Kardinolas Jurgis Radvila (1556–1600): galia katalikybės tapsmo ir sklaidos tarnystėje

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Jurgis Radvila, 1556-1600; Kardinolai; Jurgis Radvila; Cardinals.

ENThis article examines the life and activity of Jurgis Cardinal Radvila (1556‒1600) in the context of the development and diffusion of Catholicism in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the last third of the sixteenth century. The analysis of the ecclesiastical career and activities of Cardinal Radvila, a scion of the most powerful family of the Polish-Lithuanian state of the period, reveals the role that power and influence would play both in the formation of the religious identity of the inhabitants of ethnic Lithuania and in the creation of favourable political, religious, social, cultural conditions for the prevalence of Catholicism during the decisive final decades of the confessionalization of Lithuanian society. Alhough noble birth, as a precondition to hold any political or religious office in Poland and Lithuania, became a legal requirement already in 1505, and although decades ago two other members of the Radvila family had the episcopal dignity conferred on them, never before did a descendant of the elite, as rich and powerful as Cardinal Radvila occupy the episcopal see of Vilnius. A protégé of King Stephen I Bathory and Pope Gregory XIII, a confidant of King Sigismund III and Pope Clement VIII, an acquaintance of saints Carlo Borromeo and Roberto Bellarmino, and having Jesuit Fathers as advisors by his side, Cardinal Radvila knew how to employ his fame and influence to the advantage of the Roman Catholic Church. Already during his first months on the episcopal throne of Vilnius, Radvila tried to impose censorship on books, founded the first seminary, convened a diocesan synod and issued the first pastoral letter. A fervent pastor of the post-Tridentine era of the Catholic Reform, Cardinal Radvila visited his diocese of Vilnius five times, supported institutions of Catholic education, religious orders and the confraternity of St Anne.As a senator, he advocated the interests of Catholics on the political stage, and on behalf of the king he acted as an intermediary in bringing about the dynastic marriage between Sigismund III and Anne of Austria in May 1592. This article also addresses the unresolved problem of the exact date of Jurgis Cardinal Radvila’s conversion to Catholicism, discusses some imprecise historiographical assertions (e. g., the participation in the conclaves of 1590 and an alleged near-election to the papal throne). An effort is made to trace, where possible, some personal traits of Jurgis Cardinal Radvila. [From the publication]

• Teologija / Theology
• Istorija / History