Lew Sapieha

Who was Lew Sapieha?

Lew Sapieha was a noble and statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Court Chancellor of the GDL in 1585, Grand Chancellor of the GDL from 1589 until 1623, Voivode of Vilnius in 1621, Great Lithuanian Hetman in 1623 and starost of Slonim, Brest and Mogilev. He was of Ruthenian ethnicity, however, modern Belarusian sources interpret his Ruthenian heritage as Belarusian

Lew is considered as a great political figure of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. A rich and powerful magnate, he was known for his wisdom as a statesman, lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing.

He was born in a Belarusian family in Astrouna, near Vitebsk. He was educated in Leipzig and worked in the royal chancellery of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory under direction of Jan Zamoyski. Raised Eastern Orthodox, in his youth he converted to Calvinism and founded a number of Calvinist churches in his former estates. In the 1570s he turned to Unitarianism.