King John Casimir's Document

A document dated 10 May 1651 records King John Casimir's acceptance of the icon of Our Lady of Chełm from the Uniate cathedral for safekeeping. It bears the signatures of the king and his secretary and the great crown seal. Before going on display, the document was conserved.

The module on the 16th to 18th centuries presents Chełm as a town of many faiths and offices within the Ruthenian Voivodeship. It was the seat of an Orthodox bishop, a Uniate one after the Union of Brest in 1596, while a Latin bishopric took permanent shape here in the 15th century. The Chełm land had an extensive hierarchy of land offices and its own deputies, who took an active part in shaping the nobles' democracy. The town was home to Poles, Ruthenians and Jews.

The story continues in a 1782 printed book on the coronation of the miraculous icon in Chełm cathedral in 1765, written by the Uniate bishop Maksymilian Ryłło. After the wars of the 17th century the town revived in the 18th century, when the Baroque churches that survive today were built, including the Uniate cathedral that housed the icon.