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Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

Johann Christoph Glaubitz

Photo: Guillaume Speurt from Tallinn, Estonia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Vilnius, Lithuania
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1753
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual

The Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit stands in the Old Town of Vilnius and is the major Orthodox church in Lithuania. It was formerly Catholic. A wooden church was erected in 1638, and a fire in the eighteenth century gutted it. The stone church was built from 1749 to 1753, designed by Johann Christoph Glaubitz, an architect of German descent known for developing Vilnian Baroque.

The style is Baroque with Rococo interior details, and Byzantine Revival elements were added in the nineteenth century. The interior is deep blue and green, with scagliola sculptures, which are unusual for an Orthodox church.

A carved wooden reliquary holds the remains of Saints Anthony, John and Eustathios. The cloths covering it change by season: black in Lent, white at Christmas and red at other major holidays.

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