| Abstract [eng] |
The paper analyses the two the most prominent attempts to renew the women’s religious life in the 18th century in Lithuania. The reform in the Brigittine convent in Grodno arose on nuns’ own initiative. The reform was meant to be a return to the Rule and the initial spirit of the founder. The abbess aimed to reform the spiritual life of the nunnery in the first place. She also demanded to keep strictly the vow of poverty, monastic discipline and enclosure. Initially part of the nuns resisted the changes she introduced, but finally they accepted the main requirements. The bishops, who were visiting the convent at the time, supported the reform. Since the end of the 17th century visitation reports reveal the low level of monastic observance in the St Michael’s Bernardine convent. The nuns were departing from enclosure, communal life and common property. The initiator of the reform was the Bernardine‘s provincial. Mainly he sought to tighten enclosure. Part of the nuns didn’t want to accept the reform and tried to prevent the visitation. Masalskis, the bishop of Vilnius, and the canons supported these nuns. Later the Bernardine‘s estates became the main issue between the provincial and the bishop. Finally the Bernadines accepted the reform but the existing courses can’t tell how the changes were realized. |
