Calvinist architecture of the Grand Duchy

Abstract

Calvinist Reformation in Lithuania had a completely different look than in the Crown. It lacked strong urban centres in which Lutheranism would flourish. Calvinism was mainly supported by the nobility (Mikołaj “the Red” Radziwiłł and Mikołaj “the Black” Radziwiłł), who wanted to make this confession a state religion in case of the independence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Radziwiłł’s prob- 89 Wyroku szczęśliwie nie wykonano, zob. Zbiór pomników reformacyi…, s. 194–195. 90 LMAB, sygn. F 40/989, k. 2–13v., LMAB F 40 517, Zbór Słucki 1662–1823, s. 2, oraz LMAB, sygn. F 40/ 91, Akta zboru w Słucku, s. 23. Ludwika Karolina księżna Radziwiłłowa potwierdza przywileje i nadania ziemskie oraz finansowe w 1687 roku dla zborów w Słucku, Kopiskach, Kojdanowie, Lubeczańskiemu. Bielickiemu, Sieleckiemu i Dokudowskiemu, oryginalne przywileje zaginęły podczas wojen szwedzkich i moskiewskich. ably wanted to subordinate Sigismund Augustus to their influence and create a strong, own state. Calvinism was an independent religion to Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Building of Reformed churches was associated with colonization of Lithuania and the construction of its economy and political development. Too strong dependence of Calvinism on the first generation of the Radziwiłł’s families leaders, caused the successive generations of families attracted by Catholicism to fight against Calvinism and effectively undermined its dominant position. Finally, at the end of the seventeenth century, this religion has lost its sense of importance. Many churches were destroyed, many people changed religion. The article is the first attempt of presenting the Reformed churches in Lithuania. It presents also a history of few churches (like main church in Vilno), furnishing of interiors (table for the Lord’s Supper, on which there was a desk for the Brest bible, the pulpit – called the cathedral – and others. Text is a kind of supplement and a summary of research on the Calvinist architecture of the Grand Duchy