Dievo tarnas arkivyskupas Mečislovas Reinys – dieviškųjų dorybių puoselėtojas: suėmimo ir kalinimo laikotarpis

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Arkivyskupas; Kankinys; Dorybės; Archbishop; Martyr; Virtues.

ENArchbishop Mečislovas Reinys is one of the brightest personalities of the 20th century Lithuanian Catholic Church. He was a professor, Minister of Foreign Affairs, an archbishop, a martyr. Many of M. Reinys’ contemporaries remember him as a person of deep erudition, determined to give his life for each line of the gospel. This stance of the archbishop was taken over from a deeply religious family and reflected not only in scientific but also his practical activities. It should be noted that M. Reinys was awarded a Master’s degree for the thesis “The Appearance of Christianity Contributed Greatly to the Moral Carpet” at Spiritual Academy of Petrapilis. In Belgium, in the Philosophy Institute of the University of Leuven he wrote his doctoral thesis on the title “Moral Basics of Vladimir Solovyov”. The archbishop lived according to these ideas, analysed in his writings, until his death in frigid Vladimir prison. M. Reinys was characterized as a responsible and diligent person while doing pastoral work and communicating with people. He devoted all of his energy to the development and education of the society. He saw his homeland’s future only in an educated and moral person. Although M. Reinys fulfilled the duties of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for a while, however, he tried not to mix the matters of faith with politics. Not in vain on 14 September 1998 the beatification case for archbishop Mečislovas Reinys was initiated in Vilnius Archdiocese.The article deals with the final stage of life of Archbishop Mečislovas Reinys. It discusses how in the most difficult years of arrest and detention the divine virtues unfolded in the person of this God’s servant. The archbishop’s unprecedented stance on faith and moral issues is presented with an overview of the material of one of the files stored in the Special archive. The letters, sent to his sister from Vladimir prison, are examined, which pastor moral strength and concern for his own flock is reflected. The article presents Archbishop Mečislovas Reinys as a man of faith, who was able to witness the hope and love of neighbour in the most difficult conditions. The evidence of heroic virtues is very important during the beatification proceedings. [From the publication]