Maldininkai Prūsijos Lietuvoje: masiškumas, išplitimas ir įvaizdis XIX a. trečiame dešimtmetyje
| Author | Affiliation |
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| Date |
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2018 |
Straipsnyje, remiantis Prūsijos kultūros paveldo Slaptajame valstybės archyve Berlyne rastu 1823 m. dokumentu, mėginama atskleisti iki šiol istoriografijoje nedaug dėmesio sulaukusius neopietistinio sąjūdžio Prūsijos Lietuvoje – maldininkų judėjimo XIX a. 3 dešimtmetyje svarbius praeities aspektus, būtent: judėjimo dalyvių skaitlingumą, jų rengiamų religinių susirinkimų paplitimą teritorijoje ir ankstyvąjį maldininkų įvaizdį. Greta šių pagrindinių tikslų straipsnyje aptariama maldininkų istoriografija, susidariusios tyrimų spragos, galimos sėkmingų tyrimų perspektyvos, panaudojant neskelbtus archyvinius šaltinius.
The historiography of surinkimai (private prayer and hymn-singing gatherings of Evangelical Lutherans in Prussian Lithuania) and worshippers was started in as early as the first half of the nineteenth century – as soon as the movement began spreading and became noticeable. Nonetheless, the movement of the surinkimininkai (people who attended such gatherings) in Prussian Lithuania has not been consistently researched: there exist gaps and white spots. First of all, the issue of the scale of the movement and of the network of the gatherings should be singled out. Based on the analysis of 1823 report of Karaliaučius consistory about religious associations functioning outside the Church in the districts of Karaliaučius and Gumbinė, the article attempts to adjust the data on the scale of the worshippers’ movement, its spread, and the image of the worshippers. The emergence of the report should be linked to the movement of the surinkimininkai, which became more active and numerous between 1818 and 1824. The central and province authorities made efforts to obtain multi-sided information on the movement and its participants in order to understand what kind of a movement it was, how dangerous and massive it was, and what measures had to be resorted to for its control. On the other hand, attention to sects and Pietist movements in the province of East Prussia might have sprung up due to the 1820 unrest that sparked in East Pomerania between the local authorities and one branch of the Pietist movement that had spread across that region. Very likely, this unpleasant experience stimulated gathering of information on similar Pietist movements active in the state that could cause unrest in the future. It was against the backdrop of such events that an instruction was issued in 1823 the aim of which was to record and keep watch on Pietist gatherings – in this particular case, worshippers – in the province of East Prussia.