Churches in Vilnius (6)

The first church was built at initiative of the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Mikalojus Ravilla Juodasis (Nicholas Radziwill the Black), in 1555, at the centre of the Vilnius Evangelical Lutheran community, and was reconstructed several times after wars and fires. Works of restoration of the present church were started in 1739. The famous architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz led the construction works and designed the impressive lavishly decorated Rococo altar. The church was closed in 1941. A basketball hall and a workshop were set up in the premises of the church after the war. In 1988, the church was returned to the restored Evangelical Lutheran parish.

The Church of the Divine Mercy is famed for the picture of the Merciful Christ, which attracts numerous pilgrims. It spreads the message of Divine Mercy to which Pope John Paul II gave a new meaning all over the world. Built in the 15th century, this Gothic Catholic Church, which first bore the name of the Holy Trinity, has suffered an unsettled fate. In the 19th century it was an Orthodox church for some time but in 1920 it was returned to the Catholics. In Soviet times the church was abandoned and used as a warehouse and workshops. After the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence, the church was returned to the Archdiocese of Vilnius. After it has been restored, in 2004, this Gothic sanctuary was adapted for adoration of the images of the Merciful Christ that was placed on a new central altar and was famous for heavenly mercy. The picture was painted according to the vision of sister Faustina (in Vilnius, in 1934, artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski (1873-1939)). During the Soviet times the picture was hidden in various churches in Lithuania and Belarus. Pope John Paul II contributed greatly to spreading the image of the Merciful Christ by writing his encyclical letter "Dives in misericordia" (Rich in Mercy) (1980) in which he strengthened the theological basis of devotion to divine mercy, by beatifying Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905 - 1938) in 1993, and canonising her in 2000. In 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship announced that the Sunday after Easter would be celebrated by the Church as the Feast of Divine Mercy all over the world. The Week of Mercy is held at the sanctuary annually from Easter Sunday to the Feast of Divine Mercy. Reverend Michal Sopocko (1888 - 1975, beatified in 2008) confessor and spiritual director for Sister Faustina, was pastor at St. Michael Church in Vilnius before the Soviet authorities closed it.

According to legends, in 1345, Maria, the wife of the Grand Duke Algirdas, initiated the construction of an orthodox church, also known as the Church of the Martyr of the 3rd century St Parasceve, in the place where a pagan temple to the God Ragutis once stood. After being destroyed in a fire, a new church was built at the end of the 16th century. The Russian czar Peter I (Peter the Great) visited the church in 1705 and 1708 and presented to it flags taken from the Swedish array. His African protege, Hannibal, who was later made a general and married a noble Russian, was baptized in this church during the visit of the Czar. The talented Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin was Hannibal's grandchild. The present church was built in 1865 according to the project of Nikolay Chagin. It is a Lithuanian orthodox parish.

This is one of the most beautiful examples of Early baroque in Vilnius, built in 1650 to a design by the Italian architects Ulrich and Constantino Tencalla for the Discalced Carmelites. Its facade is particularly graceful, with Swedish sandstone, black and white marble, and granite. The church was built according to the examples of churches in Rome, but the proportions are lighter and more vertical. The late 18th century interior is sombre, but lavishly decorated with frescoes and sculptures. The most prominent altar is the Rococo high altar under a half dome. The adjacent building is a Carmelite friary.

Built as a Gothic (Gothic style) church in 1408, it was given to the Dominicans in 1501, who built a monastery nearby. Destroyed by fires in the 17th - 18th centuries, the church was enlarged, lavishly decorating its interior. The Late Baroque style dominates in the architecture of the building. The monastery building obstructs the view of the main facade of the church. The gorgeous portal is the most distinctive feature of the side facade facing the street. It leads to a frescoed vestibule, which leads to the church and the monastery. The interior is lavishly decorated in the Rococo style. Among its sixteen altars, the central one is distinguished for its magnificent spatial composition. The 18th century organ is one of the oldest in Lithuania. On 5 September 1993, Pope John Paul II met with Polish believers in this church.

Eastern Orthodox church in the Žvėrynas district of Vilnius, built in 1903. The church, constructed in the most popular Neo-Byzantine style, was consecrated in 1903 by Iuvenaliy, the Orthodox archbishop of Vilnius. He also opened a school for poor children and a library which were to be run by the church's clergy. In order to commemorate the day, he granted to the newly established parish a copy of Our Lady of Kursk icon. Unlike many other Orthodox churches in Vilnius, the church was not closed during World War I, nor during World War II. The Soviet government agreed to register it as a parish church in 1948. Before 1956, the church was robbed a few times, losing part of the icons from the original iconostasis which had to be replaced by a far humbler one. The church was fully restored inside and outside in 2009.