The city of Braslaw, situated in the Vitebsk region of Belarus, has a very unusual coat of arms. Its official description reads: “The coat of arms of the city of Braslaw is an image of the baroque shield on the blue field, with the golden sun, on which there is a blue triangle with the image of the human eye – the eye of God’s blessing.”
This ancient symbol has several names: the eye of providence, the all-seeing eye and the radiant delta. This symbol, along with the square and compasses, is one of the most recognisable symbols of Freemasonry.
In Christian iconography, the eye in the centre of the sun’s rays in a triangle with an upward-pointing peak is a well-known symbol of the omnipresent divine force or the Trinity. The eye symbolises the watchful gaze of God over the lives and deeds of people. The triangle represents the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The sun, since ancient times, is a symbol of life and fire, which has cleansing power.
What is the history of this heraldic symbol, and how did it appear in Braslaw? The coat of arms was given to the city of Braslaw by the decree of the Polish king, Stanislav Poniatowski, dated 2nd of June 1792. Stanislav Poniatowski is widely known as the last king of Poland and one of the romantic interests of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Besides, Stanislav Poniatowski was one of the most famous and significant Polish educators and patrons of sciences and arts. Michal Kleofas Oginsky, whom after our Lodge was named, served under him as an adviser in the Polish Sejm from 1788 to 1792. The National Theater in Warsaw, the first Ballet School in Poland, the Cadet Corps, the Commission on National Education and an observatory were founded with the direct participation of Poniatowski. He was the patron of many Polish artists and scholars.
Poniatowski was also a patron of Polish Masons. During his reign, almost all Polish court dignitaries and prominent politicians were members of Masonic lodges. Poniatowski himself was initiated in 1777 at the Under Three Helms Lodge.
History is silent about the reasons why Poniatowski chose this coat of arms for Braslaw. We, in turn, can only speculate about it.
