"Įsakyta žmonėms siekti žemėje šviesos...": Jurgio Barščo proginiai pamokslai

LTStraipsnio objektas – penki išlikę Lietuvos jėzuitų provincijolo Jurgio Barščo (Jerzy Barszcz, Bartsch, Bartz, 1677–1743) proginiai pamokslai lenkų kalba: du laidotuvių, sakyti mirus žinomiems Vilniaus vyskupams Konstantinui Kazimierui Bžostovskiui (1722) ir Motiejui Juozapui Ancutai (1735), minint Vilniaus katedros klebono Petro Palubinskio 50 metų kunigavimą (1719), apie palaimintąjį Juozapatą Kuncevičių (1717) ir šv. Augustiną (1725). Barščo pamokslai anksčiau nebuvo tyrinėti, tad straipsnyje siekiama atskleisti, koks jis buvo pamokslininkas: analizuojama pamokslų struktūra, jų komponavimo priemonės ir aptariamas juose kuriamas žmogaus paveikslas. XVIII a. pirmoji pusė dar priskiriama Baroko epochai, tad pamokslai analizuojami atskleidžiant minėtos epochos retorikos įtaką. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe article presents an analysis of occasional sermons in Polish by Jurgis Barščas (Jerzy Barszcz, Bartsch, Bartz, 1677–1743), a provincial of Lithuanian Jesuits: two sermons given at the funerals of two well-known bishops of Vilnius, Konstanty Kazimierz Brzostowski (1722) and Maciej Józef Ancuta (1735), a sermon delivered on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of priesthood of Piotr Połubiński, the provost of Vilnius Cathedral (1725), and sermons on St Augustine (1719) and the Blessed Josaphat Kuntsevych (1717). Since Barščas’s sermons have not been studied before, this article reveals what kind of preacher he was: the structure of sermons and the means of composing them are analysed, and the image of the human created in his sermons is discussed. As the first half of the eighteenth century is still part of the Baroque era, the influence of the rhetoric of that era on the sermons is shown. Barščas’s occasional sermons reveal him as a preacher who had mastered the requirements of rhetoric and adhered to them. Central to all the sermons is the purposeful choice of the Scripture quotation that divides the life of the individual in question or the qualities and virtues characteristic of him into three parts. Only the sermon delivered on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of priesthood of Provost Piotr Połubiński is divided into two parts. It is worth noting that funeral sermons traditionally have three parts typical of the funeral orations of Antiquity. The concepts created by Barščas, the play on the words with similar meanings, and the various excerpts from the Scriptures, the works of the Fathers of the Church, the authors of antiquity, and of his contemporaries reveal great erudition of this preacher.The sermons are intended for an educated audience familiar with the rhetorical canons and therefore capable of grasping the author’s intention and experiencing the joy of recognition. Barščas’s attention to the word and its meaning reveals his desire not only to teach his audience, but also to delight and excite it. Despite the rather abundant presence of actual biographical facts, events, and real persons in Barščas’s occasional sermons, they build a picture of an ideal human whose central characteristic is religiosity. Like in other sermons of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the universal human of the culture of the time can be recognised: a devout, spiritually-minded, salvation-concerned Christian, to whom similar virtues, usually individualised according to his chosen estate, are attributed. All Barščas’s characters are clergymen and saints, so there are differences in the rhetorical and stylistic devices used and in the examples chosen to describe virtues or good deeds accomplished. In praising the chosen individuals, Barščas interprets and evaluates the world around him by showing their way of life and behaviour that should be followed and by presenting society with a picture of values corresponding to its moral attitudes. Barščas’s sermons are not only a commemoration of the dead, a celebration of important people, or even a document of the glory of an entire family, but also a devotional literature offering guidance for practical living. At the same time, these texts constitute an important source for studying the historical, political, and religious situation of the time, as the praise of an individual includes a discussion of events, references to prominent personalities, and the like. [From the publication]