Narodowe Centrum Nauki
The article presents the involvement of the Basilian Order of the Lithuanian Province in the development of the exact and natural sciences in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1773 and 1839. The dissolution of the Jesuit Order created an opportunity for the Basilians to develop their educational activities. They were the only religious congregation that responded to the offer of cooperation from the Commission of National Education. Many of them were educated at the University of Vilnius. They chose to attend lectures on physics, mathematics, astronomy, natural history, and mineralogy. They used the knowledge they acquired in their didactic work in schools, scientific activities and in the transfer of knowledge to society at large. By engaging in the development of scientific education, the Basilians created an educational path which enabled the intellectual development of young people from peripheral areas and social advancement based on intellectual potential. The activities of the monks contributed to the development of the Vilnius academic community and the improvement of the level of education.
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One of the forms of activity of the order of the Lithuanian Province of Basilians in the 17th and 18th centuries was activity in places of Marian cult. The monks undertook efforts to continue spreading the Marian cult in centers that were popular in the times before the Union of Brest, both in cathedral cities (Vilnius, Minsk, Nowogródek) and in Żyrowice. The Congregation accepted foundations from elite families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who saw the activity of the monks as an opportunity to create a place of worship in the monasteries they founded. Thanks to the efforts of the Basilians and the Uniate hierarchy, two images of Mary that were worshiped were crowned with papal crowns. The Basilians animated religious life. They initiated the practice of celebrating jubilee years and took advantage of indulgence privileges granted by the Holy See. They created visual and musical settings in places where large numbers of pilgrims gathered. They organized the printing of publications on venerated Marian images. Places of Marian cult created by the Basilians of the Lithuanian province contributed to strengthening the community of the Uniate Church and integrating the diverse society in the north-eastern areas of the Polish-Lithuanian state.
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The activities of the Basilians in two monasteries located on the northern borders of the influence of the Uniate metropolis of Kiev - in Jakobstadt (Kurland) and Iłłukszta (Semigalia) are presented in the article by Dorota Wereda entitled Basilians in Iłłukstad and Jakobstad in the light of visitation protocols from the resources of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The text was published in the 15th volume of the publishing house STAN BADAŃ NA MULTICULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE FORMER REPUBLIC, ed. Wojciech Walczak, Katarzyna Wiszowata-Walczak, Białystok 2023, pp. 461-478.
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