captive priests who served during the war the first Divine Liturgy in the Alytus concentration camp and Soviet prisoners of war ... On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, crowds of crying people gathered for the liturgy from the camp barracks - it was an unforgettable service” (9). A month later, o. Alexander was released and appointed rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, where he served for another thirty-five years.
The local authorities of the city of Siauliai, during the interwar period, decided to transfer the stone Orthodox church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul from the center of this city to the outskirts, to the cemetery. The temple was destroyed brick by brick and moved, reducing it in size and not restoring the bell tower. On the outer western side, on one of the granite foundation stones, the dates of the consecration of the temple are engraved - 1864 and 1936. The city has not lost an important urban accent, because the church is very beautiful from an architectural point of view. To reach it from the bus station, along Tilsitu Street, on the right in the distance you can see the former church of St. Nicholas, since 1919 the church of St. Jurgis. In a few minutes, the bell tower of the Catholic Church of St. apostles Peter and Paul, and a little further on Rigos street 2a, and an Orthodox church. God's houses of the same name are adjacent, but on tourist maps city ​​... only one is marked. In the old city Orthodox cemetery, there is also a wooden chapel, forgotten, desecrated and set on fire several times, in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow for Joy of 1878, in which only a high porch and walls of an altar protruding in a semicircle remind of house of God. A little further away - a memorial granite cross with an inscription with pre-revolutionary spelling - "Here lie the bodies of those killed in cases with the Polish rebels." In the battles near Siauliai, in 1944, the machine gunner Danute Stanielene, for the heroism shown in repelling attacks, was awarded the Order of Glory of the 1st degree and became one of the four women full cavalier of the Order of Glory.
Shalchininkai people, thanks to the rector Fr. Theodora Kishkun, erected in their town on Yubilejaus street 1, a stone church, in the name of St. Tikhon. The governments of Lithuania and Belarus helped financially. In 2003, the Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov did not receive registered letters with acknowledgment of receipt, where there was a request to provide all possible assistance to the Russian government in the construction of the temple ... The Orthodox community is not numerous, but close-knit. There are many energetic youth and these happy people are already praying under the canopy of a church built with their own hands.
In the city of Silute, the Church of the Archangel Michael, at 16 Liepu Street, is easier to find when asking where the Russian school is. It is located in a small room of a typical school, built in Soviet times. Outside, nothing reminds you that this is the house of God, and only when you cross the threshold you understand that it is in the Temple.
One of the most beautiful small stone churches in Lithuania, erected as a tribute to the memory of those who suffered for the Orthodox faith in 1347, Anthony, John and Efstafi. Holy Vilna Martyrs, located in the city of Taurage on the street. Sandel. In the modern church there is an icon donated by parishioners to Archpriest Konstantin Bankovsky “for half a century of service to the Taurogen church”, from a temple destroyed in 1925. Reconstructed by the diligence and labor of parishioners from Russia and local residents, under the leadership of Fr. Veniamin (Savchits) at the end of the 90s, this house of God on the day of consecration after the completion of construction, was fired from a sniper rifle by an unhealthy atheist ...
In the village of Tituvenai, Kelmes district, st. Shiluvos d. 1a. Temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, 1875 - small, stone in the center of the main street, in the square. Nearby is a beautiful Bernardine Catholic monastery of the 15th century. Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is a statue of Christ. A small town, but Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, mentioned it in his book “So we went to Victory”, in the operation to liberate Lithuania from the Germans.
Before the revolution, according to the census, both Lithuanians and Samogitians lived in our region. In the capital of Samogitia, Telshai, the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, built in modern architectural forms in 1938 on the street. Zalgirio d. 8. Square, stone, stands on a hill in the old part of the city near the bus station. The whiteness of the walls and the gold of the cross in early spring can be seen from all sides from afar. Rector Hieromonk Nestor (Schmidt)
In the ancient capital of Trakai, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin of 1863 is stone, in light brown tones, on the main street. Prayed, baptisms, weddings and funerals were always performed in it. There are photographs of the community at the church of the pre-revolutionary era. In the troubled year of 1920, Fr. Pontius Rupyshev, confessor of the famous Merech-Mikhnovskaya Orthodox community. Near the fence in 1945, the priest Mikhail Mironovich Starikevich was buried, who died saving drowning children. At present, the rector of the parish is Archpriest Alexander Shmailov. At the Divine Liturgy, his sons help him at the altar, and his mother and daughter sing at the kliros. Recently, some impoverished parishioners, former collective farmers from the surrounding villages, after vigils return home on foot.
After entering the city of Ukmergė, behind the bridge, across the river Šventoi, which is translated from Lithuanian as Holy, to drive to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, you must turn right. Passing the Old Believer Church, the road will lead to the Orthodox cemetery. On it stands a wooden, unpretentious, but cozy little church, built in 1868. At the entrance to the cemetery small house priest o. Vasily. On my first visit, there was a bell ringing from a small bell tower, inviting to the temple for service, the bell of the Old Believers echoed in time with it. The Divine Liturgy began, as it happened, for the first time for me alone, later three more parishioners came up. A year later, for the second time, I visited the priest, the long-term rector of a small, poor parish. For the third time I have already come to bow to his grave, covered with snow, near the orphaned temple. The path from the house where Archpriest Vasily Kalashnik lived to the church was cleared...
If you leave Vilnius on the first shuttle bus to the city of Utena, you can catch a local minibus to the village of Uzhpaliai. To the church of St. Nicholas, 1872, go to the left of the majestic Church of the Holy Trinity standing in front of the stop. The temple is stone, a little dilapidated, located in the park. I happened to see this church at once on twenty easels of students from the studio of the school located next door. The most important holiday of the town of Uzhpaliai is atlaidai - a rite of absolution for the Holy Trinity. Then a lot of sick people and just pilgrims come here, who pray and wash themselves with water from a spring (20). Near this church, in August 1997, strange events took place, a gathering of Rodnovers - neo-pagans of Europe, “referring in their activities to pre-Christian beliefs and cults, ritual and magical practices engaged in their revival and reconstruction…” (21).
In the capital of Lithuanian brewers, Utena, there are two Russian churches, both wooden and well-maintained. It’s better to ask local residents where Maironio Street is, and not where the Russian church is, they can also show you the Old Believer. From Vilnius - the first intersection with a traffic light, to the left and the modest Church of the Ascension of the Lord in 1989 - is visible from afar. During World War II, the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, built in 1867.
In the north of Lithuania, in the village of Veksniai, Novo-Akmena region, there is a very beautiful, snow-white stone church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1875. The locals are very friendly and if you ask where the Orthodox Church is, they will show you. In June 1941, atrocities took place in Vekšniai. The retreating soldiers of the NKVD broke into the house of the Catholic canon Novitsky, seized him and, urging him on with bayonets, led him to the cemetery, where they brutally dealt with him, stabbing him with bayonets. A few days later, the power changed, the Germans entered and a group of “Šaulists” came to the former assistant to the rector of the church “who became a commissar under the Soviets” Viktor Mazheika, and under the Germans again put on a cassock, although he did not serve in the church, and presented him with lists of fellow villagers taken to Siberia with signed him and his wife, immediately finished them off with blows from rifle butts. (24) From 1931–1944. rector of the church Alexander Chernay (1899-1985), who survived four changes of power, later a priest of the cathedral of the Russian Church Abroad in New York and a missionary in South, East and West Africa. Under him, in 1942, the Germans evacuated over 3,000 Novgorodians to the village and its environs, and the temple received under its arches the great Novgorod shrines - shrines with relics: St. St. blgv. Vladimir Novgorodsky, St. book. Anna, his mother and also St. Mstislav, Saint John of Novgorod and St. Anthony the Roman (23).B given time rector hieromonk Nestor (Schmidt).
In the city of Lithuanian nuclear scientists Visaginas on Sedulos alley 73A - the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, has been standing since 1996. Fitting harmoniously between two high-rise buildings, this small red-brick church is the city's first temple. Here, as well as in the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, there are many icons painted by the local modern icon painter Olga Kirichenko. The pride of the parish is the church choir, a long-term participant in international festivals of church singing. Rector Priest George Salomatov.
On Taikos Avenue, building 4, the second temple of the city, which so far allows our country to proudly be called an atomic power - the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin and Ever-Virgin Mary into the Temple, with a chapel of St. Panteleimon. The parish has no rich yet Orthodox traditions, compared with the communities that built churches in the past and the century before last, but the patronal feast of this church was already celebrated for the fifth time and the day when the first Divine Liturgy will be served, after the completion of construction works in a monolithic building under construction. Rector Archpriest Iosif Zeteishvili.
Driving along the Vilnius-Kaunas highway, one cannot fail to notice the restored white-stone church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the city of Vievis, the old name of the settlement is "Evie", after the second wife of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas (1316–1341), - Eva, the Orthodox princess of Polotsk. The modern temple was built by the archimandrite of the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery Platon, later the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia in 1843. At the temple since 1933, there is a chapel in the name of the Holy Vilnius martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius.
Across the motorway, opposite the Vivis Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, stands in the Orthodox cemetery a small, elegant chapel in honor of All Saints, built in 1936. This is one of the last built stone Orthodox churches in the Vilnius region. He was erected at his own expense at the grave of his son and wife by the priest Alexander Nedvetsky, who was buried here (3). The town is small and the community is not numerous, but with ancient strong Orthodox roots dating back centuries, because in the local printing house in 1619 the Church Slavonic grammar of Meletiy Smotrytsky was printed. Such a stronghold of Orthodoxy was entrusted to the rector, hegumen Veniamin (Savchits), who, according to all modern building canons, is restoring the third temple in Lithuania.
In the lake capital of Lithuania - Zarasai, local authorities in 1936 decided to transfer the Orthodox Church of All Saints from the city center at the expense of the state. The city of Zarasai, together with the city of Siauliai, where the temple was also destroyed and moved, added glory to the persecutors of Christ. In 1941, the church burned down and the city, not spoiled by architecturally significant buildings, forever lost God's house. In 1947, the chapel in honor of All Saints at the Orthodox cemetery was registered as a parish church. Nowadays, in this city, a monument to a countrywoman - partisan, Hero of the Soviet Union Marita Melnikaite has been demolished.
In the city of Kaunas, a small snow-white Resurrection Church of 1862. in the Orthodox cemetery, for some time it was destined to become a cathedral, because cathedral of sts. Peter and Paul, located in the center of the city, as the property of the military garrison of the Russian Empire, was confiscated from the Orthodox after the First World War. This was limited, the temple was not destroyed, considering it an architectural landmark of the city, only Russian inscriptions were removed from the facade. The pre-war government of the Republic of Lithuania allocated a loan for the expansion of the Church of the Resurrection, but in the diocese it was decided to start building a new city Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. The laying of the temple was carried out in 1932 and in the newly built cathedral, five years later the world was brewed for the first time. In 1936, in connection with 25 years of archpastoral service, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, awarded the Lithuanian Metropolitan Elefery with the Order of Grand Duke Gediminas, 1st class. Older parishioners remember that from 1920 to 1954, the rector of two Kaunas cathedrals from 1920 to 1954, on whose shoulders the burden of furnishing fell, was Archpriest Evstafiy Kalissky, until 1918 the former dean of the border division of the Russian Imperial Army. In Kaunas Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, there is the miraculous Surdega Icon of the Mother of God, revealed in 1530, and a list of the Pozhai Icon of the Mother of God, written in 1897. Over time, the cathedral was again in the center.
In the city, in the area of ​​​​the Botanical Garden, on the left bank of the river, near the mountain on which, as the legend says, Napoleon stood during the crossing of the Neman, on Barkunu Street was built in 1891 “by the support of the highest military authorities of the Kovno fortress artillery and donations of military ranks, a stone snow-white church, in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh ... The main dome was of a heavenly color, and the dome of the altar was completely covered with a golden mesh over which, millions of rays, the evening light was scattered. ”(4) Surviving after two world wars, but having lost its parishioners in the trenches, this temple stands forgotten, abandoned and desecrated by everyone.
The church of the 3rd Novorossiysk Dragoon Regiment, in memory of the Transfiguration of the Lord of 1904, is also living out its days in the former temporary capital, in oblivion. This camp church has existed since 1803 and accompanied the regiment on campaigns Patriotic War 1812 and in Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 But, to her misfortune, she ended up in the location of the territory of the regiment of the Soviet military unit. Two world wars could not cope with this red-brick soldier's church, but "those who do not remember kinship", it was turned into a repair shop and the fact that this is the house of God is now only reminiscent of decorative relief crosses, from brickwork on the walls, and the outline of the icon on the facade under the roof. The left wall does not exist - it is a solid opening for the hangar gate, the floor is saturated with fuel oil interspersed with a layer of debris, and the surviving walls and ceiling inside the building are black with soot.
Kaunas residents remember that in the fence of the Pozhai Monastery, on the shore of the man-made lake - “Kauna Sea”, a Russian violinist, composer and conductor - prince, major general, adjutant wing of Emperor Nicholas I - Alexei Fedorovich Lvov (1798-1870), author music of the first Russian national anthem - "God Save the Tsar!" (“Prayer of the Russian people”), who died in the Kovno family estate Roman.
The capital of Lithuania - Vilnius - is famous for its fourteen Orthodox churches and two chapels, the main of them is the cathedral church of the Vilnius Monastery in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. All roads of Orthodox residents and guests of the capital lead to it. In the old part of the city, the temple is visible from everywhere and, according to historians, the first surviving document that speaks of the Holy Spirit Monastery dates back to 1605. But back in 1374, the Patriarch of Kostantinople Filofei Kokkin († 1379), canonized Anthony, John and Eustathius, who suffered for the Orthodox faith, during the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas (Olgerd) (1345-1377). In 1814, their imperishable relics were found in an underground crypt, and now a cozy cave church in the name of the holy Vilna martyrs has been equipped there. One of the first dignitaries
visiting the monastery was Emperor Alexander I, who provided a subsidy for the repair of buildings (14). The local flock is proud that on December 22, 1913, Tikhon (Belavin) (1865-1925), later Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, elected in 1917 at the All-Russian Local Council, was appointed Archbishop of Lithuania and Vilna, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. On the day of memory of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian in 1989, he was canonized (28).
In the spring of 1944, the diocese was shocked by the tragedy, Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania Sergius (Voskresensky), Exarch of Latvia and Estonia, was shot on the Vilnius-Kaunas road by unknown persons in German uniform. Vladyka Sergius, in this difficult time, under the conditions of the “new order”, tried to pursue a cautious policy, emphasizing in every possible way his loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchate. The Baltic region, throughout the occupied territory of the USSR, was the only one where the exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate was preserved and even grew (27)
The only native of Vilnius who became the ruling archpastor of the See of Lithuania was Archbishop Alexis (Dekhterev) (1889-1959). The Second World War found him a white émigré, rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in the city of Alexandria in Egypt. According to a denunciation, the Egyptian police arrested him in 1948, keeping him in prison for almost a year (6). The passenger ship, the former sea captain, that took him home was called ... "Vilnius" and in his native Lithuanian land, since 1955, Vladyka Alexy remained until his last days (22) .
During the 400th anniversary of the monastery and the 650th anniversary of the death of Sts. Vilna martyrs, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II visited the diocese. In the Holy Spirit Monastery is the residence of the ruling bishop - Metropolitan Chrysostom of Vilna and Lithuania, the sacred archimandrite of the monastery.
Vilnius Prechistensky Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, built in 1346, rebuilt in 1868, is located ten steps from Russkaya Street, registered at Maironio 14. On the pediment there is an inscription “the temple was built under the Grand Duke Algirdas (Olgerd) in 1346 ... and having laid his body in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Vilna, he created it himself.” The prince built the church for his wife Juliana, Princess of Tver.
In 1867, Emperor Alexander II visited the restored Cathedral, and observing the restoration of the temple, ordered the missing amount to be released from the state treasury. (14) The names of persons who courageously stood for Orthodoxy and devotion to the Fatherland are inscribed on the walls of the Cathedral. bricks of the same grade were used as on the Gediminas tower.(15) There is a Sunday school, headed by Archpriest Dionysius Lukoshavicius, pilgrimage trips and religious processions, concerts, exhibitions are organized. A new generation of active, church-going youth has grown up in the Temple - the future support for the Orthodoxy of our country.
A five-minute walk from the Cathedral of the Prechistensky, on the street Didzheyi 2, in all its glory stands the church of St. Great Martyr Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa. Few churches have a surviving old wall with the letters - “SWNG”, which, according to the Church Slavonic account, means “1345” - irrefutable evidence of the antiquity of this temple. The memorial plaque says that: “In this church, Emperor Peter the Great in 1705 ... baptized the African Ganibal-great-grandfather A.S. Pushkin”. The temple is located on one of the most beautiful streets of the city and is visible from the Gediminas Tower and, after Lithuania gained independence, the very old Lotoček market square adjacent to it, thanks to the artists, became in demand again.
There are eight churches in honor of St. Nicholas in Lithuania and two of them in the capital. "The Church of St. Nicholas (Transferred) is the oldest in Vilna, which is why, unlike other Nikolaev churches, it was called Great. The second wife of Algirdas (Olgerd) - Juliana Alexandrovna, Princess of Tverskaya, around 1350, instead of a wooden one, erected a stone one ...", - reported on memorial plaque, installed in 1865 on the pediment of the temple. In 1869, with the permission of Emperor Nicholas 1, an all-Russian fundraising was announced for the restoration of "the oldest church in Vilna." With the funds raised, the temple was rebuilt and a chapel was added to it in honor of the Archangel Michael. Since that time, the temple has not undergone significant rebuilding, remained active during the First and Second World Wars and in the Soviet era.
On Lukiškės Street there is a prison church of St. Nicholas, made of yellow brick, erected in 1905 next to the prison church and synagogue. From a conversation with the priest Vitaly Serapinas, I learned that inside it is divided into departments according to the severity of the guilt of the convicts. Trebes are held in one of the rooms arranged for this purpose, and the administration of the institution promises to restore the cross on the dome. On the facade from the street you can still guess the mosaic face of the Savior, reminiscent of the house of God. Before the revolution, this prison temple was guarded by the priest Georgy Spassky (1877-1943), to whom the future All-Russian Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) / 1865-1925 /, as the “Vilna Chrysostom”, presented a pectoral cross with a particle of the relics of the holy martyrs Anthony, John and Efstafiy. Since 1917, Archpriest Georgy Spassky has been the chief priest of the Imperial Black Sea Fleet and confessor of the Russian emigration of the city of Bizerte in Tunisia. Fyodor Chaliapin also remembered this priest with warmth, he was the confessor of the great singer (6).
Now, almost in the center of the city - on Basanavichus Street, by the permission of Emperor Nicholas II, in honor of the 300th anniversary of the reigning house of the Romanovs, in 1913 it was built once with golden domes, at the expense of the State Councilor Ivan Andreevich Kolesnikov, the Church of St. Michael and Constantine. Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanova (1864-1918) was present at the celebrations of the consecration of the memorial church. A year later, in October 1914, a representative of the Romanov dynasty, Oleg Konstantigovich, who was mortally wounded in a battle with the Germans, was buried in this temple. For over forty years, since 1939, Fr. Alexander Nesterovich, arrested first by the German administration, and then by the Soviet NKVD. Now only the iconostasis remains from its former grandeur inside the temple, but among the people it is still lovingly called Romanovskaya (15).
In 1903, at the end of Georgievsky Avenue, later renamed Mickiewicz, Stalin, Lenin Avenue and finally Gediminas Avenue, on the opposite side of Cathedral Square, a Byzantine-style yellow brick church was built in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign". In addition to the main altar, it has a chapel in the name of John the Baptist and the Monk Martyr Evdokia. Since the consecration of the Znamenskaya Church, divine services have not been interrupted either during the world wars or in Soviet period. In 1948, Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow and All Rus' presented the church with a list of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God. Rector Archpriest Peter Muller.
The Church of the Archangel Michael, built in 1895, is located on Kalvariiu Street at number 65. “The beginning of this church was laid in 1884, when a parochial school was opened on Snipiski, at the end of Kalvaryskaya Street” (14). The temple building is stone and in excellent condition. Outbuildings adjoin it on both sides. Rector Archpriest Nikolai Ustinov.
One of the few Orthodox churches in Lithuania, which can be seen in the photographs of the end of the 19th century by the photographer Jozef Chekhovich (J. Czechowicz, 1819-1888), who glorified Vilna and its environs and was buried at the Bernandinsky cemetery, the church of St. Catherine. On the bank of the Neris River, a white-stone Orthodox church, in the respectable district of Zverynase, was erected in 1872, as the surviving commemorative plates remind of - through the efforts of Governor General Alexander Lvovich Potapov. Until the Second World War, the parish in the name of St. Catherine - "patriarchal", the only one in Vilna, remained faithful to the Moscow Patriarchate, gathering at the apartment of Vecheslav Vasilyevich Bogdanovich. In 1940, the NKVD, controlled from Moscow, did not take Vyacheslav Vasilyevich as a merit and he was shot without trial in their dungeons. (12) The irony of fate is that now this church is visible from the windows of the new Russian Embassy, ​​but this did not change its position . No one from this omnipotent department wants to pray here, or light a candle, or just ask when the townspeople will be allowed to pray in this church and the first post-war Liturgy will be held.
Wooden and unusual for a modern European capital, a slightly elongated church in honor of Sts. the chief apostles Peter and Paul, located in the proletarian district of Vilnius, New Vilnia on Koyalavichus street 148. Erected as a temporary one in 1908 at the expense of railway workers. This is one of the temples of the city in which services have always been held. There are always a lot of carriages at the entrance on Sundays and the people in the church are not overcrowded, you can feel the family atmosphere, where everyone knows each other well and families have come to serve for several generations. The owner of the candle box confidentially informed: in a few years the centennial anniversary and we are looking for a sponsor. To take a picture of the church, I had to go up to the outbuilding opposite. This is where the hosts unexpectedly arrived and found me. “Ah, you are taking pictures of our church, nothing, nothing, don’t get down ...” Although the temple is already small for the parishioners, the Angel standing near it rejoices, unlike the one standing at the church of St. Catherine in respectable Zhverynas.
The Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in the New World at 1/17 Lenku Street, that was the name of this area of ​​Vilnius, was erected in 1898 as a tribute to the memory of Tsar Alexander III the “peacemaker”. Before the war, the Polish authorities transferred to the women's Orthodox monastery of St. Mary Magdalene. Since there was an airfield nearby, for the temple, as well as for the city, the Second World War began twice. On September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. According to the memoirs of the Novo-Svetsky old-timer Sokolov Zinovy ​​​​Arkhipych, the airfield and the streets of Vilna were bombed. A teenager of those years, he remembers planes with black crosses and heard the echo of explosions. On June 22, 1941, during the invasion of German troops in the USSR, everything happened again on the streets of Vilnius. When the city was liberated from Nazi troops in the summer of 1944, the temple building was almost completely destroyed by aircraft. The nuns restored everything on their own, but were evicted. In Soviet times, there was a colony of “hard-to-reach teenage girls” here, and since my classmates lived nearby, we ourselves, 17 years old, specially came to this church in the early seventies to give cigarettes or sweets to unknown colonists, for whom the temple became a prison. Behind a blank fence, this church, already given to the diocese, and now, services are not held.
“Not far from Markutz is the most elevated area in the vicinity of the city of Vilna ... - a favorite place for walking Emperor Alexander I” (16). In Markuchiai, as this suburb is now called, on the street. Subaciaus 124, next to the Pushkin Museum House, on a hillock, since 1905 there has been a small stone and very elegant house church, consecrated in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara. In this temple there was once a small iconostasis, an altar and services were held. Here, in 1935, Varvara Pushkin, the wife of the youngest son of Alexander Sergeevich, Grigory Pushkin (1835-1905), who did not have time to see the embodied plan - the house church, was buried. Varvara Alekseeva did a lot to preserve the relics in the estate associated with the name of the Poet, whose great-grandfather, the African Hannibal, was baptized in the Pyatnitskaya Church of our city in 1705 by Peter the Great.
At the old Orthodox St. Euphrosyne cemetery, the church in the name of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk was built in 1838 by the Vilna merchant, church warden Tikhon Frolovich Zaitsev. In 1866, at the expense of the former city governor-general Stepan Fedorovich Panyutin (1822-1885), an iconostasis was built in it (14). At the beginning of the twentieth century, through the efforts of the priest Alexander Karasev, the church took on a modern look.
In 1914, the second “cemetery winter church” was consecrated, in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, the heavenly patron of the temple builder Tikhon Frolovich, at the place where his tomb has been located since 1839. Before Lithuania gained independence, since 1960, the cave church had a warehouse and a stone-cutting workshop. In July 1997, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' performed a litia at the entrance to this church. George the Victorious, placed in 1865, at the burial place of Russian soldiers who died in 1863 during hostilities within the North-Western Territory. Once at the chapel “... there was an openwork cast-iron door with bronze decorations, a large icon of St. Great Martyr George the Victorious in a massive kiot and an inextinguishable icon-lamp flickered”, but already in 1904 it was stated that “there is no lamp at the moment and the chapel itself needs repair” (14).
In the suburbs of the capital on the Vilnius-Ukmergė highway, in the village of Bukiškės, along Sodu Street, the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin of the end of the 19th century was for a long time a warehouse of a school of machine operators Agriculture. The five-dome building, built of yellow brick, at the expense of the general of the army, whose daughter is already in old age, unsuccessfully petitioned the authorities for the return of the church building after World War II (3). Recently, this temple has been revived and restored through the efforts of the Archbishop of Vilna and Lithuania Chrysostomos.

Vilnius 2004

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