Motiejus Valančius
Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius (also: Maciej Wołonczewski ; * 16 February July / 28 February 1801 greg. In Nasrėnai near Kretinga , Lithuania ; † 17 May July / 29 May 1875 greg. In Kaunas ) was Bishop of Lower Lithuania , Historian and writer.
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Life
Motiejus Valančius was born into a wealthy farming family in the village of Nasrėnai near Kretinga. In his early youth, his entry in the baptismal register was changed. In order to indicate noble origin, his name was Polonized to Wołonczewski . This procedure was quite common among wealthy villagers, as it made educational opportunities accessible to the peasant children that would otherwise be denied them. In 1816 he entered the Dominican school in Žemaičių Kalvarija and six years later began studying theology at the theological seminary in Varniai . In 1824 he switched to the senior seminar in Vilnius , which he completed in 1828. He was ordained a priest in the same year and spent the next six years teaching religion in Belarus . In 1834 he returned to Lithuania and became a teacher at the secondary school in Kražiai .
From 1840 he held lectures in pastoral theology and biblical archeology at the Theological Academy of Vilnius ; In 1842 he obtained a theological doctorate. In the same year the Tsar ordered the Academy and all its teachers and students to move to St. Petersburg . Valančius returned to Lithuania for health reasons in 1845 and was appointed rector of the Varniai Theological Seminary. He held this position until 1850. Since he was not in Lithuania during the uprising of 1830/1831 , he was considered relatively apolitical, which is why the Russian government raised no objections when he was proposed as a candidate for the bishopric of Lower Lithuania.
bishop
In 1850 Motiejus Valančius was ordained bishop; he was the first farmer who was allowed to preside over this diocese . He directed it for the next twenty-five years, years that brought great religious, political and social changes to Lithuania. He expanded and improved the network of Schemaitic parish schools, wrote many religious and secular books and founded a temperance movement in 1858 , which grew to a million members, almost half of the population.
His pastoral and educational work was interrupted by the uprising of 1863–1864 and made more difficult because the Russian government tightened the reins after the collapse of the revolt. Valančius did everything in his power to undermine the prescribed Russification . So he organized in Lithuania Minor printing Lithuanian books and their smuggling and proliferation. His activities inevitably brought him into direct conflict with the authorities. In 1874 Valančius fell seriously ill and died on May 29, 1875 in Kaunas. He was buried in the crypt of St. Peter and Paul Cathedral .
legacy
His contributions to the Lithuanian cause were lasting and important. His opposition to the Russian government and the methods he used to defy its orders, particularly the book smuggling through Knygnešiai, helped set the Lithuanian national movement in motion. As an educator, church administrator, historian, folklorist and writer, Valančius was one of the most versatile and influential people in 19th century Lithuania .
On June 3, 2020, an asteroid was named after him: (338274) Valancius .
source
- Encyclopedia Lituanica , vol. VI. Boston, 1978.
Web links
- Article Motiejus Valančius in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
Individual evidence
- ^ Motiejus Valančius in the Small-Body Database of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (English).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Valančius, Motiejus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wołonczewski, Maciej; Valančius, Motiejus Kazimieras |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Lower Lithuania, historian and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 28, 1801 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nasrėnai near Kretinga , Lithuania |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 1875 |
| Place of death | Kaunas |