Our Lady of the Sign Church (Russian: Знаменская церковь; Lithuanian: Dievo Motinos ikonos „Ženklas iš dangaus“ cerkvė) is an Eastern Orthodox church in the Žvėrynas district of Vilnius, built in 1903, belonging to the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Lithuania.[1] [2] [3]
The idea of building a new Orthodox church in Vilnius came from Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, which also organised a collection of funds in the whole Russian Empire.[1] The church, constructed in the most popular Neo-Byzantine style, was consecrated in 1903 by Iuvenaliy, the Orthodox archbishop of Vilnius.[1] [2] He also opened a school for poor children and a library which were to be run by the church's clergy.[1] In order to commemorate the day, he granted to the newly established parish a copy of Our Lady of Kursk icon.[2]
Unlike many other Orthodox churches in Vilnius, the church was not closed during World War I, nor during World War II.[1] The Soviet government agreed to register it as a parish church in 1948.[1] Before 1956, the church was robbed a few times, losing part of the icons from the original iconostasis which had to be replaced by a far humbler one. The church was fully restored inside and outside in 2009.