Cathedral of the Theotokos, Vilnius

The Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius is the episcopal see of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Lithuania. Between 1415 and 1795, it was the mother church of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church and the Ruthenian Uniate Church (following the 1596 Union of Brest) within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The cathedral was built during the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas for his Orthodox second wife Uliana of Tver in 1346. It was constructed by Kievan architects with the blessing of Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus', in 1348. The Cathedral of the Theotokos is one of the most ancient churches of Vilnius, built before the christianization of Lithuania when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the last pagan state in Europe. It became an important spiritual centre for the growing Christian population of the Duchy. The Lithuanian Grand Duchess Helena of Moscow, wife of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon and daughter of the Muscovian Grand Duke Ivan III, was buried at the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius. After the conversion of Lithuania to Roman Catholicism, the Orthodox cathedral was protected by princes Konstanty Ostrogski and Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, who restored it after the collapse of the dome in 1506. After their deaths, the cathedral was taken over by the Uniate Catholic church in 1609 and was rebuilt in a style typical of the region. In 1748, the cathedral was abandoned after a major fire and the building was used for various other purposes. It was reconstructed in the Baroque style in 1785. The cathedral was once again destroyed by the Russian army during the Kościuszko Uprising.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).