Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vilnius

Establishment

The Archdiocese owes its foundation to Jogaila, who christened Lithuania in 1387. On 17 February 1387, he founded the Diocese of Vilnius, granting it substantial privileges and estates, thereby creating the second-largest landed complex in Lithuania, after that of the Grand Duke. After that he sent Dobrogost, bishop of Poznań as ambassador to the Pope Urban VI with a petition for the erection of an episcopal see at Vilnius and the appointment of Andrzej Jastrzębiec (former bishop of Siret and confessor of Elisabeth of Hungary) to fill it. This was granted on 11 March 1388 and the foundation of a collegiate church of ten canons authorized. The Diocese of Vilnius was placed under the authority of the Gniezno metropolitan see and became part of the Polish ecclesiastical province.

Under Jastrzębiec's rule, the churches of Saint John, that became the parish church of the city, as well as of Saint Martin and Saint Anne (in the Upper and the Lower Castle, respectively) were erected in Vilnius. Upon Jastrzębiec's death in 1398, he was succeeded by a Franciscan, Jakub Plichta (1398–1407), in whose time the Cathedral perished in fire. Among his successors were: Piotr Krakowczyk (1414–1421), whom Pope Martin V invested with full powers to bring back the Orthodox of Lithuania to the Catholic Church; Matthias of Trakai (1421–1453), a Lithuanian, who sent representatives to the Council of Basel and set up the Inquisition to combat the Hussites, founded many churches and strenuously defended the rights and privileges of the Lithuanians. Under Jan Łosowicz (1467–1481) many Ruthenians were converted to Catholicism and the Franciscan Bernardines were established at Vilnius. Albert Tabor, a Lithuanian, invited the Dominicans to Vilnius and entrusted to them the Church of the Holy Spirit; Albert Radziwiłł (1508–1519) died in the odour of sanctity; John the Lithuanian (1519–1537) held the first diocesan synod at Vilnius in 1526; Prince Paweł Holszański (1534–1555) restored his cathedral in the Gothic style and held a synod in 1555; Walerian Protasewicz Suszkowski (1556–1580) had to contend for the celibacy of the clergy and the use of Latin in the Liturgy; he brought the Jesuits, among whom was Piotr Skarga, to Vilnius.

Reformation

Prince Jerzy Radziwiłł (1581–1591) fostered the Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu, founded a seminary, under the direction of the Jesuits, introduced the regulations of the Council of Trent, and having been made a cardinal, was transferred to the Diocese of Kraków in 1591. The chapter then entrusted the administration of the diocese to the suffragan bishop, Ciprian. At his death in 1594, the clergy were divided into factions on the choice of a successor, until Sigismund III nominated Benedict Wolna (1600–1615), who exerted himself efficaciously for the canonization of Saint Casimir Jagiellon, in whose honour the first stone of a church was laid it Vilnius in 1604. He succeeded in his efforts to have St. Casimir regarded as patron saint of Lithuania. His successor, Eustachius Wollowicz (1616–1630), founded hospitals, invited the Canons Regular of the Lateran to Vilnius, and energetically combated the Protestants and the Orthodox. Abraham Woyna (1631–1649) introduced the Fatebene Brethren and strenuously opposed Calvinism. Jerzy Tyszkiewicz (1650–1656) annexed the whole of Courland to his diocese. Aleksander Sapieha (1666–1671) founded the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, taking St. Peter's for his model. The diocese then comprised 25 deaneries with 410 churches. Constantius Casimir Brzostowski (1687–1722) brought the Piarists to Vilnius and encouraged the development of the religious orders. In the episcopate of Michael Zienkowicz (1730–1762), conflicts between the Jesuits and the Piarists arose, resulting in the closing of Piarist schools. Prince Ignacy Jakub Massalski (1762–1794) encouraged the reform of the clergy and devoted his immense fortune to the churches of his diocese.

Under the Russian Empire

After the partitions of Poland–Lithuania, the Diocese of Vilnius became part of the Russian Empire and no longer enjoyed freedom of relations with the Holy See but many Catholics supported the Russian government after Bishop of Vilnius Ignacy Jakub Massalski was hanged in 1794 by the revolutionaries of the Kościuszko Uprising. In 1795 the chapter nominated David Pilchowski vicar in spiritualibus. Livonia was added to the diocese, and John Nepomucene Kossakowski (1798–1808) was appointed bishop. He did much for the prosperity of the seminary. After his death the chapter became involved in a conflict with Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz, the Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Mohilev (from 1798 to 1925 Vilnius was a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Mohilev, the effective see was in Saint Petersburg), who used his metropolitan rights and forced, upon the chapter, the nominee of Hieronim Stroynowski as administrator and later Bishop (1808–1815), upon whose death he arrogated to himself the government of the diocese with the title of primate of Lithuania.

By ukaze (imperial decree) of Alexander I of Russia on July 18, 1803, the Vilnius Seminary was declared the central seminary of the Empire, with the obligation for the future Russian Catholic "high clergy" (bishops, canons, ecclesiastical judges) to study there and obtain a degree in theology or canon law. An annual endowment of 180,000 rubles funded by the imperial treasury was established for its maintenance. The Vilnius seminary remained the primary center of study for the Catholic clergy until the establishment of the Roman Catholic Theological Academy of Saint Petersburg in 1831, placed under the direct leadership of Archbishop of Mogilev Ignacy Ludwik Pawłowski.

In 1827, after Siestrzencewicz's death, the vicar capitular, Milucki, ruled the diocese for a short time. In 1828 Andreas Klagiewicz was appointed administrator; he was sent to the interior of Russia during the Insurrection of 1831, returned in 1832, was preconized Bishop of Vilnius in 1839 and took possession of the see on June 28, 1841. He died the same year, after witnessing the ruin of the Ruthenian Uniat Church in his diocese. The chapter elected John Cywinski as vicar suffragan; he saw the University of Vilnius closed, the clergy and churches of his diocese despoiled of their property. In 1848 he was succeeded by Wenceslaus Zylinski, who was transferred in 1856 to the metropolitan see of Mohilev, but continued to govern his former diocese until 1858.

Adam Stanislaus Krasinski was expelled from the diocese in consequence of the Insurrection of 1863, but nevertheless continued to govern the diocese until 1883, when he withdrew to Kraków. His successor, Charles Hrynieweki, was exiled to Jaroslav after two years of the episcopate, and in 1890 abdicated and withdrew to Galicia. During his exile Ludovic Zdanowicz governed the diocese as vicar patriarchal. In 1890 Anthony Francis Audziewicz, a canon of Saint Petersburg and a learned theologian, was appointed Bishop of Vilnius. He died in 1895; the diocese was then governed by Louis Zdanowicz, titular Bishop of Dionysias. In 1897 Canon Stephen Alexander Zwerowicz succeeded, and was transferred in 1902 to the See of Sandomir. His place was taken by Baron Edward Ropp, who set about organizing the Catholic movement in the diocese, thereby incurring the hostility of the Russian Government. Bishop Ropp having been banished to Pskov, the diocese was entrusted to Casimir Nicholas Michalkiewicz as administrator Apostolic.