Knygų rinkinys

LTTyrimo metu Veliuonos bažnyčioje buvo peržiūrėtos 58 liturginės ir religinės knygos ar jų fragmentai. Į šį skaičių nepatenka tarpukariu gausiai leistos religinio pobūdžio brošiūros, taip pat grožinė literatūra. Pačiame anks- tyviausiame Veliuonos bažnyčios vizitacijos akte, esančiame Tarkvinijaus Pekulo 1579 m. atliktos Žemaičių vyskupijos vizitacijos aprašyme, paminėtos Veliuonos bažnyčios knygos. Tuometis Veliuonos klebonas Steponas Bienkauskas apie liturgines knygas pateikė tokią informaciją: „Yra pusėtini Krokuvos mišiolas ir Gniezno agenda, bet antifonalas, gradualas bei psalmynas apiplyšę bei seni.“ Tuo laikotarpiu Lietuvoje vadinamasis Krokuvos mišiolas buvo populiarus (išleistas 1509, 1510, 1516, 1525, 1532, 1545 m.), o vadinamoji Gniezno agenda išleista 1503, 1512, 1549 m. ir vėliau. Taip pat liturgijoje klebonas naudojo ir brevijorių: „Paklaustas, ar pats klebonas kasdien kalba kanonines valandas ir kokiomis apeigomis, atsakė kalbąs kasdien, kartais iš Krokuvos, kartais iš naujojo Romos brevijoriaus ir parodė.“ Turėjo ir keletą teologinių knygų: „Paklaustas, ar moka skirti mirtiną nuodėmę nuo lengvos, atsakė mokąs ir turįs knygas, kurios moko, kokie atvejai [rezervuoti] vyskupui ir kokie popiežiui, ir lieptas tas knygas atnešė.“. [Iš straipsnio, p. 45]

ENEvery church in Lithuania, including Veliuona, has a larger or smaller collection of parish books, consisting mainly of books used in the liturgy, necessary during the Holy Mass (missals, breviaries, and hymnals) and ecclesiastical rites (baptism, marriage, burial, etc.). The earliest visitation act of the church of Veliuona from 1579 mentions the liturgical books in the church: the missal, the agenda, two hymnals (antiphonal and gradual), and the psalter. Over the centuries, the collection thematics of the Veliuona parish books remained the same. However, a list of books mentioned in 1821 stands out, in which, in addition to the 12 liturgical books used in the church, 34 separate books were registered. Some of them were liturgical; however, attention is also drawn to books on other topics — moral theology, sermons, and spiritual maturity. There were also several secular books, such as the speech collection of Cicero and the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to the successfully identified publications, it is believed that the collection of books can be dated to 1614-1769. The owner of this collection of books probably was Victorinus Alexander Hryncewicz, a prepositor of Veliuona, who died in 1774.Prince Marcyan Giedroyc, a long-time prepositor of Veliuona (18361884), also paid special attention to books: he updated a collection of liturgical books by buying or donating them from his collection, and at the same time organised the binding of books. Today, the collection of books in Veliuona parish, although traditional in theme, is distinguished by the inscriptions of donation and belonging in the books, which allow tracing the path of these books to the Veliuona church. The study identified book storage places during the long period of existence of the Veliuona church. Liturgical books were kept in the sacristy (missals, breviaries, etc.) and the church choir (hymnals). In addition, a personal collection of books (probably owned by priest V. A. Hryncewicz) was kept in the church treasury over the sacristy for more than fifty years, together with the parish archives. The books are currently stored on the second floor of the church’s porch, housed in a cabinet along with the parish archives. Veliuona parish stands out with an exceptionally rich collection of archival documents, inventories, and visitation acts, the description of which is reflected in the bibliography of the book. [From the publication p. 409-410]