Bažnytinė Šv. Kazimiero brolija

LTStraipsnyje keliamas retorinis klausimas, kodėl Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje nebuvo įsteigta bažnytinė Šv. Kazimiero brolija. Aptariama šiaurės Belgijoje veikusių bažnytinių Šv. Kazimiero brolijų pamaldumo globėjui pobūdis ir palikimas. Plačiau pristatomas Pranciškaus Nerrincqo „Šv. Kazimiero gyvenimas“ (1692), aptariamos šio leidinio iliustracijos. Remiantis minėtu leidiniu, „Acta Sanctorum“ (1668) ir Pauliaus Rabikausko tyrimu, keliama prielaida, kad bažnytinė Šv. Kazimiero brolija LDK galėjo būti stiprus postūmis šv. Kazimiero kultui plėstis ir įgyti įvairesnę meninę išraišką. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Bažnytinė brolija; Šv. Kazimieras; Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės kultūra; Jėzuitai; Fraternity; St. Casimir; Culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Jesuits.

ENThe church fraternity that was formed around this most solid Saint displays a stronger tradition of devotion than usual and also denotes a fixed focus of devotion. This article presents a few hypotheses as to why the fraternity of St. Casimir which, for example, was active in Antwerp at the end of the 17th century, was not established in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The heritage of the fraternities of St. Casimir in Northern Belgium is discussed in an attempt to demonstrate the devotion for the concrete Saint practiced by the fraternities of the Church. Thanks to the activity of these fraternities two descriptions of St Casimir's life in Flemish in the last decade of the 17th century were established, the illustrative carvings that accompany one of the descriptions are presented - an example of the true virtue, the virginal chastity, presented following "St. Casimir, the Royal Prince of Poland" by Franciscus Nerrincq (Gaspard Bouttats, the graphic artist). The other publication of St. Casmir's Fraternity consisted of regulations and a short "life" of Saint Casimir; its author was the priest Alexander de Feri, the founder of the St. Casimir's Fraternity and rector of the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Antwerp. According to Paulius Rabikauskas, the regulations presented in this publication of St. Casimir's Fraternity reveal that "none of the youth organizations nor religious circles in Lithuania shows as much devotion or sacrifice of the spirit as we see in the citizens of that distant and unknown city of Antwerp". The archive of the Society of Jesus of this region was distributed after the elimination of the Jesuits in 1773.The only source which is currently available regarding the St. Casimir fraternities in Belgium is the "Acta Sanctorum" (1668), which was published by the Bolandists in Antwerp. Within the text we find a message about the veneration of St. Casimir in Belgium alongside a great deal of other things: "in the various Belgian cities" was often seen the "artistically drawn and venerable" picture of St. Casimir; in this region the protection of St. Casimir was asked against the "schismatics Muscovites" and "enemies of the cross of Rome", but especially prayer was given to provide "strength in temptations against virginity" and "protection from the danger of plague". St. Casimir was depicted as the Miles Christianus and the knight of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Chronicles of the Netherlands. This example, which illustrates the historical work, is witness to the importance afforded to the cult of St. Casimir in the contemporary culture of the Netherlands. Societies dedicated to the worship of St. Casimir in Lithuania only began to develop at the beginning of the 20th century; the aims and fields of activity of these societies were more of "a national-secular" nature than they were of a "devotional-spiritual" nature. As can be seen from the quoted case of Antwerp, this church fraternity may have been a deciding factor in the spread of the St Casimir's cult and in its attainment of a more diverse artistic expression. [From the publication]

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