Interconfessional rivalry in Lithuania after the decree of tolerance

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Rusijos imperijos konfesinė politika; 1905 04 17 tikybų tolerancijos aktas. Keywords: Tsarist confessional policy; Decree of Tolerance (April 17, 1905).Reikšminiai žodžiai: 20 amžius; Katalikų Bažnyčia; Ortodoksų bažnyčia; Politika; Tolerancija; 20th century; Catholic Church; Orthodox Church; Tolerance.

ENThe aim of this study is to analyze the outcomes of the declaration of the Decree of Tolerance (April 17, 1905) on the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in the so-called Lithuanian provinces of Kovna, Vil’na, and Grodna, all of which were part of the NWR. Specifically, this essay asks the following questions: What was the social position of Churches in communities and what were the roles of Churches as institutions? How did these change over time? And what were the differences and similarities in the Lithuanian dioceses/provinces above? I shall also try to ascertain how the imperial government participated in these processes, and whether the burgeoning nationalisms of non-dominant ethnic groups influenced interconfessional relations. I intend to determine the innovations (and/ or continuity) in government policy after 1905 as it compares to the policies regarding the Catholic Church after the uprising of 1863–64. In this study, I argue that the reversion from Orthodoxy that commenced after the announcement of the decree of April 17, 1905 demonstrated the low social prestige of the Orthodox Church in these specific provinces in the NWR at the time. […] I would like to stress that political reforms are not the focus of my research, and due to the scope of my study and my research questions, they will not be discussed. However, these simultaneous developments were also important for understanding interconfessional relations, and they appeared in the same context. [Extract, p. 116]