Vilnijos lietuvių švietėjas: vertybinės Kristupo Čibiro sampratos ir jų sklaida

ENThe article addresses the legacy of educational expression of the Lithuanian public figure, teacher, publicist and priest from Vilnius Region Kristupas Čibiras (14 December 1888 - 23 March 1942) and reveals his role in the strengthening of Lithuanianhood. Major attention is paid to reveal his conceptions about the importance of public education and pedagogical ideas. The study makes use of published texts; the manuscript sources of Fr. Kristupas Čibiras kept at the Manuscripts Department of the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, which have not been previously analysed in historiography, are examined in the study. The data provided do not only testify to his considerable pedagogical contribution in the attempt to preserve Lithuanian schools and cultural establishments in Vilnius Region but also his aspirations to develop public education and the strengthening of Lithuanian cultural identity. Čibiras highlighted the importance of cultural education of the whole society: he made consistent attempts to turn the reading-rooms established in Vilnius Region into both the places where Lithuanian press was read and distributed as well as cultural and educational venues of local Lithuanian communities and to harmonise their activities with the interests and possibilities of local residents. He tried to link the perception of the history and folk heritage of Vilnius Region with the general Lithuanian cultural context.