Lecture by Dr Vitaliy Michalchuk from the University of Warsaw

On 15 September at 3:00 p.m., Dr Vitaliy Michalchuk will deliver a lecture at the training room of the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (CMRC–BAS) entitled:

“The Influence of Mount Athos and the Balkans on the Orthodox Tradition in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th Century: Liturgical Transformation and the New Reception of Byzantine Culture”.

The lecture will explore the distinctive developments within Polish–Lithuanian Orthodoxy following the fall of Constantinople. This upheaval, which affected the entire Byzantine world, prompted Polish–Lithuanian Orthodoxy in the early 16th century to turn to Balkan and Athonite models of liturgical tradition in an effort to embrace and reinterpret Byzantine culture.

The liturgical transformation initiated by Joseph Soltan, Metropolitan of Kyiv, affected not only the revision of liturgical books and ritual practices but also ecclesiastical art. The renewed engagement with Balkan heritage shaped the distinctive character of the Orthodox tradition in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, setting it apart from that of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which at the same time sought to establish itself as the heir to Byzantium.

The lecture will draw on a range of sources illustrating the Balkan connections of Polish–Lithuanian Orthodoxy, including manuscripts, the role of Athonite and Balkan typika, icon painting, and southern models for the design of the high templon (iconostasis). From this perspective, the liturgical transformation emerges as a synthesis of liturgical and artistic innovations that integrated Polish–Lithuanian Orthodoxy into the broader cultural sphere of the Balkans.

Dr Vitaliy Michalchuk is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw. He graduated from the Warsaw Higher Theological Seminary and the Theological Academy and studied archaeology and philosophy at the University of Warsaw. His research focuses on Orthodox theology, art and liturgical heritage.

The lecture will be delivered in Russian and is open to everyone interested in the subject.