Švč. Mergelės Marijos liaudies pamaldumo praktikų vaidmuo Lietuvos dvasinės kultūros istorijoje

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Dvasinė kultūra; Dvasinė kultūra, Švč. Mergelė Marija; Liaudies pamaldumo praktikos; Švč. Mergelė Marija; Blessed Virgin Mary; Folk devotion; Lithuania; The spiritual culture.

ENLithuania is being called the Land of Mary (Term AfnnoMa) for almost 400 years. It acquired this title in Lvov on the 1" of April in 1656, when the king of Lithuania and Poland Įohn Casimir said grace to sacrifice Lithuania and Poland to Mary in the face of the clergy, senators and local people according to determinate order, i.e. genuflected in front of the altar. So, it is not surprising that Lithuania today is a catholic country, where the cult of Blessed Virgin Mary is dominating, but today's practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary arc not widely discussed in the fields of Lithuanian Catholic Church history and ethnology. Problematic of assessment, preservation and research of the Christian ethnic culture peculiarity today forms its relevance and novelty. This article analyzes practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary in Lithuania, their origin and structures. The aim of the research is to inquire into the practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary that are practiced by Lithuanian people. To achieve the aim the following objectives were raised: 1. To introduce the practices of Catholic folk devotion in Lithuania. 2. To reveal the practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary in Lithuania, the most common prayers and hymns. 3. To explore the origins of practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary in Lithuania. The thesis of the research proposes that Lithuania justifies its title of the Land of Mary (Term Mmnmid) given the abundance of folk devotion practices for Blessed Virgin Mary.The conclusions of the accomplished research state that: 1. out of 14 Catholic folk devotion practices in Lithuania more than a half (8) is practiced for the adoration of Blessed Virgin Mary; 2. the practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary in Lithuania arc practiced during the celebration of Church calendar festivals and family (wake) events; 3. the origins of practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary in Lithuania derive from Western Europe; 4. the practices of folk devotion for Blessed Virgin Mary consist of sacrifices, antiphons, readings, prayers, hymns and songs. The dominating prayers include "Hail Mary", "The Angel of the Lord", Blessed Virgin Mary's rosary, Blessed Virgin Marys litany and songs:"Stands Mother","Coronet" ("Karunka"),"Holy Mary, Mother of God" and "Mary Magdalene". The conclusions comply with the thesis, which was stated in the beginning of this article, that Lithuania justifies its title of the Land of Mary (7erra Manama) given the abundance of folk devotion practices for Blessed Virgin Mary. [From the publication]