Orthodox Cemetery, Warsaw

The Orthodox Cemetery in Warsaw (Polish: Cmentarz Prawosławny w Warszawie) is an historic Eastern Orthodox cemetery located in the Wola district of Warsaw, Poland.

Orthodox Cemetery in Warsaw
Details
Established1841
Location
Warsaw
CountryPoland
TypeChristian Orthodox cemetery

History

In 1834 the first Orthodox parish was established in Warsaw and a decision was made to set up a cemetery for the community. The Roman Catholic parish of St. Lawrence was then turned into an Orthodox church, by decree of the Tsar himself. Although the cemetery was officially consecrated in 1841, the first burials took place there as early as 1836. In 1905 a new church, St. John the Ladder was built, while St. Lawrence Church returned to the Roman Catholic church after Poland regained its independence.

Customs

The burial place of a person depended on his/her social status. Thus, generals, clergy and notable civil servants were buried near the church. The second 'zone' included the graves of lower rank officers, clerks and wealthy merchants. The third 'zone' housed the graves of soldiers and members of the bourgeoisie, while the poorest were buried in the area furthest from the church. During the Warsaw Uprising mass executions of Varsovians were carried out there.

On All Saint's Day, processions of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches take place there, preceded by an ecumenical service conducted by priests from both congregations.

Notable burials

Among those buried at the cemetery are:

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.