Добровольные пожертвования на строительство церкви: степень принуждения и способы получения денежных средств

ENBased on the analysis of archival documents relating to the organization and performance of the construction works of the particular Roman Catholic Church in Perloja, which took place from the beginning of the 20th century to 1930, this paper discusses sources of financing for the construction. As the church was built without any funding and without a support of a wealthy sponsor, the cost of building the church rested on the shoulders of the parishioners, so the financing of the construction of the church was a social, in a certain sense, democratic process, the assumptions of which were already recorded on October 14, 1909. The Resolution of Vilnius Roman Catholic Consistory stipulated the following: "To allow the Committee to collect money from the parishioners of Perloja Church as voluntary donations for the planned construction of a new church in Perloja... provided that the fundraising is voluntary, without coercion, and that the collected money is recorded by hand by literate donors in books issued by the Consistory, and, in case of illiterate donors, by the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman or members of the Committee, and that before the permit to build the church is obtained, the money raised is deposited in the savings bank on behalf of the Church Construction Committee in order to gain interest".The analysis of the documents allows to highlight the mechanism of raising and accumulating funds for the construction works, which consists of the legalization of activities through the election and approval of the organizing committee for construction, the imposition of a tax for the parishioners for the construction of the church, the search for and realization of other means of obtaining funds, and the registration and storage of cash inflows. Moreover, on the basis of archival materials, attempts to avoid the construction tax in an organized manner by moving to another parish or by trying to change the administrator and measures taken by the construction organizers in order to prevent such cases are analyzed. The paper also focuses on coercive measures and instruments of pressure used to recover the tax, such as the manipulation in the provision of religious services, an "honor tax", non-issuance of copies of documents, and even an attempt to use police measures referring to the Concordat. In addition, the consequences of the First World War for the donations for the church construction are discussed. Key words: Lithuania, Roman Catholic Church, Perloja, church construction, voluntary donations.