The beginnings of the monastery in Ławryszew near Nowogródek Cover Image

Początki monasteru ławryszewskiego koło Nowogródka
The beginnings of the monastery in Ławryszew near Nowogródek

Author(s): Piotr Chomik
Subject(s): History
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego

Summary/Abstract: The beginnings of the monastery in Ławryszew are connected with the name of prince Wojsiełk, Mendog’ son, who was to be baptized in the Orthodox church, make a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Athos and when returning in 1262 or 1263, was to found a monastery of the Holy Mother of God. The tradition combining the foundation of the monastery in Ławryszew with the name of prince Wojsiełk can be tightly related to the topos of a ruler-monk in the Byzantine and South-Slavic cultures. All Russian notes of Wojsiełk underline the fact that the prince resigned from a secular life in favour of a monastic one. However, after 1263, Wojsiełk reappeared on the political stage of the Great Lithuanian Duchy, which was connected with his father’s death, him being Mendog, the great prince, in the autumn of 1263. Rich materials concerning the past of the monastery in Ławryszew come from foundation notes from the 15th and 16th centuries, included in the evangelical book belonging to the monastery. Ewangeliarz ławryszewski is a unique monument written on a greaseproof paper, and a type of the so-called full aprakos. Rich iconographic material, on the other hand, points to its creation in the first half of the 14th century. The monastery in Ławryszew played a great culture-creating role in the territory of the Great Lithuanian Duchy in the history of the Orthodox monasticism. As early as in the 15th century, it possessed large lands which provided it with stable income and maintenance. The period of the magnificence of the monastery lasted from the 16th century to the agreement in Brześć in 1596.

  • Issue Year: 2012
  • Issue No: 8
  • Page Range: 42-57
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish