Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Sudervė (Lithuanian: Sudervė), built between 1803 and 1822 according to a design by the architect Lawrence Bortkiewicz.

History of

The parish in Sudervė was established in 1783, and a year later its parish priest, Valentinas Volčinas Bishop of Tomasinas, founded the first wooden church of St Peter and St Paul. As early as 1803, due to the poor condition of the building, the construction of a new temple was started from the coffers of the same founder and his friend Voivode of Mstislavl, Teodora of Soltan Sapiega. A site on a high hill was chosen for the construction and by 1810, when Volchaty died, the walls had been drawn up. Construction continued through the efforts of Hipolit Wolk-Laniewski, the bishop's heir, and was completed in 1820. Because of the work going on in the interior, the consecration of the temple took place in 1834 and was performed by the suffragan of Vilnius, Andrzej Benedykt Klagiewicz.

The most significant renovation and construction work on the church was carried out in the second half of the 1920s, under parish priest Aleksandr Korsakevich. At that time, a bell tower and a gate leading to the church grounds were also erected. In 1927, a new lantern was built over the dome, designed by architect Jan Borowski.

After the Second World War, the church was closed by the Soviet authorities and remained closed until 1956, when Father Adolf Trusewicz was assigned to the parish. He carried out numerous works to secure the building.

Architecture

The temple is an example of a classicist rotunda, with the chancel section facing west. It is a brick, plastered central building, covered by a slightly flattened dome on a drum, topped by a small lantern. A recessed, six-column Doric portico has been placed to the east, encompassing 3/8 of the rotunda's circle, on the line of which massive columns are set. The walls of the building are divided by Doric pilasters, and in six spherical niches, between the pilasters, statues of the four evangelists and the apostles Peter and Paul are set up.

The single-space interior retains a circular plan, with four large arcaded niches. These recesses, framed by cannelled Doric pilasters in great order, cover two floors of the interior, forming a kind of emporium. Opposite the entrance is a niche containing the main altar, the other two lead to the treasury and the vestibule. The interior is framed by two galleries, the lower one interrupted at the level of the side altar finials, while the upper one encircles the sanctuary at the base of the dome. The music choir, supported by two massive columns, is located above the main entrance, within the lower gallery.

The main accent of the temple's decoration are the four classicist altars from the 1820s. The main altar consists of two visually connected structures, arranged in two tiers within a large arcade. The side altars are arranged diagonally to the main altar.

Artistic issues

The Sudervian church is an original building, surprising in its form and layout of architectural details. From the front, it looks like a monopteros - this is the impression given by the colossal semicircular portico. Further on, the monopteros turns into a flat, filigreed wall. The chancel section is framed by two deep recesses, as if cut into the mass, extending from the base to the cornice, which enliven the building and lend lightness to its somewhat squat proportions.

According to the authors of guides to Vilnius, the church in Suderiv was built "according to the model of the Roman Pantheon". However, this is a very distant reference to the ancient model, deviating fundamentally from its composition. The church is a central building, on a circular plan, it is crowned by a dome on a drum, and four arcaded niches appear in the interior - all elements actually referring to a Roman temple.

The authorship of the interesting design of the Suderwa church has long been the subject of scholarly debate. In the rich literature, it is alternately attributed to two architects: the most famous of the Vilnius classicists, Lawrence Gucevich, or the Dominican, unknown from other works, Lawrence Bortkiewicz. Upon careful analysis, many architectural inconsistencies can be seen, which leads to the conclusion that the designer of the temple could not have been such an eminent classicist as Wawrzyniec Gucewicz, the creator of the Vilnius Cathedral, the designs of the Vilnius Town Hall or the palace complex in Verkiai (the construction of the church in Suderiv began in 1803, five years after Gucewicz's death). Even if most of the shortcomings found in the Suderiv church are blamed on inept, somewhat provincial workmanship, there must have been features in the design that were far removed from Gucevičius' understanding and creation of architecture. The final confirmation is provided by the archival document concerning the construction of the convent in Skopiškės, in which Wawrzyniec Bortkiewicz is mentioned as the author and builder of the church in Sudervo: 'the construction manager is the same zealous master of holy theology Wawrzyniec Bortklewicz, very proficient in the art of architecture, with the effort, under the guidance and according to the plan of whom the whole work was built also as the church of the Sudervo parish, near Vilnius, in the estate of J. W. Wolczacek.For its beauty, the church has been called the most outstanding ornament and glory of Lithuanian churches".