Balbieriškio parapijai ir bažnyčiai 500 metų

• Iškauskas, Česlovas
• Marcinkevičius, Algis
• Sidaravičius, Vitas Rymantas

ENThe narrative of Balbieriškis parish and church started when the first Catholic church was built in 1520. The settlement’s name Balbieriškis was first mentioned in 1502, April 25, when a Grand Duke of Lithuania and Polish King Alexander donated the land and folks, situated in a valley oftwo rivulets Ringis and Peršėkė and the river Nemunas, as a present to the German doctor Hanus Sudorman. The place was named after the owner - Hanusiškės and later the name turned into Balbieriškis. Log rafters, who used to float logs along the Nemunas river, established a log reinforcement station at the river junction. Over the years the log rafters and salesmen sought a place not only to eat but also to pray. The need for house of prayer arose for local people as well. At the time the manor and the town around it had developed and several new villages emerged on the banks of the river Nemunas. As early as 1520, the town was granted Magdeburg rights. Martynas Abramavičius, the first priest in Balbieriškis, built the first church and arranged the right to be called a parish. The Church has faced many challenges over 5 centuries. In the early 17th century (when the second building was already built) the church went to the Calvinists. It took several decades for the courts to return the church to the Catholics. In the second half of the 17th century the church endured conflicts with the manor owner, pogroms ofthe tsarist government, and at least was burnt down. In 1674 the third church building was built. This House of Prayer, undergoing multiple repairs and improvements, remained for two centuries. In the 18th century the parish suffered a severe plague year and lost three - quarters ofits parishioners. The 19th century observed an arrival ofthe fourth church building (1884-1888). This one wooden church survived until the fatal fire in 2013, August 8th (for 125 years).Cultural heritage objects burnt during the fire, with especially valuable historic organ. Throughout that period, the Church was headed by 37 priests. The last one, priest Remigijus Veprauskas, had to deal not only with the loss of the building and sacred valuables, but also to raise money for recovery ofthe building and take care ofits restoration process. In 2018 March 3rd, the solemn consecration of Balbieriškis Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary took place. The parishioners regard this as a miracle ofthe God when, with the help ofsponsors, the building was designed and erected (design and construction works were carried out by the Urbonas family and their construction company “Archis”). Special thanks to Arvydas Paukštys, the boss ofthe „Teltonika“ company, his colleagues and his family, having donated more than one million euros support to construct and equip the church. Now, celebrating its 500th anniversary, Balbieriškis Parish has a new, bright and comfortably furnished sanctuary where believers and all people of good will can feel peace and the blessing of God. We believe that our Parish of Blessed Virgin Mary ofthe Rosary and its Catholic Church and further will play a significant religious and cultural role in local community’s life. [From the publication]