HOME | DD

Description

This is the late medieval, Orthodox chapel of the Holy Spirit in Kodeń (Poland). Even though it is an Orthodox shrine, it is executed in a thoroughly Western, brick Gothic style popular in the Baltic region. Such syncretism of Orthodox affiliation and Latin architectural style is fairly rare and can be explained by the building’s location. The chapel currently stands on the extreme, eastern fringe of modern Poland, right on the border with Belarus which is literally just few hundred meters away. In the later medieval period this land formed part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, like nearly all of modern day Belarus and parts of Ukraine, it was ruled by powerful noble families which recognised the suzerainty of the Catholic Grand Duke in Vilnius but remained Orthodox themselves. The chapel in Kodeń was founded by one such noble – Paweł Sapieha who was Orthodox but attended the medieval University in Kraków, had a western-style coat of arms (with fox in it!), considered himself a knight and was keen to invite Western artists, builders and craftsmen, to work in his extensive eastern possessions.

Magnate families like his were pillars of Lithuanian influence in the East. The Orthodox lords of Lithuania followed ancient traditions of Russian princes but refused to accept the dominant position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. For nearly 200 years, they embraced and financed distinct political and artistic projects that combined Gothic and Renaissance inspirations with Orthodox traditions. Today, all that remains of their hybrid, Latin and Orthodox culture are a few palaces and late medieval chapels, nearly all of which are preserved in Belarus. All but the one in Kodeń which survives so that Poland too, can remember the heritage of its Orthodox allies.

Description

This is the late medieval, Orthodox chapel of the Holy Spirit in Kodeń (Poland). Even though it is an Orthodox shrine, it is executed in a thoroughly Western, brick Gothic style popular in the Baltic region. Such syncretism of Orthodox affiliation and Latin architectural style is fairly rare and can be explained by the building’s location. The chapel currently stands on the extreme, eastern fringe of modern Poland, right on the border with Belarus which is literally just few hundred meters away. In the later medieval period this land formed part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, like nearly all of modern day Belarus and parts of Ukraine, it was ruled by powerful noble families which recognised the suzerainty of the Catholic Grand Duke in Vilnius but remained Orthodox themselves. The chapel in Kodeń was founded by one such noble – Paweł Sapieha who was Orthodox but attended the medieval University in Kraków, had a western-style coat of arms (with fox in it!), considered himself a knight and was keen to invite Western artists, builders and craftsmen, to work in his extensive eastern possessions.

Magnate families like his were pillars of Lithuanian influence in the East. The Orthodox lords of Lithuania followed ancient traditions of Russian princes but refused to accept the dominant position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. For nearly 200 years, they embraced and financed distinct political and artistic projects that combined Gothic and Renaissance inspirations with Orthodox traditions. Today, all that remains of their hybrid, Latin and Orthodox culture are a few palaces and late medieval chapels, nearly all of which are preserved in Belarus. All but the one in Kodeń which survives so that Poland too, can remember the heritage of its Orthodox allies.