{"id":481,"date":"2022-03-24T17:37:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T15:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linijos.lt\/adrl\/sil\/?page_id=481"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:16:43","slug":"reformacijos-laikotarpis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/siluva.lt\/en\/reformacijos-laikotarpis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reformation Period"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Reformation reaches \u0160iluva<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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In the 16th century, the wave of the Reformation reached \u0160iluva. Around 1532, its owner, Jonas Zavi\u0161a, together with other nobles, converted to the Reformed faith. About one and a half kilometres from the town, he built a Protestant chapel, which was later renovated or expanded. In 1555, Jonas Zavi\u0161a transferred \u0160iluva to his brother Merkelis, who is regarded as the founder of the Calvinist parish in \u0160iluva.<\/p>\n

For a time, both an Evangelical Reformed chapel and a Catholic church functioned in \u0160iluva. However, in 1560, when \u0160iluva came under the control of Merkelis Zavi\u0161a\u2019s cousin, Merkelis \u0160emeta\u2014an especially zealous promoter of the Reformation\u2014the property of the Catholic church in \u0160iluva was confiscated, and the church itself was closed.<\/p>\n

The new Reformed centre established on the estate\u2019s land gradually came to be known as Zbarai.,<\/em>\u00a0nes\u00a0zbarais<\/em>\u00a0The term zbor (in Polish) was used to refer to Calvinist communities and their houses of worship. The town of \u0160iluva began to decline into a village, while the locality of Zbarai\u2014referred to in official documents as \u0160iluva (Szydlowa)\u2014was becoming a cultural centre for the entire Calvinist region of Samogitia. The Catholic population was increasingly pressured to convert to the new confession.<\/p>\n

Around 1569, the last parish priest of \u0160iluva, Jonas Holubka\u2014perhaps foreseeing the destruction of the Catholic church\u2014gathered the remaining church valuables and documents and, placing them in an iron-bound chest, buried them near the former church.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The activity of the Calvinist Sofija Vnu\u010dkien\u0117<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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The resourceful and particularly devoted Calvinist Sofija Vnu\u010dkien\u0117, the widow of Morkus Vnu\u010dka, in 1591 arranged to purchase the confiscated parish lands from the then rulers of \u0160iluva and transferred them to the Calvinist community.<\/p>\n

The purchase agreement was signed on 1 September 1591 and stated that the \u0160iluva estate was being transferred \u201ctogether with the town and its church dependents, with the rectory and the Pa\u0161akarnis manor belonging to the \u0160iluva parish.\u201d For this, she paid 9,000 Polish z\u0142otys to Merkelis Zavi\u0161a.<\/p>\n

Three months later (on 4 January 1592), she \u201ctransferred, donated, and granted \u0160iluva with its estate, town, and the Pa\u0161akarnis manor belonging to the \u0160iluva property, together with the church and church buildings, as well as all the land and its dependents\u201d to the Calvinists of \u0160iluva.<\/p>\n

In one of her writings, S. Vnu\u010dkien\u0117 states:\u00a0\u201cWith great dedication I took care to redeem this place, (for) some decades earlier it had been cleansed of Roman idolatry and adorned (by the Reformed).\u201d\u00a0<\/em>However\u00a0The enemies of God took particular care that it should return to its former state.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0The greatest threat was the owner\u2019s own son, Andrius Zavi\u0161a, who had already returned to Catholicism. His father was already old and could die at any moment (in fact, he died a year later), and once the son took over, he would undoubtedly have restored \u0160iluva to its \u201cformer state.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to her intentions, this could not be allowed, so she devoted all her efforts to making \u0160iluva a centre of Calvinism. More than other Reformed nobles, she sought not to leave the people in \u201cidolatry\u201d\u2014she ensured that Calvinism was proclaimed in the Lithuanian language and published the first Calvinist Gospels in Lithuanian. She also made significant efforts in establishing a Calvinist parish school. \u201cChildren of the common people\u201d were admitted there\u2014even if they were not Evangelicals\u2014but in return they were required to attend Calvinist services. In 1592, a Calvinist seminary was established in Zbarai\u2014the only school in Lithuania dedicated to training their clergy and teachers.<\/p>\n

After several years, a masonry church was built in place of the wooden Calvinist chapel that had stood there (construction began in 1593 and was completed in 1595). It is believed that bricks and stones from the former Catholic church were used for this new building, and a bell from the Catholic church was also transferred to the new Calvinist church, where it rang for many years, bearing the inscription:\u00a0O florens Rosa, Mater Dei speciosa!<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cO blooming rose, pure Mother of God!\u201d). The golden and silver vessels of the Catholic church and other liturgical items were destroyed, as well as church vestments and furnishings. With the demolition of the Catholic church, the \u201ccleansing\u201d of \u0160iluva from \u201cRoman idolatry\u201d was meant to be completed.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The recovery of the \u0160iluva church<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Merkelis Giedraitis, Bishop of Samogitia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is true that the rise of Calvinism was opposed by the Bishop of Samogitia, Merkelis Giedraitis, who initiated legal cases to recover the lost churches, as the Third Statute of Lithuania (1588) recognized the right of Catholics to reclaim confiscated property.<\/p>\n

Around 1606, the bishop entrusted the work he had begun to a devoted priest\u2014his friend and collaborator, Jonas Smolka-Kazakevi\u010dius. He showed great courage by initiating the case of Kelm\u0117 and, on 11 August 1609, succeeded in restoring the church of Kelm\u0117 to the Catholics. The case was difficult, as the property documents had been lost; however, it was remembered to whom they had been entrusted, and the bishop together with his curia were aware of the church\u2019s property. This, however, was only preparation for the case of \u0160iluva, since no information at all was available about the founding documents of \u0160iluva.<\/p>\n

It was possible to rely only on Vnu\u010dkien\u0117\u2019s writings, which stated that this place had long been reformed and cleansed of \u201cRoman idolatry,\u201d and on that basis to initiate the case; however, it was difficult to define the claim. Without the necessary documents, there was no hope of winning the case.<\/p>\n

At this point, the Blessed Virgin Mary herself enters this difficult and complex history. After her apparition (which took place in 1608), the church\u2019s foundation documents were unexpectedly discovered in 1612. Once they were found, the case continued without interruption from 1612 and was won after ten years. Written accounts of \u0160iluva\u2019s history state that \u201cthe case lasted more than 15 years,\u201d which suggests that the first unsuccessful proceedings may have begun in 1607 or 1608. The case was finally concluded on 22 July 1622 by the decision of the Vilnius Tribunal.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Further disputes<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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The cross shot by the Calvinists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, the Calvinists did not rush to implement the decision. The Catholics then attempted to take possession of the lands awarded to them on their own, but encountered resistance from the Calvinists. A month after the tribunal\u2019s ruling, clashes broke out between the two sides in the church gardens.<\/p>\n

Another widely known uprising occurred when the new parish priest of \u0160iluva, Sviekauskas, attempted on his own initiative to reclaim a disputed plot of land from the local Calvinists. This land was located by a large stone, near the newly rebuilt chapel of Bishop A. Sapiega. The Catholic cemetery was also situated there. Having conceived this plan, Canon Sviekauskas sent his vicar, Fr. Sierniauskas, together with Mr. Simanavi\u010dius and a group of men to take back the mentioned land.<\/p>\n

At that time, the Calvinist pastor was Chelkauskas. The new pastor gathered people, armed them, and ordered them to drive away the men of Sviekauskas. When the two sides met, they began to argue, then to fight with fists and sticks, and finally, as they approached the chapel, they started shooting. One bullet struck and wounded Fr. Sierniauskas, while another pierced the image of the Crucified hanging in the chapel, which had been donated by Bishop Sapiega. This took place at the end of 1668 or the beginning of 1669.<\/p>\n

In \u0160iluva, this was not the first such incident\u2014the struggle against crosses as signs of \u201cRoman idolatry\u201d also took place elsewhere in Lithuania. A well-known case occurred in 1640 in Vilnius, in which Calvinists were accused of shooting at sacred images in St. Michael\u2019s Church and at a cross on top of the church.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The case in the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Bishop Kazimieras Pacas, having investigated the incident and gathered evidence, decided to bring a case against the Calvinists of \u0160iluva before the State Seimas itself. The conduct of the Calvinists of \u0160iluva, as it was presented to the Seimas, provoked considerable outrage among both the assembled nobility and the new king, Kaributas Wi\u015bniowiecki. Such behavior, violating the majesty of God, was strictly punished under the laws of the state.<\/p>\n

The following penalties were imposed on the Calvinists of \u0160iluva: their community was dissolved, their lands were confiscated, and three \u201czbor members\u201d along with a preacher were sentenced to death. The royal decree of the Seimas was signed on 6 November 1669 in Krak\u00f3w.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Efforts at reconciliation<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Bishop Kazimieras Pacas, having investigated the incident and gathered evidence, decided to bring a case against the Calvinists of \u0160iluva before the State Seimas itself. The conduct of the Calvinists of \u0160iluva, as it was presented to the Seimas, provoked considerable outrage among both the assembled nobility and the new king, Kaributas Wi\u015bniowiecki. Such behavior, violating the majesty of God, was strictly punished under the laws of the state.<\/p>\n

The following penalties were imposed on the Calvinists of \u0160iluva: their community was dissolved, their lands were confiscated, and three \u201czbor members\u201d along with a preacher were sentenced to death. The royal decree of the Seimas was signed on 6 November 1669 in Krak\u00f3w.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Reformed, whose influence was still quite strong, mobilized in an effort to have the decision changed and mitigated. However, these efforts proved fruitless. With no hope of altering the ruling regarding \u0160iluva, the Reformed began to seek another solution.\n\nFor this purpose, meetings were convened in K\u0117dainiai in 1670 and an assembly in Vilnius in 1671. In Vilnius gathered the elders of the Calvinist communities, a considerable number of preachers, and the patrons of the \u0160iluva community. The assembly resolved to seek an \u201camicable settlement\u201d and appealed to the administrator of \u0160iluva, Jonas Merkelis Bil\u0117nas-Bilevi\u010dius, asking him to mediate between the Calvinists and the Bishop of Samogitia.<\/p>\n

Bilevi\u010dius agreed, and negotiations began. Eventually, it was agreed that Jonas Merkelis Bilevi\u010dius, in the presence of the patrons of \u0160iluva, would pay 12,000 z\u0142otys to Bishop Kazimieras Pacas and the Chapter of Samogitia. In return, the Calvinist community of \u0160iluva transferred to him the \u0160iluva estate, the Pa\u0161akarnis manor, the village of Nani\u0161ai, and the Rugieni\u0161kiai holding, as well as the town of \u0160iluva with 21 peasant families and 11 villages with their inhabitants.<\/p>\n

The Calvinist community retained only the church with its rectory, the enclosed plot of land around the church, the school, and the pastures belonging to the rectory and its dependents. Bilevi\u010dius was also asked to protect and defend this remaining Calvinist property.\n\nThe transfer of \u0160iluva to Bilevi\u010dius was signed on 16 March 1672 in \u0160iluva itself. By this agreement, the Calvinist lands of \u0160iluva were saved from confiscation, and three \u201czbor members\u201d along with a preacher were spared the death penalty.<\/p>\n

Bishop Kazimieras Pacas allocated the funds received from the Calvinists to the church of \u0160iluva, stipulating that Holy Mass be celebrated every Friday in honor of the Cross at the chapel by the image of the Crucified, accompanied by music. At the same time, in 1677, he instituted the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross along with indulgences.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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