Gardino dekanato parapijos XVII a. antrojoje pusėje

Abstract

In the second half of the 17th century Grodno deanery of Vilnius diocese was comprised of 21 Catholic churches (Odelsk, Hoża, Dąbrowa, Ejsmonty, Jeziory, Grodno, Indura, Krasnybór, Krynki, Kundzin, Kuźnica, Kwasówka, Lipsk, Brzostowica Mała, Nowy Dwór, Przewałka, Różanystok, Sokolany, Sokółka, Szudziałow, Zalesie). These churches were founded at various time periods, from the beginning of the 15th century, i.e. times of the grand duke of Lithuania Vytautas (Grodno parish), until the end of the 17th century. Most of the churches established their existence during the ruling of Sigismund III Vasa (the junction of the 16th and 17th centuries), the patron of most of them being the sovereign. Ejsmonty and Brzostowica Mała churches were founded the latest, respectively in 1695 and 1663 after the war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia in the middle of the 17th century. Based on visitation and inventories related materials of the deanery in various Lithuanian and Polish manuscripts it was stated that there were only two brick parish churches in the deanery (Grodno, Zalesie), and Nowy Dwór church was half brick, half wooden. All other churches were wooden, although some of them were splendid and spacious (e.g. Kwasówka, Sokółka, Dąbrowa, Odelsk). Roofs of wooden churches were usually covered in wooden tiles; they were decorated with little towers with crosses. However, churches of average and even small size dominated in the deanery, most of them were hardly restored after the occupation, robberies by the Russian army and arsons. Visitators demanded to reconstruct the churches, to repair the altars, to install ciboria for proper holding of the Blessed Sacrament, liturgical material, etc. Four of the reconstructed churches were consecrated by titular bishop of Gratianopoli Nicolaus Słupski during his visitation in 1674. [...]