Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

St. The Spirit Orthodox Church and Monastery were founded on the initiative of the Vilnius Orthodox Brotherhood. In the 16th century, the currents of Reformation and Counter-Reformation also affected the position of the Orthodox Christians. The Brest Union, which took place in 1596, forced the Orthodox Christians to discover new intellectual forms of how to defend their interests.

As a result, in 1589, the Vilnius Orthodox Brotherhood’s statute was approved, and the brotherhood began to defend the interests Orthodox-Christians. Just a few years later, a school and a printing house were established, and in 1596 members of the fraternity began to take care of the construction of a new Orthodox church.

The first wooden church was built in 1597. A few years later, a brick belfry was erected next to the church. A wooden church was just a temporal solution, as in 1633, the brotherhood received a privilege from King Vladislav Vaza, allowing them to build a brick church in this place. The construction was completed in 1638.

In 1749, the Orthodox church burned down during the Great Fire, which ravaged the whole city. Its reconstruction was carried out by Johann Christoph Glaubitz (1700-1767). The works were completed in 1753. During the reconstruction, the interior of the church was enriched with reliefs of Baroque ornaments and ornate iconostasis. The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, which consists of three separate buildings, was established in the 17th century.

The remains of the first three Christian martyrs are being kept here. At the beginning of the 19th century, the self-mummified bodies were found in the basement of the Church of the Holy Spirit. Learn more about Vilnius martyrs by clicking this link.

Address: Aušros Vartų St. 10