The Field Cathedral in Warsaw. Tossed Back and Forth Between Religions.
The Beginnings
[Cezary Piwowarski, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons] The church was founded in 1642 by the Polish King Ladislaus IV Vasa for the Piarists. It was originally made of wood and dedicated to Saints Primus and Felician, whose relics were placed in the church in 1651. The Piarists thus took over the administration of the church. During the Swedish–Polish War (1655–1660), only four years after the takeover, the house of prayer was plundered and burned down by the Swedes. The successor to the Polish throne, Jan Kazimierz, quickly decided to rebuild the church, this time in stone. However, after the reconstruction by Giacomo Giuseppe Fontana, it was only reconsecrated in 1701. The patronage was expanded to include the Victorious Mother of God Mary. The altar paintings were created by Szymon Czechowicz and Johann Gottlieb Plersch.
The Church Becomes Russian Orthodox
The church before the reconstruction in 1835
Until 1834, the Greek Orthodox parish in Warsaw was very small and inconspicuous. It had been founded in the 18th century by Greeks and Serbs expelled from Turkey. Their parish church, built in 1818, was located near Warsaw’s Old Town on Podwale Street. After the failed November Uprising of 1830–1831, the Tsarist administration supported the Orthodox organisational structure and established a corresponding bishop’s seat. As a result, the Catholic church on Długa Street was purchased from the Piarists and converted into an Orthodox church between 1835 and 1837.
Particularly striking were the tower domes in the Russian-Byzantine style, also known as “Byzantine onions.” The architects responsible for this reconstruction were Antonio Corazzi and Andrzej Gołoński. A particularly humiliating detail was the installation of bells cast from melted-down cannons used by the insurgents of the November Uprising.
The Piarists at least received compensation and were given today’s Jesuit Church in Warsaw’s Old Town, where they remained until 1918.
The Church Becomes Catholic Again
The church after the reconstruction of 1835-1837
After the occupation of Warsaw by the Prussian army during World War I, the church was returned to the Roman Catholic Church in 1916. Archbishop Kakowski immediately handed it over to the Polish Army. The first field bishop was appointed in 1919 and had his seat in the Field Cathedral. Between 1923 and 1927, the church was rebuilt in the neoclassical style by Oskar Sosnowski. The church suffered significant damage during World War II and was reconstructed by Leon Suzin by 1960. In 1991, it was officially handed over to the Polish Army.
What to see inside the Field Cathedral?
Inside the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army visitors can discover a unique combination of religious art and Polish military history. The church interior is decorated with large paintings showing important Polish battles and uprisings, memorial plaques dedicated to fallen soldiers, and numerous military symbols connected with the Polish Army. The main altar with the figure of Our Lady Queen of the Polish Crown is one of the highlights of the cathedral. Particularly moving is the Katyń Chapel, dedicated to the Polish officers murdered by the NKVD in 1940, where thousands of small memorial plaques bear the names of the victims. Visitors can also see the Chapel of the Polish Soldier, which serves as a mausoleum for the defenders of Poland. In the basement there is additionally a museum dedicated to the history of the Polish military ordinariate and military chaplaincy.
