Parapijos mikroistorija: Apytalaukio bažnyčios įkūrimas ir raida XVII a. – XVIII a. pradžioje
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Apytalaukio parapija; Apytalaukio parapija, 17-18 a.; Fundacija; Jėzuitai; Katalikų Bažnyčia; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Mikroistorija; Apytalaukis parish; Apytalaukis parish, 17-18 cent.; Catholic Church; Foundation; Jesuits; Micro-history; Microhistory.
ENIn this article, a micro-historical study is made of the Apytalaukis parish of the Vilnius Diocese's Ukmergė deanery from the seventeenth century to the beginning of the eighteenth century. It will help to better understand the development of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. It also seeks to ascertain who encouraged the foundation of the Apytalaukis church, how it was realised in practice, and what difficulties were encountered as well as to illuminate, as much as the sources allow, the everyday life of the members of the parish. So far not one scientific article has been written about the Apytalaukis parish; therefore the main research material was archive documents: the 1635 will of P. Šiukšta the founder of the Apytalaukis church; the 1642, 1677 and 1716 church inventories; the acts for handing it over to the Jesuits; the court litigation documents; various loan and tax payment receipts’ correspondence; etc. The conclusion is drawn that P. Šiukšta, the owner of the Apytalaukis estate, founded the Apytalaukis church through a will drawn up on 07 February 1635 and, in order to make it the main family church, allocated land for it and provided for it from the Apytalaukis estate. He, being an active advocate of Jesuit ideas and activities and especially supportive of the educative activities of the Jesuits, assigned the Jesuits the right of collation to the Apytalaukis church.The heirs to the domain of P. Šiukšta failed to completely realise the foundation of the church and litigation with the estate concerning the land and a tithe of grain for the church lasted several centuries. In 1642 the brick walls of the Apytalaukis church were erected to only halfway up the windows and were finished at the tum of the eighteenth century but after the wars and famines at the beginning of the eighteenth century, by 1716 it was badly neglected with cracked walls and a leaking roof and had not been consecrated. Jonas Brolinskis, who was the rector in Apytalaukis during 1677-1706, was a fairly solicitous pastor but Laurynas Strebeika, who arrived in the parish after him through deceit, feuded especially savagely with the local gentry, peasants, and clergy, was extravagant with the church's property, did not reside at Apytalaukis, and did not say mass; therefore in about 1710 he was removed. A community of parish members, who organised meetings, made contributions of various sizes, and actively participated in religious life, was founded in the Apytalaukis parish. [From the publication]
