Lietuvos Bažnyčios / Churches of Lithuania, V tomas: Vilniaus arkivyskupija, II dalis
1986
Šaltasis Karas ir Sąjūdis
Cold War & Sąjūdis · 1980–1990
Published in 1986 during the Cold War & Sąjūdis period.
This is Volume V, Part II of Bronius Kviklys's monumental multivolume reference work documenting the churches of Lithuania, focused specifically on the Archdiocese of Vilnius. Published in Chicago in 1986 by the Lithuanian Library Press during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, this diaspora-produced volume catalogues hundreds of parishes across the Vilnius region with historical narratives, photographs, maps, and biographical profiles of priests. It stands as an irreplaceable scholarly and cultural record compiled from exile, preserving knowledge of Lithuanian Catholic ecclesiastical heritage that was suppressed under Soviet rule.
What It Is
Kviklys's 'Lietuvos Bažnyčios' series is among the most ambitious reference works produced by the Lithuanian diaspora in the twentieth century. This fifth volume, covering the second part of the Vilnius Archdiocese, documents a region of profound cultural and historical complexity — a territory long contested between Lithuanian, Polish, and Soviet administrations, where Lithuanian Catholic identity was suppressed and parish life disrupted for decades. The work preserves not only architectural and liturgical data but also the human record of priests, parishioners, and communities who maintained Lithuanian identity under hostile conditions. Published from Chicago while Lithuania remained under Soviet occupation, the volume exemplifies the diaspora's role as custodian of historical memory. The inclusion of biographical profiles of clergy, photographs of churches (many taken clandestinely or sourced from pre-war archives), and detailed maps makes this volume an irreplaceable primary and secondary source. For Lithuanian heritage communities in North America, it provides a direct connection to ancestral parishes and the spiritual geography of the homeland.
Why It Matters
This volume is a cornerstone document of Lithuanian Catholic diaspora scholarship. Compiled and published in Chicago while Lithuania was under Soviet occupation, it preserves detailed historical, biographical, and architectural records of hundreds of parishes in the Vilnius Archdiocese — a region whose Lithuanian identity was systematically suppressed by successive Polish and Soviet administrations. The work documents not only church buildings but the human communities, priests, and struggles that sustained Lithuanian Catholic life across centuries of adversity. It remains an essential reference for historians, genealogists, and heritage communities, and a testament to the diaspora's determination to keep Lithuanian memory alive.
Bronius Kviklys appears in 3 works in this archive. Connected to Amerikos Lietuvių Bibliotekos Leidykla / Lithuanian Library Press, Inc., Chicago through shared publications.