Church of All Saints

Vilnius Church of All Saints stands in the Old Town of Vilnius. The building of the Church has early Baroque forms and Renaissance features. There are 19 altars in the church, and a 5-tier Rococo style brick bell tower standing by the church building. Services are held in Lithuanian and Polish.

The Church was built between 1620 and 1630 under the initiative of royal secretary V. Chludžinskis. It was situated in the outskirts of the city – near the southwestern section of the city's defensive wall, at the gates of Rūdininkai which no longer remain to this day. It was given away to Carmelites of the Ancient Observance. Older houses were adapted for the monastery. The monastery buildings were joined together in the first half of the 17th century. The church and the monastery were damaged during a fire in 1655 and restored after 1661. Two wooden polychromatic statues of St. Elijah and St. Elizej, the first Carmelite hermits and initiators of the Carmelite friary, stood on the pediment of the Church.

The facade of the church is leaning onto Rūdninkų street. It is of il Gesu type, three-nave, basilica style, with a deep presbytery and two domed chapels on the sides (St. Elijah on the left and Mary of Sorrows on the right). A large five-tier bell tower built in 1743 stands near the church. In the same year, a two-story building was added with a sacristy on the first floor and a library on the second which was famous in the 18th century.

The interior of the church reflects the tradition of Carmelite spirituality which was used as a foundation in the iconography of the images and sculptures, as well as wall paintings not yet unveiled to this day. The high altar was built in around 1787 according to the design of architect Martynas Knakfusas. The side altars are of an earlier period and reflect the typical late Baroque forms. In 1857, the polychromy of the altars was changed and most details were gilded.

At the end of 1812, Napoleon's soldiers burned the benches and the pulpit of the church, and the monastery was converted to a hospital. In 1885, the monastery was closed down and apartments were installed within the building. After the church and the monastery were closed down between 1832 and 1886, most of the treasures of art were scattered.

In 1902, the murals of the church nave walls and chapel domes were painted under the initiative of Priest L. Čudovskis. Vicar Petras Kraujalis began preaching Lithuanian sermons that were opposed by the Polish. In 1948, the church was closed down and converted into a grocery warehouse.

A folk art exhibit of the Museum of Fine Arts was opened here in 1975. In 1991, the church was returned to the faithful.

Sources:

1. http://vvsventujuparapija.lt