Romos katalikų dvasininkų mobilumas ir jo kontrolė Žemaičių (Telšių) ir Vilniaus vyskupijose (po 1863–1864 m. sukilimo iki XX a. pradžios)

• Authors: Vilma Žaltauskaitė

Abstracts

EN

In this research the concept of mobility is used in the sense of the freedom of movement and analysed as a feature instrumental of the representatives of the class of the Roman Catholic clergy when conducting the functions of pastoral care assigned to the said class, and, in addition, generally characterising the potential of the social communication within the society. The goal of the research is to record measures of the authorities that provided for the mobility of clergymen following the uprising of 1863–1864, and analyse the practice of their application in the dioceses of Samogitia (Telšiai) and Vilnius. Analysis of the practice of measure application is aimed at a more universal, dynamic and colourful picture revealing details and aspects that distinctively characterize both the policy of the authorities and the estate of the clergy. Following the uprising of 1863–1864 the authorities in the so-called Northwestern province strived to control not only the social mobility of clergymen, but also their movements within parishes and dioceses (clergymen travelling to locations of their service or temporary duty journeys to cover for the parish priest, participating in church celebrations – feast days – in other parishes, participating in other religious practices, for example, 40-hour service, spiritual exercises for priests, funerals, etc.). All clergymen’s trips of this type required authorization from the secular authorities. Control of social mobility and mobility in general made up a group of interrelated instruments. There were attempts of the central government to unify the administration of the whole of the Northwestern region and sanction the administrative orders of the local government by means of the Emperor’s decrees. However, the activities of Roman Catholic clergymen, including the instruments regulating their mobility, were not listed among those entitled to change. Control of the activities of Roman Catholic clergymen was left in the hands of governors general. The variety of circular notes afforded grounds for officers’ improvisations and lawlessness. Restraints to clergymen’s mobility (trips within the boundaries of the governorate and rendering of religious services outside the parish) were repealed following the Emperor’s decree of 12 December 1904. This was one of the few repealed instruments regulating the activities of Roman Catholic clergymen. In the beginning of the 20th century, the central government classified them as measures conditioned by non-political reasons and thus these instruments were cancelled, however, in the decades of their application the political constituent in them was considered to be of importance. Mobility control instruments, embodied in the circular notes of the central and local governments and applied after the uprising of 1863–1864 with regard to Roman Catholic clergymen of the Northwestern region, reveal the distrust that the authorities demonstrated towards this social group and the scope of its control. Measures of control remained unchanged for several decades and later were only stiffened. The new circular notes that were issued in the first half of the 1880s tightened the control and, alongside mobility control, also regulated participation of clergymen in religious practices as well as rendering of pastoral care related duties. Restrictions to the mobility of clergymen related to the fulfilment of the functions of pastoral care were aimed at a different regulation of religious life and change of the tradition of religious practices in dioceses. The authorities viewed clergymen as individuals that were employed in the state civil service and were part of the clergy estate, thus motivating the application of regulating measures; on the other hand, the political aspect, though bestowed less attention in the argumentation, was of greater importance than the social aspect.

• Publisher: Lietuvos istorijos institutas
• Journal: Lietuvos istorijos metraštis
• Year: 2013
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 117-141

Dates

published

2013

Contributors

author

Vilma Žaltauskaitė

• Lietuvos istorijos institutas

Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

57630369